The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) has completed its Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), amid reports that the group may soon deploy to the Middle East.
The exercise, completed on 5 March 2026, involved sailors, ships, squadrons and command staff, assessing their abilities in air, surface, subsurface and cyber warfare through a series of complex scenarios over several weeks.
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These drills tested command and control, logistics and combat coordination across all domains.
The exercise gathers all parts of a carrier strike group to train together in different types of scenarios, including live and virtual events.
This training fully combines squadrons and ships and leads to CSG 4 deployment certification recommendations for US Fleet Forces Command.
Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW-7), the primary offensive air and strike component for the GHWBCSG, played a central role in the training. It includes nine squadrons and about 2,400 personnel.
The wing logged 1,586 sorties and achieved 693 arrested landings during daytime and 682 at night over a period of 28 days.
Carrier Strike Group 10 commander rear admiral Alexis Walker said: “COMPTUEX is the certification event for the strike group to let us know we are ready for major combat operations around the world. It brings the entire strike group team together and enables us to operate as we would when we’re forward deployed.”
The strike group operated alongside allied forces during COMPTUEX to reinforce interoperability with Nato partners.
CVW-7 commander captain Martin Fentress Jr. said: “Almost every deployment we operate with our Nato allies. Interoperability is a constant wherever we go.”
Completion of COMPTUEX takes place as media outlets report a possible third US aircraft carrier deploying to the region under Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Photos released by the American military showed, USS Gerald R. Ford moving through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea while USS Abraham Lincoln remains stationed in the Arabian Sea for related operations.
Fentress said: “Carrier Airwing 7 stands ready today to deploy if called upon. We have demonstrated through each of the training evolutions that not only are we trained mentally to overcome any issue, but that we also have the stamina physically and that our machines are ready.”
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