{"id":46120,"date":"2023-11-20T21:26:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T21:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/20\/when-will-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-carrier-strike-group-come-home\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:01:08","slug":"when-will-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-carrier-strike-group-come-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/home\/2023\/11\/20\/when-will-the-uss-gerald-r-ford-carrier-strike-group-come-home\/","title":{"rendered":"When will the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group come home?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been more than six months since the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and its strike group left the East Coast on May 2 for the flattop\u2019s first full deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as Israel\u2019s war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas rages on \u2014 along with fears that the conflict will engulf the region \u2014 it remains unclear when the Ford, its warships and the thousands sailors onboard will be able to head home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can confirm that the Ford will remain in the Eastern (Mediterranean Sea) for the time being,\u201d Defense Department spokesman Army Maj. Charlie Dietz told Navy Times Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Oct. 17, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered Ford\u2019s initial deployment extension, 10 days after Hamas attacked Israel, prompting retaliatory bombing of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and an Israeli ground operation there that is still underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack by Hamas, a militant group that has been designated a terrorist organization<\/a> by the U.S. and European Union, kicked off what quickly became the bloodiest conflict between Palestine and Israel since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.<\/p>\n\n\n\t