WASHINGTON (AP) — The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, will sail home after a record-setting more than 300 days of deployment that included participation in the war against Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the Ford will leave the Middle East in the coming days and return to its home port in Virginia in mid-May. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to detail the sensitive military operation. The Washington Post earlier reported the development.
The USS George H.W. Bush’s arrival in the region last week means three U.S. aircraft carriers are deployed to the Middle East during a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war – a number not seen since 2003. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has also been in the region since January as tensions with Tehran have increased.
This month, the Ford broke the U.S. record for the longest post-Vietnam deployment, spanning nearly 10 months since leaving Norfolk Naval Base in June.
The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the longest deployment by an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years, when the Lincoln was deployed for 294 days during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to data compiled by USNI News, a news outlet run by the nonprofit US Naval Institute.
The Ford’s extended deployment has raised questions about the impact on service members who are away from home for extended periods of time, as well as growing pressure on the carrier and its equipment, which has already suffered a fire that forced it to undergo lengthy repairs.
When asked about the Ford’s long-term deployment during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he consulted with the Navy and those officials did mention readiness and maintenance trade-offs.
“Whether it’s Southern Command or Central Command, operational requirements require real-time additions of assets, and that leads to delays through difficult decision-making processes,” Heggs said, referring to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees Latin America and U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.
The Ford first headed to the Mediterranean for deployment. It then rerouted to the Caribbean in October as part of the largest naval buildup in the region in generations.
The aircraft carrier participated in the military operation to capture Maduro. Then, as tensions with Iran escalate, it will see more fighting and move toward the Middle East.
The carrier took part in the first days of the war with Iran from the Mediterranean, then passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea in early March.
However, a fire broke out in one of the laundry rooms, forcing the carrier to turn around and return to the Mediterranean for repairs, leaving hundreds of sailors with nowhere to sleep.
The Ford’s 295 days of deployment fell short of the record for longest deployment during the Cold War, held by the now-retired USS Midway. Deployed for 332 days in 1972 and 1973.
Most recently, the crew of the USS Nimitz was away on duty for a total of 341 days in 2020 and 2021. However, it includes an extended quarantine period ashore in the United States to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
