Washington– The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, broke the U.S. record on Wednesday for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a roughly 10-month period that saw it participate in both the military raid in Venezuela and the Iran War.
The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the longest previous deployment by an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years, when the USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization.
This raises questions about the impact on service personnel who are away from home for long periods, as well as the increasing pressure on the ship and its equipment, as the carrier has already been exposed to a fire that forced it to undergo lengthy repairs.
The Ford began its deployment in June 2025, heading to the Mediterranean from its home port of Norfolk, Virginia. Military She diverted course to the Caribbean Sea in October as part of the region’s largest maritime crowd in generations.
The tanker participated Military operation To arrest then Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. And then we will see more battle, Heading towards the Middle East With escalating tensions with Iran.
The carrier participated in the opening days Iran war From the Mediterranean Sea before passing through the Suez Canal and heading to the Red Sea in early March.
However, a fire in one of the washing bays forced the tanker to return to the Mediterranean for repairs.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said the standard deployment process had taken a “huge toll” on the mental health and well-being of the crew. He pointed out that the fire left 600 sailors temporarily without places to sleep.
The Democratic senator said in a statement: “They should return home to their loved ones, not be sent by a president who acts as if the US military is his palace guard.”
Pentagon officials have not said how long the ship will remain deployed, but two senior Navy officers have said publicly that they expect the ship to be deployed for about 11 months. This would see the ship return home in late May.
“You’re going to see a record deployment by Ford,” Adm. Darrell Caudle, the Navy’s chief officer, said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at the end of March.
Caudle told reporters in January that he would “back off” Ford’s extension He told The Associated Press in February He wants to convince commanders to use smaller, newer ships in combat zones instead of constantly asking the Navy to send aircraft carriers.
While Navy officials have not officially said Ford’s deployment is a record, they did not dispute the data collected by U.S. Naval Institute News.
Another aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, He is scheduled to head to the Middle East It is now in waters off Africa after being deployed two weeks ago.
Ford’s 295-day deployment falls short of the longest deployment during the Cold War, a record held by the now-decommissioned USS Midway. It was deployed for 332 days in 1972 and 1973.
Most recently, the USS Nimitz crew was on duty and away from home for a total of 341 days in 2020 and 2021. However, this included extended isolation periods at the beach in the US aimed at helping prevent the spread of Covid-19.