The USS Gerald R. Ford, a 100,000-ton aircraft carrier that is the world's largest, and the vessels that make up its strike group left Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Tuesday to join the European Theater, where it will be closer to Israel.
The Ford and destroyer USS Bainbridge will meet up with destroyer USS Forest Sherman, which deployed in May, Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday. They are part of Carrier Strike Group 12, a force of 4,500 sailors that also includes destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Mitscher and USS Mahan, and nine aviation squadrons.
"We are America's away team," said Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, commander of the strike group, according to Stars and Stripes. "As we say farewell to our loved ones today, it is with the knowledge that we are taking the watch and protecting our America values of freedom, prosperity and security on the high seas through sustained operations. Our force is the physical reality of the notion of 'peace through strength.'"
The deployment had been scheduled for months, though the strike group's departure coincides with a nearly two-week conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a ceasefire between the countries, but tensions in the region remain high.
The Ford will join the 6th Fleet, which patrols the waters around Europe and Africa, as well as parts of the Arctic. But the strike group could be directed elsewhere, such as the eastern Mediterranean and closer to Israel and Iran, Lanzilotta said.
"The world around us evolves as we man the watch and as we do our jobs," Lanzilotta said. "Our mission is always the same: We operate on the high seas. We bring power projection. We defend ourselves when needed. We are ready to do humanitarian assistance if we need to. ... This is the exact naval mission package that you want to go over the horizon."
The Ford was in the Mediterranean on Oct. 7, 2023, when Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists massacred more than 1,200 Israeli civilians and took 250 hostages, sparking a lethal response by Israel's military in the Gaza Strip. Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin extended the carrier three times in what became an almost nine-month deployment, U.S. Naval Institute News reported Tuesday.
The threat expanded to include attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists on merchant shipping in the Red Sea, resulting in extended deployments for the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.
The USS Carl S. Vinson carrier strike group is operating in the area of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, according to Stars and Stripes. The Vinson operated in the Indo-Pacific region from November to late March before being ordered to the Middle East. The USS Nimitz carrier strike group was also pulled last week from an Indo-Pacific deployment to support U.S. forces in the Middle East amid the ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran.
The Ford strike group spent the past several weeks working with the Truman, which returned June 1 from the Red Sea after the Houthis agreed to stop targeting ships — commercial and military — after the U.S. launched a nearly seven-week campaign striking Houthi facilities in Yemen.
"We went over everything. Every little detail — what our adversaries are doing, how we counter that," said Capt. David Dartez, commander of the Ford strike group's Carrier Air Wing 8, according to Stars and Stripes.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.