NORFOLK, Va. — UPDATE: The USS Gerald R. Ford has returned to Naval Station Norfolk. Follow the latest updates here.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will arrive at Naval Station Norfolk on Wednesday, officials with the Navy confirmed Monday evening.
It comes after the Ford Carrier Strike Group's eight-month deployment that began in May 2023. Six months in, the deployment was extended 76 days after it was directed to the Mediterranean Sea to respond to the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war.
The strike group's return was announced at the beginning of January. On Jan. 5, the U.S. Sixth Fleet announced the Ford had transited the Strait of Gibraltar, exited the Mediterranean Sea, and entered the Atlantic Ocean for the voyage home.
“The Gerald R. Ford is everything our nation hoped it would be and more. I am so proud of the crew, who breathed life into the world’s most technologically advanced warship and stood the watch in defense of our national interests. Though extended, we were the right ship at the right time to answer the call, and our Sailors performed admirably,” said Capt. Rick Burgess, Gerald R. Ford’s commanding officer. “Ford Sailors honored our namesake’s legacies of hard work, integrity, and courage.”
For the sailors on board, it marks the end of the carrier's maiden voyage and the first time they'll be back home in roughly nine months.
Gerald R. Ford is the flagship of the strike group, which also includes Carrier Air Wing 8, Destroyer Squadron 2, the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy, and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) and USS McFaul (DDG 74).