1) We are merely conducting an excercise on how we can deploy our naval assets to different parts of the globe. Hence the Surge '04 excercise.
2) We are planning a major military strike against a nation with more teeth than Iraq. Maybe N.Korea. And why this scenario? Well, 2 weeks ago the Fed increased the M-3 money supply by 46.8 billion dollars one and a half weeks ago. Now, that is seriously 'interesting' because in the last 5 weeks the M-3 supply has gone up by over 150 billion bucks. This has never happened before, unless we were facing a crisis situation. And the funny thing is it has been largely under-reported. This could be because the Fed is trying to buffer us in case we suffer a terrorist attack, or maybe because we are going to war.
3) China is also having a major naval excercise soon. Maybe this Summer surge 04 thing is to show the Chinese that even with what is going on in Iraq we can be able to send enough power around the globe ....definitely more than enough to help out Taiwan. (Although if that is the case it would be a bluff ...I do not believe the public would support American lives defending Taiwanese ones, but that is another story). Hence we could be showing China .....and to another extent North Korea, that we still have exceedingly sharp teeth and an mind-bogglingly potent bite.
4) A natural disaster such as an asteroid et al strike. There has been some talk among the conspiracy kooks of a meteorite strike later this month. That could explain the naval movements to sea (a tsunami would cause only a ripple in deep sea, but a huge tidal wave in coastal areas, thus the safest place for ships would be out to sea ...thus explaining 10 carrier groups at sea ...as well as the British, Chinese and Russian fleets). And it would also explain the M-3 supply increase. But this is an extreme scenario.
5) Maybe it is to keep Pentagon's grabbing hands away from our fleet. To show that we are 'using' the ships and need them. To show they are not just sitting and atrophying.
6)Deploy assets away from base to blunt potential terrorist attacks?