I would like to clarify the reports circulating over the last few hours regarding the deployment of a third aircraft carrier to the CENTCOM area. What I can say with certainty is that the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island are en route to the Middle East from San Diego, and both are expected to arrive in the Indian Ocean around mid-October. However, this is merely a temporary buildup, likely intended to pressure Iran into accepting an agreement around the time of the midterm elections, a strategy I do not believe will succeed. In any case, the U.S. cannot sustain three separate carrier strike groups plus two amphibious groups simultaneously in the same ocean, indeed, it is almost certain that the USS Theodore Roosevelt will replace the USS George Washington (which will return to the PACOM area), while the USS Makin Island will replace the USS Boxer. The primary reason the U.S. Navy cannot possibly sustain all these ships and troops at once is that the 5th Fleet base in Manama, Bahrain, is no longer operational, the only remaining operational refueling point in the region is the base at Diego Garcia, however, given its distance from the operational zone of the naval blockade against Iran, it is highly inconvenient and inefficient.