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4h ago

USS Gerald R. Ford Returns to Norfolk After Record 11-Month Deployment

The homecoming caps cross-theater combat operations, raising questions about crew welfare, repairs, carrier availability.

Sailors conduct routine operations on the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford while underway in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, on March 22, 2026.
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Overview

  • The carrier and its escorts USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan pulled into Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday after 326 days at sea, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the pier to welcome the crews.
  • The strike group shifted from Europe to the Caribbean for Operations Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve tied to Nicolás Maduro’s January capture, then redeployed in February to support Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
  • A noncombat fire on March 12 in the main laundry burned for about 30 hours, injured sailors, displaced roughly 600 from berthing, and forced repairs in Souda Bay, Crete, and later Split, Croatia, before the ship returned to operations in early April.
  • Carrier Air Wing 8 recorded more than 11,800 catapult launches and over 5,500 flight hours, and roughly 4,500 to 5,000 sailors reunited with families after air wing squadrons flew home earlier in the week.
  • Navy leaders and analysts warn the record cruise delayed planned maintenance, could strain shipyards and retention, and should not set a new norm for carrier deployments.