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The U.S. Navy is preparing to deploy a third carrier strike group to the Middle East near Iran in the coming weeks, according to a report by Fox News, with the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) and her Carrier Strike Group having now completing their Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), expected to depart from Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia sometime before the end of March for a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet Area-of-Responsibility.
However, due to the ongoing hostilities with Iran, it is not known if she will relieve the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), who entered the Red Sea on Thursday and has been deployed now for nearly 11-months, or if she will arrive to further reinforce the U.S. Navy in the Middle East.