Walt, I just found this detailed commentary. It leaves exact locations up in the air, but gives a well-rounded picture. CBS also reports that the USS Kearsage Amphibious Landing Group has moved to the Eastern end of the Suez Canal. She has USMC Harrier jets embarked plus a Marine EU.
"Sending a clearer public message about the requirement to evacuate Americans from Egypt would have been advisable as well. Readers of DEBKAfile <http://www.debka.com/article/20646/> learned last week that the USS *Kearsarge* (LHD-3) amphibious group arrived in the Great Bitter Lake, at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal, and speculation was rampant as to what this meant. As outlined at the first link above, *Kearsarge* could be there for multiple reasons, but chief among them are (a) the potential need to evacuate large numbers of Americans with armed security provided by the Marine Corps, and (b) the fact that the *Kearsarge* group has been deployed since August 2010 and is due to return home – to the East coast, through the Suez Canal. It’s hard to say whether the question mark over Canal security was a factor in USS *Enterprise *(CVN-65) remaining in the Mediterranean during the last week, but it may have been. I doubt it was the primary factor: we probably wanted to have a carrier on-call in the Med once Egypt erupted. It’s not clear whether *Enterprise* has, in fact, gone through the Canal at this point, but the US Navy website now lists her as being attached to the US Fifth Fleet. That could mean either that she is sitting in Port Said on the Mediterranean side of Egypt, waiting to go through the Canal, or that she is in transit or has just completed it. *Enterprise* deployed<http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/enterprise-strike-group-deploys>from the East coast on 13 January and arrived in Lisbon, Portugal <http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=58273>for a port visit the day after the first major demonstration in Egypt on the 25th. After entering the Med<http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=58296>on 31 January, she conducted flight operations<http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/uss-enterprise-operating-in-the-mediterranean-sea-se-of-sicily/comment-page-1/#comment-11629>in the central Med. From there she transited to a port visit in Marmaris, Turkey<http://www.todayszaman.com/news-234882-uss-enterprise-docks-in-marmaris-bay.html>that started on 8 February. Her port visit in Marmaris<http://turkishnavy.blogspot.com/2011/02/enterprise-sailors-save-turkish-mans.html>was reportedly for four days. *Enterprise* has been scheduled to head to Southwest Asia – the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean area – where San Diego-based USS *Carl Vinson* (CVN-70) is on-station<http://www.centcom.mil/press-releases/uss-carl-vinson-rescues-sailor-who-went-overboard>. USS *Abraham Lincoln* (CVN-72), which has been deployed since September, has concluded operations <http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=58575>there and is probably heading for home port in Bremerton, Washington (no doubt with stops for R&R along the way). All of these forces are on scheduled deployments. But there is wild and largely inaccurate speculation about them, and there are no statements from the Obama administration to clarify what their presence means wherever they happen to show up. Providing this clarification is not a matter of chasing around after gray-hull sightings, offering explanations; it should be done by separate political statements of US interests. Because Egypt’s government is in flux – i.e., an important geopolitical condition has changed – US interests and policy priorities need stating. No reference at all need be made to military forces. And when the questions about them start to come, the administration can say, “Well, we don’t talk about those specifics. I’ve stated what our concerns are. I’m confident we can address any contingencies that might crop up, but there’s nothing to be specific about right now. We’ll work with Egypt to ensure that the Canal stays open and safe and that the peace accord in the Sinai is honored.” If the *Kearsarge* group, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked, has been supporting evacuation operations, a public commendation would be nice." Ron Rogers
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