NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world largest aircraft carrier, returned home to Virginia on Saturday after an 11-month deployment, the longest since the Vietnam War, that saw it support the U.S. war with Iran and the capture of Nicolás Maduro when he was Venezuela’s president.
The most advanced U.S. warship and two accompanying destroyers docked at Naval Station Norfolk with about 5,000 sailors waiting to see their families for the first time since June. Besides combat operations and traversing continents, the sailors aboard the carrier faced a noncombat-related fire that left hundreds without places to sleep and forced lengthy repairs on the Greek island of Crete.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on hand for the arrival of the warships, which included the destroyer USS Bainbridge.
Hegseth commended the crew of the Bainbridge for a “job well done.”
“You didn’t just accomplish a mission, you made history,” Hegseth said on the destroyer’s deck. “You made a nation proud.”
Hegseth also spoke to the crews of the USS Mahan, a destroyer, and the Ford.
In recognition of their service during the Iran war, the Ford and the accompanying ships were awarded the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation, lauded for “outstanding performance in action” against “a determined enemy.” It’s the highest award a unit can receive and one typically reserved for significant achievement in combat.
The Ford’s 326 days at sea are the most for an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years and broke the record for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, according to U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization. The only longer deployments were the 1973 deployment of USS Midway at 332 days and the 1965 deployment of USS Coral Sea at 329 days.
The Ford’s long time at sea has raised questions about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as about increasing strain on the ship and its equipment beyond the fire, which started in one of the carrier’s laundry spaces.
When the Ford first left Virginia’s coast in June, it headed to the Mediterranean Sea. It was then rerouted to the Caribbean Sea in October as part of the largest naval buildup in the region in generations.
The carrier took part in the military operation in January to capture Maduro. Then it would see more battle, heading toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated. The Ford participated in the opening days of the Iran war from the Mediterranean Sea before going through the Suez Canal and heading into the Red Sea in early March.
Technically, the crew of the USS Nimitz was on duty and away from home for a total of 341 days in 2020 and 2021. However, that included extended isolation periods ashore in the U.S. meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Associated Press writers Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.