Navy
USS Gerald R. Ford scheduled to arrive home on Saturday
Stars and Stripes
May 15, 2026
The USS Gerald R. Ford navigates the Strait of Gibraltar on May 6, 2026. The Ford is scheduled to return home to Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Daniel Ferro/X)
The USS Gerald R. Ford and its more than 4,500 embarked sailors and personnel are scheduled to return to Norfolk, Va., on Saturday morning, ending a record-setting deployment.
The carrier and its crew enter are on their 325th day of what had been expected to be a routine deployment to Europe that began nearly 11 months ago. Since then, the carrier has seen duty in the Eastern Mediterranean, Caribbean and Red seas, among other locations.
The Ford broke a post-Vietnam War record in April for lengthy carrier deployments and has eclipsed most of those same records established since 1964. The USS Saratoga was deployed for 308 days from 1972 to 1973.
Only USS Coral Sea, deployed for 329 days from 1964 to 1965, and USS Midway, deployed for 332 days from 1972 to 1973, have exceeded Ford, according to data compiled by USNI News.
The carrier’s air wing squadrons returned to their homeports this week.