The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and its strike group dropped anchor in Guam on March 24 for a scheduled port visit before joining the escalating U.S. campaign to combat the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, which includes seven vessels in total, will soon travel to the Red Sea and join the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman participated in high-profile airstrikes against the Houthis earlier this month.
“Guam is strategically important to the region and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Carrier Strike Group Commander Rear Adm. Michael Wosje. “Our port visit here is part of our routine presence in the 7th Fleet area of operations, and allows us to recharge and resupply to remain operationally ready for any mission.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has ratcheted up attacks against the Iran-backed militant group, which has hijacked commercial ships, launched missile and drone attacks against U.S. vessels — including the Harry S. Truman — and blocked international shipping routes in the area since November 2023.
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U.S. airstrikes, which only targeted launch sites during former President Joe Biden’s administration, are now aimed at specific Houthi military personnel, as well as neighborhoods, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The U.S. struck 30 Houthi targets in Yemen over a busy two-day stretch from March 15 to March 17. Attack plans for the series of airstrikes were inadvertently shared with a journalist from The Atlantic several hours before the first bombs dropped. Officials at the time said the campaign could go on for weeks.
The Houthis vowed retaliation for the attack, which the Houthi health ministry said killed 53, but their attempts at targeting the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in the direct aftermath of the March 15 airstrikes were unsuccessful, according to several reports.
The Houthis, who often use the social media platform X to report alleged military operations, claimed responsibility for another failed attack against the Harry S. Truman early Wednesday morning local time, according to The Jerusalem Post, which included a statement from a Houthi military spokesman.
The U.S. Defense Department has yet to validate those claims.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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