{"id":46601,"date":"2023-10-30T18:34:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/30\/eisenhower-carrier-strike-group-enters-the-mediterranean\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:20:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:20:57","slug":"eisenhower-carrier-strike-group-enters-the-mediterranean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2023\/10\/30\/eisenhower-carrier-strike-group-enters-the-mediterranean\/","title":{"rendered":"Eisenhower carrier strike group enters the Mediterranean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its carrier strike group crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend, the Navy confirmed Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ike left Norfolk, Virginia, on Oct. 14, and was initially believed to be heading into a deployment in the waters of U.S. European Command to replace the carrier Gerald R. Ford and its strike group as part of a scheduled deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and fears that the conflict could engulf the region, has led to an extension of the Ford strike group\u2019s deployment, and that carrier remains on station in the eastern Mediterranean off Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The carrier and its strike group transited the Strait of Gibraltar on Saturday, according to the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Ike left Norfolk, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Oct. 21 that the carrier strike group would be heading to the Middle East, where a carrier has not operated in that U.S. Central Command area since the Afghanistan war ended in August 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin has also directed additional Air Force fighter squadrons to the region and has put thousands of ground troops on high alert for a short-notice deployment if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\t