Overview
- Carrier Air Wing 8, which flew off the carrier Monday, returned to bases at NAS Oceana and Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, NAS Jacksonville in Florida, and NAS Whidbey Island in Washington after an 11‑month cruise.
- The deployment set the longest post‑Vietnam mark for a U.S. carrier with roughly 322–323 days at sea, as the strike group operated across three combatant commands in support of Operations Epic Fury, Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve.
- Aircrews logged more than 11,500 catapult launches and over 5,500 flight hours for Epic Fury using the Ford’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear.
- The Navy used an aerial fly‑off to bring aircraft straight to their home stations because carriers do not launch or recover jets in port, which also cleared hangar space to stage gear for offload.
- The flagship is sailing toward Norfolk and will enter maintenance after a March laundry‑room fire that injured two sailors and forced repairs in Crete, as families greeted returning squadron members this week at their home fields.