U.S. Military and Iran War

The USS Gerald R. Ford has completed what U.S. reporting and social media observers say is the longest aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War, a roughly 295‑day stretch that kept the carrier and its crew at sea across multiple theaters while conducting operations tied to strikes in the Middle East and shifts to the Indo‑Pacific, with an at‑sea repair stop in Croatia. The deployment drew attention because it combined operational tempo with a series of onboard incidents and repeated extensions that delayed the ship’s return and strained the crew, and it has been framed by some as emblematic of broader fleet pressures.