Two major piece of American military hardware that have been stationed in the Middle East have left the region. The USS George H.W. Bush, which had been in the Middle East since April, and the Delbert D. Black guided-missile destroyer, which had been in the Middle East since the beginning of this year, are now both in Thailand for port visits. The USS George Washington is now the sole remaining U.S. aircraft carrier in the Middle East. It is currently in the Arabian Sea and arrived in the Middle East in August to replace the USS Abrham Lincoln which will arrive back to its home port of San Diego this week. Attached is a map of the current locations of U.S. military ships in the Middle East - notably, it includes three guided-missile destroyers in the Red Sea. Right now about 17 U.S. military ships are in the Middle East in total- slightly less than the amount of ships that have remained there since the days leading up to the war with Iran eight months ago. The USS George H.W. Bush is expected to sail back to the Middle East in the next few weeks.