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

The carrier’s return triggers a long maintenance stretch that could upend the Navy’s repair schedule.

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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NORFOLK, VIRGINIA - MAY 16: Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford arrives at Naval Station Norfolk on May 16, 2026 in Norfolk, Virginia. Nearly 4,500 sailors of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group returned to Naval Station Norfolk after an 11-month deployment. (Photo by Mike Kropf/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The USS Gerald R. Ford, which docked Saturday in Norfolk, capped a 326-day deployment that set the longest post-Vietnam record for a U.S. aircraft carrier.
  • Originally bound for Europe after departing June 24, 2025, the ship was rerouted to the Caribbean for Operations Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve tied to the January capture of Nicolás Maduro, then sent to support Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
  • A noncombat fire on March 12 in a laundry space burned through ventilation, injured several sailors, displaced about 600 from their bunks, and took roughly 30 hours to extinguish before repairs in Souda Bay, Crete, and a stop in Split, Croatia.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined families on the pier to welcome the carrier and its escorts USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan after what Navy leaders called an extraordinary performance across three theaters.
  • Carriers typically deploy for about seven months, but this tour neared eleven, prompting family complaints about food shortages, slow mail, and stress, and raising concerns among analysts about follow-on repairs, shipyard backlogs, and sailor retention.