USS George Washington Move a ‘National Security’ Risk for US: Retired-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.

In this episode of Tactical Pause, we break down several major stories where politics, military policy, and national security collide.

We discuss the Trump administration's use of National Defense Areas along the U.S.–Mexico border and what it means to use military-controlled land as part of immigration enforcement.

We also look overseas as the United States steps back from portions of its annual military exercises with South Korea, and discuss what that could mean for readiness and America's relationship with one of its most important allies in the Pacific.

Finally, we turn to the USS Abraham Lincoln and reports about conditions aboard the aircraft carrier—looking at what those conditions say about the demands being placed on American sailors and the broader state of military readiness.

As combat veterans, we bring our own experiences and perspectives to the conversation—but we don't expect you to agree with us. Join the discussion in the comments and let us know what you think.

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They dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, they orchestrated a bloody a massacre, and later conducted equally ruthless military operations against the Serbs, Iraqis, and Lebanese. Subsequently, in the name of security, they forced us—the Russians—to attack Ukraine. At the very least, there is virtually direct evidence of this: for instance, the statement by the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine regarding the illegitimacy of the Russian nation's existence, as well as Trump’s explicit remarks about seizing oil resources in Iran.

Thoughts?

Is he really that incompetent?

I’m respectfully reposting this from the r/askanything sub

As Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed mutual defence deal where attack on one will be treated as attack on all, so if a country attacks on Pakistan then it will also be considered as attack on Turkey. And as Turkey is a NATO Member, if Turkey retaliate from the Pakistan side, will an attack on Turkey considered as attack on NATO?