{"id":50930,"date":"2026-05-15T18:04:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T18:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/15\/uss-gerald-r-ford-to-return-from-11-month-deployment-on-saturday\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:29:02","slug":"uss-gerald-r-ford-to-return-from-11-month-deployment-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2026\/05\/15\/uss-gerald-r-ford-to-return-from-11-month-deployment-on-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"USS Gerald R. Ford to return from 11-month deployment on Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The world\u2019s largest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/05\/15\/future-aircraft-carrier-doris-miller-delayed-until-2034\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/05\/15\/future-aircraft-carrier-doris-miller-delayed-until-2034\/\">aircraft carrier<\/a> is finally returning home after etching its name into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/2026\/05\/14\/lawmakers-push-for-domestic-shipbuilding-fixes-as-us-navy-explores-overseas-options\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/2026\/05\/14\/lawmakers-push-for-domestic-shipbuilding-fixes-as-us-navy-explores-overseas-options\/\">Navy<\/a> history books by completing the longest post-Vietnam deployment by a carrier, the service\u2019s top officer confirmed Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/05\/13\/us-navy-could-run-out-of-money-by-july-top-officer-warns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/05\/13\/us-navy-could-run-out-of-money-by-july-top-officer-warns\/\">Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle<\/a> announced during a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the USS Gerald R. Ford will arrive at its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, this weekend after more than 320 days at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to give our heroes a welcome back on Saturday and it\u2019s just an extraordinary ship, extraordinary crew, an extraordinary strike group,\u201d Caudle said. \u201cAnd the sailors, I could not be more proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group most recently operated in the Middle East in support of U.S. Central Command and Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Before that, the ship participated in operations for Operation Southern Spear and Operation Absolute Resolve in the Caribbean Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Personnel from Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group\u2019s Carrier Air Wing 8 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/13\/uss-gerald-r-ford-air-wing-returns-home-after-11-months\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">returned<\/a> to their home stations on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2026\/05\/15\/future-aircraft-carrier-doris-miller-delayed-until-2034\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5596973.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Future aircraft carrier Doris Miller delayed until 2034<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A Navy official said the delay was the result of construction delays with another Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS Enterprise.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ford began its most recent deployment on June 24, 2025, when it left Virginia for a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The carrier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/04\/15\/uss-gerald-r-ford-breaks-record-for-longest-post-vietnam-deployment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">broke<\/a> the record for longest post-Vietnam War deployment on April 15, when it surpassed the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln\u2019s 2020 deployment of 295 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The carrier USS Nimitz was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2021\/03\/28\/nimitz-sailor-recounts-341-days-at-sea-during-pandemic\/#:~:text=GRAND%20JUNCTION,%20Colo.,d%20have%20leaks%20of%20emotion.%E2%80%9D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">at sea<\/a> for a record 341 days in 2020 and 2021, but part of that deployment saw the ship stationed ashore while it dealt with quarantine periods to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The carrier was forward-deployed in support of American security interests for only 263 days when factoring in isolating periods, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2026\/02\/17\/carrier-uss-gerald-r-ford-sailing-in-the-atlantic-headed-for-strait-of-gibraltar#:~:text=The%20carrier%20was%20deployed%20for%20national%20tasking,station%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20was%20last\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">according<\/a> to USNI News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The USS Midway still holds the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/browse-by-topic\/ships\/aircraft-carriers\/uss-midway.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">record<\/a> for longest carrier deployment, having spent 332 days at sea during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ford\u2019s extended deployment, meanwhile, was not without its hiccups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On March 12, the Ford experienced a non-combat fire in its main laundry room, injuring two sailors and sending another off the ship for further medical evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/03\/17\/sailors-aboard-uss-gerald-r-ford-reportedly-lost-their-beds-amid-fire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">600<\/a> service members lost access to their racks after some berthing compartments were tainted by the flames, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/16\/us\/politics\/uss-ford-fire-iran-venezuela.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">according<\/a> to The New York Times. Sailors reportedly slept on floors and tables in the aftermath of the fire, which took 30 hours to put out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/03\/17\/us-carrier-ford-to-go-to-port-temporarily-after-fire\/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20officials%20said,for%20injuries,%20the%20official%20said.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">reported<\/a> that about 100 sleeping berths were affected by the fire, which resulted in nearly 200 sailors needing treatment for smoke-related injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ford <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c6f.navy.mil\/Press-Room\/News\/Article\/4441022\/uss-gerald-r-ford-arrives-in-souda-bay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.c6f.navy.mil\/Press-Room\/News\/Article\/4441022\/uss-gerald-r-ford-arrives-in-souda-bay\/\">arrived<\/a> in Souda Bay, Greece, on March 23 for maintenance, then traveled to Split, Croatia, for further repairs before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/04\/02\/uss-gerald-r-ford-returns-to-see-after-brief-stop-in-croatia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2026\/04\/02\/uss-gerald-r-ford-returns-to-see-after-brief-stop-in-croatia\/\">returning<\/a> to sea on April 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The carrier also faced hefty plumbing issues that affected nearly 650 toilets on board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ford personnel have called for assistance with the poorly performing toilets 42 times since 2023, with 32 calls coming in 2025 alone, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/01\/17\/nx-s1-5680167\/major-plumbing-headache-haunts-13-billion-u-s-carrier-off-the-coast-of-venezuela\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">NPR reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world\u2019s largest aircraft carrier is finally returning home after etching its name into Navy history books. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3478],"class_list":["post-50930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-naval"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"AXKO5QBGAZARZN7PIGBPFQGRBE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2026\/05\/15\/uss-gerald-r-ford-to-return-from-11-month-deployment-on-saturday\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>USS Gerald R. Ford to return from 11-month deployment on Saturday - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The world\u2019s largest aircraft carrier is finally returning home after etching its name into Navy history books.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USS Gerald R. 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