Washington
The USS Nimit air craft carrier and its strike group were ordered back to the Persian Gulf region to provide “defensive capabilities” during a drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Navy and Pentagon said Friday.
President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of troops in the two countries spurred the Pentagon to send the Bremerton, Washington-based aircraft carrier and its flotilla of ships back to the gulf, where it had been for much of the fall.
“This action ensures we have sufficient capability available to respond to any threat and to deter any adversary from acting against our troops during the force reduction,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Navy Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet, said there was no specific threat that led the carrier, its dozens of aircraft and the strike group back to the Persian Gulf.
