[riverdawg]

Last time I checked, we had ten carrier groups. What are the other nine doing?

[Freeport]

A good source fo information, and the best I’ve found outside the wire is at Global Security:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/where.htm

[USAF80]

Two are at sea, the rest homeport.

[wiley]

During the Carter years there were only enough supplies to support one carrier group in the Western Pacific/Indian Ocean in addition to the Midway. The carrier group being relieved would cross-deck its supplies to the incoming carrier and was effectively useless on its way back to the US, unless, in a crisis, the war reserve was released.

Basically there was enough money to support only four deployed carrier groups, two in Westpac, and two in the Med.

I don’t know the current situation, but perhaps it’s getting that way again.

(Then came Reagan....)