NORFOLK, Va. — After more than eight months away, the Navy's USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is coming home.
They left back on May 2.
The U.S. Sixth Fleet announced on Friday that the Ford had transited the Strait of Gibraltar, exited the Mediterranean Sea, and entered the Atlantic Ocean for the voyage home.
"There will be many more deployments for the Ford over its decades-long life. But I know a number of people are going to be very glad who've been away from their families for holidays. They're going to be glad to be getting back home." said US Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia).
The Sixth Fleet also announced that guided missile cruiser USS Normandy had also passed through the Strait on Friday.
A third Ford Carrier Stike Group ship -- the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul -- returned to Naval Station Norfolk Thursday.
The Ford Group's deployment was extended twice by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Even with the Ford Group's departure, the U.S. maintains a robust military presence in the region.
"This includes the current deployment of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East, the deployment of additional cruisers and destroyers in the Mediterranean and Middle East, and the recent arrival of the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea," said Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, during a press conference on Thursday.
A fourth Ford Strike Group ship -- the guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage -- returned to Naval Station Norfolk on December 3.