Overview
- USS Gerald R. Ford, which returned to Norfolk on Saturday, closed an approximately 11‑month cruise spanning the Caribbean, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Red Sea.
- Carrier Strike Group 12 received the Presidential Unit Citation at the pier, the highest U.S. unit award for extraordinary heroism.
- The crew covered 57,713 nautical miles and completed 23 resupplies at sea, while Carrier Air Wing 8 recorded about 5,760 flight hours and more than 12,200 launches.
- During Red Sea operations, a laundry-space fire injured two sailors, prompting resupply and repairs at Souda Bay, Greece, and Split, Croatia.
- Even with Ford home, U.S. Central Command keeps two carrier groups and an amphibious group on station enforcing a blockade that has redirected 81 commercial vessels and disabled four, as three other U.S. carriers returned to their homeports last week.