The truth is that America’s military focus is already shifting eastward, towards the Indo-Pacific region and the rise of China.

The Pentagon defines China as the biggest security problem. China now has a larger navy than the United States. It builds a fleet the size of the entire Royal Navy every two years.

The sailors and pilots on board are also aware that there is a turn to the east.

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

Now he understands why they sail in European waters. “There’s a lot going on,” he says.

But he adds: “I think the Pacific theater is the bigger, overarching long-term goal.”

Like the rest of the carrier’s 5,000-person crew, he has yet to be told where they will go next; however, it was widely reported that the USS Harry S Truman would soon be heading to the Middle East.

That region, too, will continue to be a challenge no matter who the next president is.

Captain Dave Snowden says he’s happy to fly the flag of de-escalation or deterrence wherever the ship is sent, or even sail into harm’s way.

But the absence of a serious foreign policy debate in the elections reflects a reluctance to become directly involved in more wars.

America will still be the world’s foremost military power.

The question is how the next president will use it.