The crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are now the record holders for the longest carrier deployment since the collapse of the Soviet Union. On Wednesday, Ford’s deployment hit the 295-day record previously set by USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic during its Middle East deployment and homeport shift from the East Coast to San Diego, Calif. Ford, currently in the Eastern Mediterranean, left June 24, 2025, from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., for Europe before being shifted in October to the Caribbean Sea as part of the wider Pentagon naval presence ahead of
USS Gerald R. Ford Breaks Post-Cold War Deployment Record
The crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are now the record holders for the longest carrier deployment since the collapse of the Soviet Union. On Wednesday, Ford’s deployment hit the 295-day record previously set by USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic during its Mi

