“Force protection must always remain our highest priority, and I have complete confidence in the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan. However, the reported redeployment of the Reagan from Indo-Pacific Command to Central Command underscores that we are asking the military to do too much with too little,” Inhofe wrote in a statement provided to American Military News. “There are no other carriers available, and the Ford remains far behind schedule. The Secretary of Defense should not have to choose between providing force protection and keeping an aircraft carrier in the priority theater.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the USS Ronald Reagan is the only aircraft carrier currently in the Asia-Pacific region, but officials said the ship will leave its post in Yokosuka, Japan, and travel to Afghanistan in early summer, where it will operate for at least four months.
Defense officials added that the Asia-Pacific region will not have a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier for a period of time while the USS Ronald Reagan is in the...