The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) steams ahead of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group during an integration exercise in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, September 28, 2025.(U.S. Navy)

“If they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots,” President Donald Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on January 8, “we're going to hit them very hard.”

Here’s where America’s carrier strike groups were positioned on January 8:

Might not be ideal to have zero carrier groups in the Gulf region. pic.twitter.com/ZgKPhGRhcv

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) January 8, 2026

Coming off extended deployments or in need of maintenance, much of America’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are not in the field. Several are (understandably and desirably) positioned in the Western Pacific, but a significant amount of U.S. firepower is still ...

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