NORFOLK, Va. — The massive USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrived back at its Virginia home base Saturday, concluding a marathon 11-month mission that marked the longest deployment since the Vietnam conflict and included supporting military action against Iran and operations that led to Nicolás Maduro’s capture during his time as Venezuela’s leader.
The cutting-edge warship, accompanied by two destroyer vessels, pulled into Naval Station Norfolk where approximately 5,000 crew members eagerly awaited reunions with loved ones they hadn’t seen since departing in June. The lengthy mission included not only military engagements across multiple regions but also dealt with an onboard fire unrelated to combat that displaced hundreds of sailors from their sleeping quarters and required extensive repairs while docked at the Greek island of Crete.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the homecoming ceremony for the returning fleet, which featured the destroyer USS Bainbridge among the vessels.
Speaking to the Bainbridge crew, Hegseth praised their performance as a “job well done.”
“You didn’t just accomplish a mission, you made history,” Hegseth said on the destroyer’s deck. “You made a nation proud.”
Hegseth delivered similar remarks to personnel aboard the USS Mahan destroyer and the Ford carrier.
The Ford’s 326-day ocean mission represents the longest aircraft carrier deployment in five decades, surpassing previous post-Vietnam records according to U.S. Naval Institute News, published by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute. Only two Vietnam-era missions exceeded this duration: the USS Midway’s 332-day deployment in 1973 and the USS Coral Sea’s 329-day mission in 1965.
The extended deployment duration has sparked concerns about the effects on military personnel spending such prolonged periods away from their families, as well as the additional wear on the vessel and its systems beyond the damage from the fire that originated in the carrier’s laundry facilities.
The Ford initially departed Virginia waters in June bound for the Mediterranean Sea, but was redirected to Caribbean waters in October as part of the most significant naval presence in that region in decades.
The aircraft carrier participated in January military actions that resulted in Maduro’s capture. Subsequently, the vessel saw additional combat duty when redirected toward the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran. The Ford engaged in initial phases of the Iran conflict while positioned in the Mediterranean before transiting through the Suez Canal and entering the Red Sea in early March.
For comparison, the USS Nimitz crew technically spent 341 days away from home during 2020 and 2021, though this total included extended quarantine periods on U.S. soil designed to limit COVID-19 transmission.
