r/Military

Sorry for the pay-wall.

TLDR;

Base in Bahrain was the main resupply station for our carriers in the region, it got blown to shit, and Hegseth and friends swept it under the rug and stomped on all attempts to report on this being the cause of resupply issues.

USS George Washington Move a ‘National Security’ Risk for US: Ex-Admiral

Published
Aug 18, 2026 at 01:46 PM EDT

By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter

Moving the USS George Washington from the Pacific to the Middle East will pose a "national security risk" to the United States, a former commander on the aircraft carrier has said, as the final carrier deployed in Asia becomes the latest U.S. Navy ship to be sucked into the war with Iran.

The George Washington is expected to relieve the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln has found itself the focus of Democratic calls for investigations into reports of dwindling supplies and poor mental health among the roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines who have not set foot on land since December, which has put fresh attention on living conditions aboard U.S. Navy ships.

They also raised concerns that the U.S. Navy, while powerful, is overly stretched by the months of war in the Middle East and not prepared enough for a potential future confrontation with China.

Redeploying the Washington to the Gulf will leave the U.S. "with limited naval presence" for over a year and a half, because the carrier will return for a maintenance stint once it's finished in the Middle East, said retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a former commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 aboard the Washington who also headed operations for the U.S. Pacific Command.

"This is a national security risk as it sends a weak deterrence message to China and does not assure Americas allies and partners in the Pacific," Montgomery, who is now with the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told Newsweek.

The White House referred queries to the Pentagon, which doesn't comment on topics it says would compromise operational security. The U.S. Navy referred questions to the U.S. Pacific Command, which Newsweek has contacted for comment via email.

President Donald Trump and his administration have signaled to U.S. allies that their defense spending must surge so the U.S.'s forces can be freed up to meet the threat posed by China's burgeoning, sophisticated military.

The White House, while insisting it's focusing on the Indo-Pacific, has piled pressure on Japan, Taiwan and South Korea to invest in their militaries and has often rattled officials in their capital cities.

Trump abruptly scaled back planned U.S. military drills with South Korea on Sunday, just hours before wargames largely focused on how to tackle North Korea kicked off. The president said the exercises, which Pyongyang condemned, were "totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea while also blaming the eleventh-hour change on Seoul's unwillingness to join the U.S.'s war against Iran.

In May, Trump worried Taiwanese lawmakers by appearing to use weapons sales to Taipei, which are vital for Taiwan's armed forces, as a bargaining chip with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Beijing considers Taiwan, a self-governing island since 1949, to be a breakaway part of China and has pledged to bring the territory back under its control, including by using military force. The U.S. has long supported Taiwan with aid and weapons, but doesn't officially recognize Taipei because it adheres to the "One China" principle.

U.S. officials have said Xi wants China's armed forces to be able to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, even if war plans are not put into motion around that date.

China already has a formidable military force, including a nuclear arsenal, while the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) now has more ships than the U.S. Navy. Chinese ships and planes are outfitted with advanced, long-range missiles, and its nuclear program is under few restrictions.

Beijing "is quite happy with U.S. distraction, with the frustration of U.S. allies and partners," Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank, told the Associated Press.

The Washington's Journey

By Thursday, the Washington was moving through the Singapore Strait, according to the U.S. Navy.

An unnamed official speaking to the Associated Press said the ship was transiting the Strait of Malacca, just north of the Singapore Strait, late Thursday evening.

The Strait of Malacca joins the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. When the Lincoln was redirected toward the Middle East, it also passed through the Strait of Malacca toward the Indian Ocean.

The U.S. said the Washington was in Guam in mid-June and was tracked operating in the Philippine Sea by early July. The carrier arrived in Da Nang, central Vietnam, for another scheduled port call on July 30 and left just under a week later.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Sam Wilson.

Maj. Jason Watson, a U.S. airman arrested after calling for President Trump’s removal over the Iran War, said on Monday that he was willing to accept punishment for his dissent.

An active-duty officer can be punished for “disloyal statements” or “contemptuous words” against the commander in chief and high-ranking government officials, an offense that can lead to dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and a monthslong prison sentence.

“If I don’t put myself out there in a big way, then it’s just noise,” Major Watson said on Monday in an interview on CNN. “What is the highest price that I am willing to pay? And this is what I ultimately came up with.”

During the interview, Major Watson characterized the war in Iran as an act of American aggression and compared the U.S. military actions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said the president “chose” the war despite consternation and advice against it within his cabinet officials, calling it “unconstitutional.” Major Watson added that his public dissent was motivated by his “oath to the Constitution” and urged other Americans to do the same.

“You do not have to be somebody special to take action and reject this government,” he said on CNN.

The Department of Defense referred questions to the Air Force, which did not immediately respond.

In July, Major Watson was arrested at the U.S. Capitol after attending a news conference organized by the Removal Coalition, an activist group that has called for Mr. Trump’s impeachment, conviction and removal from office.

After the news conference that Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, also attended, the major stood on the Capitol steps holding signs calling for the president’s removal. The U.S. Capitol Police then arrested him for unlawfully protesting on the steps of the House.

The D.C. attorney general’s office decided not to prosecute Major Watson, but he was later taken into custody by the Air Force. Soon after his arrest, Troy E. Meink, the Air Force secretary, said on social media that his office would open an investigation into Major Watson’s conduct because it “takes allegations of misconduct seriously” including “any that might undermine the nonpartisan nature” of the military.

Mr. Watson said that he was not a member of the Democratic Party.

Military law, specifically Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, mandates punishment against “any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words” against the president, the vice president, Congress, civilian military leaders, any governor or state legislature. Article 134 punishes statements “made with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States” by members of the military.