5,100 Sailors, One Warm Island: Phuket Welcomes the USS George H.W. Bush Crew Ashore

On Sunday morning, 4 October 2026, the first small boats of the day bumped against the docks at Phuket Deep Sea Port, and 5,100 visitors began arriving the loveliest way possible: by sea, in shifts, with cameras already out [ref:1][ref:2]. They came from the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) and the destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), which dropped anchor off the island that morning for a six-day port visit — and for the carrier's crew, this is the first port call since the ship left its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, back in March [ref:1][ref:3].

Six months at sea, and the first dry land under their boots is Phuket. It is hard to imagine a better choice.

A floating city, meeting an island

The numbers alone make you smile. The carrier brings roughly 4,800 personnel, and the destroyer about 320 more — more than 5,100 people in total, arriving ashore through the deep-sea port from 4 to 9 October [ref:2]. Some were spotted coming ashore by boat in the first days, trading the grey flight deck for the island's green hills [ref:2].

The ship that carried them here is a wonder in itself. USS George H.W. Bush is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 10, a family of ships that includes Carrier Air Wing 7 with nine embarked aviation squadrons, the destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87), and Destroyer Squadron 22 with the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Ross and USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) [ref:1]. A small city, with its own airfield — anchored politely offshore so the island can welcome it a boatload at a time.

Football, temples and food stalls: the itinerary of a happy sailor

What does a sailor do with freedom ashore in Phuket? The official programme reads like a holiday wish list. Sightseeing tours, visits to meet residents, chances to learn Thai history and culture, and community relations events around the island [ref:1][ref:2].

The sweetest fixture on the schedule may be the friendly football match between the American sailors and a Thai side, organised by the carrier's morale, welfare and recreation committee [ref:1]. Nobody keeps a trophy list for games like this — the point is the handshake at the end.

For the island's restaurants, beach clubs, taxi drivers and night markets, the visit is a gentle gift of timing, too. When the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln called at Laem Chabang in September with about 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard, a local mayor estimated that each visiting service member might spend up to 3,000 baht a day on shore [ref:2]. Multiply that spirit across a six-day stay in Phuket, ahead of high season, and whole neighbourhoods feel the warmth.

America's oldest friend in Asia

There is a reason these visits keep coming, and it is bigger than any single ship. The US Embassy notes that Thailand is America's oldest partner in Asia and its only treaty ally in mainland Southeast Asia — a friendship stitched together by decades of exercises like Cobra Gold and by port visits exactly like this one [ref:1].

Rear Adm. Todd F. Cimicata, commander of Carrier Strike Group 10, put it plainly: "Thailand is one of America's oldest friends anywhere in the world, which is why it is such a privilege to visit Phuket and provide our Sailors an opportunity to experience this unique and amazing culture" [ref:1]. The carrier's commanding officer, Capt. Justin T. Issler, added that his crew was honoured to experience Thai culture and engage with local communities [ref:1].

This is the second carrier port call in Thailand in just two months — the kind of rhythm old friends fall into [ref:3].

A week to say welcome

By Friday, 9 October, the boats will run in reverse, and the floating city will slip back over the horizon [ref:2]. What stays behind is the simpler thing these visits are really about: a week in which an Andaman island did what it does best — fed its guests well, played football with them, showed them its temples and its beaches, and sent 5,100 people home with the word Phuket attached to a very good memory.

If you are on the island this week, keep an eye out around the port road and the old town. You may spot a group of sailors in white, first landfall in half a year, learning to say "sawasdee" — and finding, to their delight, that everyone already smiles back.