li'l news items of note:
a local paper is reporting two east coast carrier wings are exercising night time landings for imminent deployments - that'd have to be the USS Truman and the USS Washington? or possibly USS Eisenhower??
I don't know where two of them would be going. One yes, the other should stay in reserve. And, why the emphasis on night time operations?
The Enterprise is in the Gulf and the Kitty Hawk is off Japan on fall deployment, but that still doesn't add up. Enterprise is not due to be replaced till the new year.
I suppose they could be sending a second east coast carrier for an overlap tour, but that'd only require one carrier.
In the Pacific the Lincoln is exercising to get going, but not in any hurry by the looks of it. The Reagan might be ready to go again soon, been back for some months, doesn't look to have been exercising though, maybe the Reagan is the west coast reserve now.
Combined with the unconfirmed Herald report on Diego Garcia B-2 bomber facilities being upgraded, and the request for B-2 mods to carry deep penetration conventional "bunker buster" bombs in the Iraq "supplemental", the sense is that the US is preparing for a possible spring strike - which does not mesh with rapid carrier deployment right now.
Something is up, maybe just contingency planning and counter shuffling.
Bush doesn't want to reach the end of his presidency, hear, "Time's up. Pens down," and then realize that he hasn't bombed Iran yet.
yeah, could be.
so one of the Atlantic carriers heading out is the Truman, going out on monday 5th nov.
if the reports are accurate, she'll be followed soon by either the Washington or Eisenhower, I'm guessing the Washington, based on nothing but numerology.