An F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck of USS Nimitz on June 11, 2026. (Jaron Wills/U.S. Navy)
On its 101st day of deployment, USS Nimitz returned to the United States on Tuesday.
The Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier pulled into Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., for a port call after more than three months circumnavigating Central and South America following its departure from Naval Base Kitsap in Washington on March 7.
The 51-year-old carrier is scheduled to continue its northbound course to eventually arrive at its new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
During the deployment, Nimitz became the longest-serving carrier in U.S. Navy history, surpassing the USS Enterprise.
Senior Chief Benjamin Richards shifts colors on the mast of USS Nimitz docking at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 16, 2026. (Jaron Wills/U.S. Navy)
Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, right, salutes Rear Adm. Cassidy Norman in the hangar bay of USS Nimitz after the aircraft carrier arrived at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 16, 2026. (Molly Guy/U.S. Navy)
Nimitz took part in the Southern Seas 26 multinational exercises, training with naval units including Chile, Argentina and Brazil, among other countries. It hosted visits by dignitaries from Panama to Jamaica, who were flown out to the ship to meet with Rear Adm. Cassidy Norman, commander of Carrier Strike Group 11, and Capt. Joseph Furco, Nimitz commanding officer.
Nimitz is scheduled to retire in March 2027, when it is replaced in the fleet by the expected commissioning of USS John F. Kennedy, the second Gerald R. Ford-class carrier.
