According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States is preparing to dispatch the aircraft carrier George Washington to the Middle East to replace the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln as part of a pre-planned carrier rotation.

The Lincoln has been operating for more than 250 days and, over the past 200 days, has not made a port call, which is considered a record for the most consecutive days at sea. The unusually long deployment of the carrier with few stops in ports has prompted lawmakers to raise concerns about the degradation of living conditions and crew welfare.

Officials emphasized that the George Washington carrier rotation had been planned before these concerns emerged.