USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its escort ships are operating in the Atlantic Ocean as they sail towards the Strait of Gibraltar, bound for the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
A Navy official confirmed the movement to USNI News on Tuesday, stating that the carrier strike group is crossing the Atlantic after departing the Caribbean Sea.
The carrier is heading to the Middle East to join the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Arabian Sea.
Ford has been operating in the Caribbean Sea since mid-November, when the United States increased naval presence in the region ahead of a January raid on former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in downtown Caracas.
The carrier deployed from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in June and its mission has since been extended to include operations in the Middle East.
If the ship stays deployed until mid-April, it would pass the 294-day
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