NORFOLK, Va. — After months of extra duty at sea providing protection for Israel, the first ship from the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has returned home.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) arrived at Naval Station Norfolk as the sun was setting Thursday afternoon, following an 8-month deployment.
The McFaul conducted operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation, having transited the Atlantic Ocean and later patrolled the Gulf of Oman and Southern Arabian Gulf after transiting through the Suez Canal.
The Navy said during its deployment, the McFaul served as an air defense unit in the Ford Carrier Strike Group off the coast of Israel, which included 34 Strait of Hormuz transits "to ensure freedom of navigation for commercial traffic in a highly transited and politically sensitive area of the world."
The McFaul also conducted 17 close escorts for maritime allies and assets, in support of U.S. maritime security objectives in the Middle East and Europe.
The remaining ships of the Ford Carrier Strike Group are also heading home, with the Ford (CVN 78) and guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) having left the Mediterranean Sea and entering the Atlantic Ocean on Friday.
Other returning ships include the guided missile destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), as well as Carrier Air Wing Eight and Destroyer Squadron Two.