Overview
- The carrier left the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic this week on its return toward Norfolk, according to ship watchers, with the Navy yet to formally confirm the transit.
- Ford’s deployment has stretched to nearly 11 months and set a modern post–Vietnam record, reaching day 317 and trailing only two Vietnam-era cruises in length.
- A March 12 fire in the main laundry damaged berthing, injured three sailors and displaced about 600 crew, prompting repairs in Souda Bay, Crete, and a resupply stop in Split, Croatia.
- Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao visited the ship at sea on May 5, arriving by C-2A Greyhound while the carrier operated in the Mediterranean.
- The strike group operated across the eastern Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Red Sea, and the extended tour reflects a broader pattern of longer East Coast carrier deployments that could complicate maintenance scheduling.