Something’s wrong with this article.
It says that the Nimitz was recalled from the Persian Gulf, moved through Suez into the Red Sea and was heading home.
From the Persian Gulf you have to go THROUGH the Red Sea to get to Suez.
And Nimitz is a Pacific-based carrier. If she’s heading home she’ll head East through the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Won’t go anywhere near the Red Sea.
If the story mixed up the Persian Gulf with the Med, then it makes sense. She moved from the Med through Suez into the Red Sea on her way home. Possibly from a Persian Gulf deployment that saw her moved into the Med? Possibly in anticipation of the strikes on Syria that didn’t happen?
Ok, checked on
where the carriers are
Looks like there are three out right now. Nimitz, on her way home. Truman, just took up station in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Washington, WestPac cruise out of Japan.
Also looks like we're short a couple decks. Enterprise is out of the rotation, inactivated and being defueled. Roosevelt isn't back to full operational capability yet following her mid-life refueling. Other decks under overhaul or conducting workups/acting as surge capacity.
In all likelihood we're in the same position that we were in when the attack on Libya started: too few decks to keep one in the Med. So there's probably an LHD out there filling in with a Harrier-based light-strike capability.