NORFOLK, VA. — The USS Gerald R. Ford returned to Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia, after a deployment of nearly a year at sea that stretched from the coast of Venezuela to the Red Sea. The carrier departed Norfolk in June 2025 and will enter maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

The deployment broke the post-Vietnam record for a carrier deployment. The Navy estimates the ship traveled enough miles to circle the earth three times. In the Red Sea, the carrier launched F/A-18 aircraft to support U.S. operations in a conflict between Israel and Iran.

Admiral Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, described the nearly 11-month deployment as a "once in a lifetime" event after the ship was ordered to the Caribbean to support a mission to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. That mission was later extended to support an ongoing conflict with Iran.

Naval deployments are planned around a design length of seven months. "We really want to deploy our ships for the length of time they're designed to. Currently, our design is seven months, and we want to hold to that," Caudle said. "But when we are called to actually go into harm's way and provide our Navy combat power for longer than that, we do that."

During the deployment, a fire in March started in the ship's laundry room and damaged the berthing area for hundreds of sailors. The carrier also experienced sewage system issues that caused toilets to shut down at times.

Rear Admiral Gavin Duff said roughly 80 children were born to sailors in the strike group since the carrier left Norfolk in June. Returning sailors will be given leave and shortened work weeks, with the amount of time off determined by individual commanders, he said. "Some are going to read their kids' books as they fall asleep tonight or rock their newborns, but fundamentally we're going to reconnect and reintegrate, and that's where our focus is going to be for the next several weeks," Duff said.

Senator Mark Warner questioned the length of the deployment. "That is not treating our military with the respect they deserve, and I'm going to be very curious to see how many of these professionals we lose because of the extended time on this deployment," Warner said.