NATO: Is the US military presence in Europe much or less?

The reality is that America’s military focus has already shifted east to the Indo-Pacific region and the rise of China.

The Pentagon calls China the biggest security threat. China now has a larger navy than the United States. Every two years he builds a fleet the size of the entire Royal Navy.

Sailors and pilots aboard the aircraft carrier understand that there is also a turn to the east.

Commander Bernie Lutz spent much of his naval career flying F-18s from a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific and the Middle East.

He understands why they are now sailing in European waters. “There’s a lot going on,” he says.

But he adds: “I think the Pacific theater is a larger, more comprehensive long-term goal.”

Like the rest of the carrier’s 5,000-strong crew, he had not yet been told where they would sail next, but it was widely reported that the USS Harry S. Truman would soon depart for the Middle East.

This region will also remain a challenge for any next president.

Capt. Dave Snowden says he’s happy to fly the banner of de-escalation or deterrence, or even go into a danger zone – wherever the carrier sends him.

But the lack of serious foreign policy debate in the election reflects a reluctance to become directly involved in new wars.

America will continue to be the world’s preeminent military power.

The question is how the next president will use this.