The U.S. Navy over Memorial Day weekend said 7 of its 11 aircraft carriers are now underway after the coronavirus pandemic and maintenance issues hampered the fleet.
“Around the world, we are underway and ready,” the Navy said in a post featuring a graphic with a large “7” plastered over the photos of carriers Ronald Reagan, Gerald R. Ford, Abraham Lincoln, Nimitz, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Three aircraft carriers got underway this month, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which set sail on Thursday with only essential crew members aboard after being sidelined for nearly two months due to the coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 1,100 sailors, including one who died, according to Stars and Stripes.
As a warning to China during the coronavirus, the Navy has increased publicity over its operations in the South China Sea.
In the last month Beijing exploited the diminished presence of U.S. Navy carriers in the Pacific by twice sailing a carrier between two islands of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture and also apparently boosting its operations in the South China Sea by carrying out surveys within the waters of Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.
Among the carriers sidelined in the past year have been the USS George Washington, which was in overhaul, and the USS John C. Stennis, which was awaiting one. Both the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Carl Vinson were undergoing maintenance, while the Harry S. Truman had to delay departure due to an electrical malfunction.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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