In a major move, USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, will soon leave the Middle Eastern waters, according to reports. Though the officials are yet to confirm this, reports hint that the carrier is expected back home in Virginia around mid-May.
The carrier has been mired in controversy ever since it was redirected to the Middle East before the start of the war. It has been deployed for over 300 days when it was redirected to the Middle East. The deployment surpassed 295 days, setting a new post-Vietnam War record for the longest carrier deployment, surpassing the USS Abraham Lincoln’s 294-day deployment in 2020.
Soon, reports claimed that it had issues with its toilets. This was followed by an alleged fire in its laundry room, which injured some sailors. The vessel was taken to Crete island for repairs. The latest report was that it was sailing back to the Middle East.
The issue came up again during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday when multiple lawmakers addressed the ship’s extended deployment, questioning Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. “I worry about the USS Ford,” said Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California). “What trade-offs are we making?” “Multiple times the operational requirements – whether it was down in Southcom or up to Centcom – demanded additional assets in real time, which through a tough decision-making process led to an extension,” Hegseth said.
Typical carrier deployments last six or seven months to keep the ships on their maintenance schedules.
The Ford is one of three aircraft carriers in the region — the others are the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS Abraham Lincoln. While the Ford is in the Red Sea, the Lincoln and Bush are operating in the Arabian Sea .
