USS Gerald R. Ford BACK After Deadly Middle East Mission | War Chief Pete Hegseth Welcomes Sailors

USS Gerald R. Ford has retu ed to Naval Station Norfolk after a historic 11-month deployment — the longest U.S. aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed home nearly 4,500 sailors as the strike group retu ed from operations linked to Venezuela, the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and Middle East missions involving Iran. The deployment included USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, marking one of the most intense mode naval operations in recent U.S. military history.