The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is heading back home after 244 days on deployment, U.S. 6th Fleet officials announced on Monday.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is now set to depart the Eastern Mediterranean and return to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after its deployment was extended twice by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to the announcement.
“In the coming days, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group will redeploy to its home port as scheduled to prepare for future deployments,” reads the statement from U.S. 6th Fleet.
Ford’s move back to its Naval Station Norfolk, Va., homeport follows the move of amphibious warships USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) from the Red Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean to rejoin USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) after five months in the Middle East, USNI News reported last week. The ARG will be joined by an unspecified number of guided-missile destroyers to augment the formation, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News.
With the reaggregation of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit as a presence force off Israel, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and its escorts are operating in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, according to Thursday’s USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.
On Sunday, Bataan and Ford held a photo exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean. U.S. 6th Fleet did not release an anticipated return for Ford.
Quickly after the Oct. 7th attack on Israel by Hamas forces, Ford and its escorts were retasked from their Eastern Europe deterrence mission and moved close to Israel as a hedge against the conflict expanding beyond Southern Israel, USNI News reported at the time.
Austin extended the Ford’s planned deployment on Oct. 17 and then again in mid-November.
While Ford, guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60) and embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 have been extended other ships in the strike group have already returned to the East Coast and others have been retasked to missions in the Red Sea.
Ford initially deployed with the guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage (DDG-61), USS McFaul (DDG-74), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116).
Ramage returned to Norfolk on Dec. 3, Hudner had downed several attack drones in the Red Sea and McFaul operated extensively in the Middle East.
Currently, Ford is sailing with USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) and USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119), according to the Navy.
