Current:Home > ContactUSS Ford aircraft carrier returns home after eight-month deployment -CapitalWay
USS Ford aircraft carrier returns home after eight-month deployment
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:35:30
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, whose deployment was extended following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, returned to its homeport on Wednesday after eight months away.
Though the Ford has returned home, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps still have a large presence in the Middle East: an amphibious ready group is in the Eastern Mediterranean off of Israel and the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is in the Red Sea, according to a U.S. official.
U.S. Fleet Forces posted on X video of the Ford arriving at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
The carrier, the newest and most advanced in the Navy's fleet, departed Virginia in May 2023 for a routine deployment. On Oct. 8, a day after Hamas launched deadly terrorist attacks against Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the Ford and its carrier strike group made up of three guided-missile destroyers and one guided-missile cruiser to the Eastern Mediterranean.
The move was to "bolster regional deterrence efforts," Austin said in a statement at the time.
The Ford was initially due back around November but was extended through the holidays.
On New Year's Day, the Navy announced the Ford Carrier Strike Group would start its journey home. On Wednesday, it arrived after having spent 239 days at sea and after its deployment was extended 76 days following the outbreak of conflict in Israel, U.S. Fleet Forces said.
"Though extended, we were the right ship at the right time to answer the call, and our Sailors performed admirably. Ford Sailors honored our namesake's legacies of hard work, integrity, and courage," Gerald R. Ford's commanding officer Capt. Rick Burgess said in a statement.
The Ford's deployment was part of the Pentagon's effort to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from widening into a larger regional conflict.
The Biden administration has emphasized it does not want to see an expanded war, but for the past several months, Iranian-backed groups have launched a steady-drum beat of attacks on U.S. forces in both Iraq and Syria as well as on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Navy's Middle East footprint has gradually shifted toward the Red Sea as the Houthis continue attacking commercial ships in the chokepoint of a vital waterway. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, made up of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its two escort ships, are in the Red Sea with two other guided-missile destroyers.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, where the USS Ford spent the bulk of its deployment, there is an amphibious ready group made up of about 2,400 sailors and Marines as of Wednesday.
- In:
- War
- USS Gerald R. Ford
- Hamas
- Israel
- U.S. Navy
- United States Navy
- Virginia
Eleanor Watson is a CBS News reporter covering the Pentagon.
TwitterveryGood! (53342)
Related
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Into the Fire’s Cathy Terkanian Denies Speculation Vanessa Bowman Is Actually Aundria Bowman’s Daughter
- Taco Bell gets National Taco Day moved so it always falls on a Taco Tuesday
- Georgia house fire victims had been shot before blaze erupted
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Georgia house fire victims had been shot before blaze erupted
- Suspension of security clearance for Iran envoy did not follow protocol, watchdog says
- Fire destroys 105-year-old post office on Standing Rock Reservation
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Floor Plans
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Police shift focus in search for Kentucky highway shooting suspect: 'Boots on the ground'
- Father of Colorado supermarket gunman thought he could be possessed by an evil spirit
- Tito Jackson hospitalized for medical emergency prior to death
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- You Have 1 Day Left To Get 40% off Lands’ End Sitewide Sale With Fall Styles Starting at $9
- Dancing With the Stars' Brooks Nader Reveals Relationship Status During Debut With Gleb Savchenko
- Police seek a pair who took an NYC subway train on a joyride and crashed it
Recommendation
Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
College Football Playoff bracketology: SEC, Big Ten living up to expectations
Kate Middleton Reaches New Milestone After Completing Chemotherapy for Cancer
Longshoremen at key US ports threatening to strike over automation and pay
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
A bewildered seal found itself in the mouth of a humpback whale
Woman accused of driving an SUV into a crowd in Minneapolis and killing a teenager
What will become of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ musical legacy? Experts weigh in following his indictment