NORFOLK, Va. — How long is too long, when it comes to Navy deployments?
Nine months is a long time in anybody's book.
But when the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower team returned from the Red Sea last Sunday -- after having been gone since last October 14 -- amazingly, the deployment's length wasn't close to a record.
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In 2021, the USS Nimitz completed a 341-day deployment. It was 24 days short of a year and the Navy's longest since the Vietnam War.
Such marathon deployments raise concerns about added stress and strain upon sailors and questions about morale and retention and the material readiness of the ships.
Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder was asked Tuesday if extended deployments "are going to become the norm?"
He didn't say they won't.
"I won't speculate or get into hypotheticals about the duration of deployments. As you know the U.S. military maintains a wide variety of capabilities that enable us to respond to a wide variety of contingencies around the world. In other words, we are able to surge assets to where they're needed most to support our national security interests and our obligations around the globe," he said.
Ryder was also asked what resources the Defense Department is offering the Navy to bolster resilience for sailors "who are stuck on a ship for nine months."
Without providing specifics, Ryder insisted crew members are being taken care of.
"I'm confident that Navy leadership will continue to look at doing everything it needs to do to take care of our sailors and their families as they continue to conduct these important missions around the world," he said.
The Navy, in a news release, acknowledges that "deployment is a significant event in the lives of service members and their families."
Fleet and Family Support Centers have established "Deployment Support Programs" to address the many various challenges faced by sailors and their families before, during, and after a deployment.