I remain unconvinced that these things are anything more but lumbering behemoths in the Drone War. They are what Battleships were to the WWII theatre, powerful but vulnerable and outdated by new developments, (ironically 'Aircraft Carriers')
Thinking about how much of the Russian Navy Ukraine has taken out without any aircraft carriers or missile cruisers
Also, they are fucking expensive.
Japan Detects New Chinese Naval Drills in Pacific Rim
US Deployments Bolster Middle East Military Presence
In a historic move, the US has amassed an unprecedented show of force in the Middle East, with not one, not two, but three aircraft carriers operating simultaneously for the first time in decades. The formidable fleet, comprising over 200 aircraft and 15,000 Sailors and Marines, is a powerful display of naval might.
#UsMilitaryDeployments #MiddleEast #NationalSecurity #Centcom #AircraftCarriers
The Souvenir I Brought Home From an Aircraft Carrier
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — April 22, 2026
Parents visiting their kids in the Navy usually expect to come home with a few souvenirs.
A baseball cap.
A T-shirt.
Maybe a coffee mug with an anchor on it.
I came home with a cold that could have knocked over a mule.
Years ago, I visited my son while he was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65). The Enterprise, for those keeping score at home, was one of the most famous ships the U.S. Navy ever built — a nuclear-powered floating airport that carried thousands of sailors and a full air wing of aircraft.
It was basically a small city that happened to float.
And like any city, it had its own germs.
The Floating Petri Dish Theory
At the time, I didn’t know that.
All I knew was that a few days after visiting the ship, while driving back toward Texas, I started feeling like I had been run over by a truck that then backed up to make sure the job was done properly.
Fever.
Chills.
Exhaustion.
The kind of sick where you can’t decide if you should lie down, sit down, or just apologize to everyone around you for still being alive.
I spent about a week like that.
Later on, my son explained what had probably happened.
Aircraft carriers are essentially floating mixing bowls of people from all over the United States. When you pack four or five thousand sailors into one ship—sleeping, eating, working, and breathing the same recycled air—you end up with a pretty impressive collection of ordinary viruses circulating around.
Nothing exotic.
Just every flavor of the common cold known to modern science.
Regional Viruses Are a Thing
Here’s the part most civilians never think about.
Viruses circulate differently in different parts of the country. People in Texas get exposed to slightly different strains than people in Ohio or California. Your immune system gets used to the local neighborhood germs.
Then suddenly you walk into a floating city full of people from everywhere else.
Congratulations.
Your immune system has just been introduced to a nationwide convention of rhinoviruses.
Nobody Gets Out Clean
The funny part is that nobody on the ship is really immune to the process either.
A sailor might be used to the viruses circulating around their hometown, but once they arrive on the carrier they are suddenly sharing breathing space with thousands of other people carrying different strains.
It becomes a sort of biological potluck dinner where everyone brings something slightly different to the table.
Sometimes what they bring is a cold.
The Carrier Is Gone, But the Lesson Remains
The Enterprise itself has since been retired. After more than half a century of service, the old ship was decommissioned in 2017 and is slowly being dismantled.
But the lesson remains.
If you ever visit a large military ship, enjoy the tour. Admire the engineering. Thank the sailors.
Just remember that when you step aboard a floating city with thousands of people from all over the country, you are briefly entering their microbial ecosystem.
And sometimes that ecosystem sends you home with a parting gift.
Mine lasted about a week.
Frankly, I would have preferred the coffee mug.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#aircraftCarriers #humanInterest #militaryFamilies #militaryLife #navalHistory #respiratoryViruses #USSEnterpriseCVN65
“In October 1987, I transited the #StraitOfHormuz on the bridge of the frigate #HMSAndromeda. We were watched from less than a mile away by an Iranian warship as Ian Stewart, the armed forces minister of the day, decried them as “pirates”.
Later that day, we transferred on to one of the four counter-measures vessels that had been dispatched to clear the waters off #Dubai of Iranian mines. At that time, the #ArmillaPatrol consisted of four or five #destroyers or #frigates, four of those minehunters and three or four support vessels.
Today there are no Royal Navy ships in the #Gulf, after its #Bahrain based squadron was run down to save money and allow sailors to be deployed elsewhere. The last of the #minehunters returned to #Britain in January.
Back in 1987, at the time of my visit to the Gulf, the #RoyalNavy had 50 #destroyers and frigates, 21 #submarines and three #AircraftCarriers. Today it has 13 of those large surface ships, nine subs and two carriers.”
Rule Britannia, no more. ⚓️
<https://thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/strait-hormuz-reopen-royal-navy-sfphbgns5> (paywall) / <https://archive.md/pEJGJ>
An excellent #oped on the decline of American power exemplified by the various US doctrines used since the mid 90’s to engage in the Middle East. The names of former presidents #Bush on the current #aircraftcarriers in or approaching the Gulf, are the metaphors for the failure of US doctrine for their aggression in the ME region. US imperialist hegemony is slipping away fast, regardless the amount of Bush carriers that are now deployed. #IranWar #USPolitics #TrumpsWar
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260403-the-carrier-of-creative-chaos/
🗨️ This video should be watched carefully by anyone who denies that #germany plays the central role in military supply; and thus in supporting ISR #warcrimes
If Germany were to refuse access to its #airspace, the #US -initiated #war against the #MiddleEast would be immediately halted
Diverting cargo planes is difficult, establishing a new #airbase not a quick fix, it would require a switch to #aircraftcarriers
#war #ihl #law #genocide #iran #berlin
Video: iE
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