\n<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON — <\/span>The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will be heading home following a record-setting deployment<\/a> of more than 300 days that included participating in the war against Iran<\/a> and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. <\/p>\n The Ford will be leaving the Middle East in the coming days and returning to its home port in Virginia in mid-May, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements. The Washington Post reported the development earlier.<\/p>\n The arrival of the USS George H.W. Bush to the region last week meant three American aircraft carriers were deployed to the Middle East \u2014 a number not seen since 2003 \u2014 during a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war. USS Abraham Lincoln also has been in the region<\/a> since January as tensions with Tehran ramped up.<\/p>\n This month, the Ford broke the U.S. record for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span after leaving Naval Station Norfolk in June.<\/p>\n The ship\u2019s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest deployment by an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years, when the Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n The Ford’s long deployment has raised questions about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as increasing strain on the ship and its equipment, with the carrier already enduring a fire that forced it to undergo lengthy repairs.<\/p>\n Asked about the Ford’s long deployment in a hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he consulted with the Navy and those officials did mention readiness and maintenance tradeoffs.<\/p>\n “Multiple times the operational requirements \u2014 whether it was down in Southcom or up to Centcom \u2014 demanded additional assets in real time, which through a tough decision-making process led to an extension,\u201d Hegseth said, referring to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees Latin America, and U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The Ford began its deployment by heading to the Mediterranean Sea. It was then rerouted to the Caribbean Sea<\/a> in October as part of the largest naval buildup in the region in generations.<\/p>\n The carrier took part in the military operation<\/a> to capture Maduro. Then it would see more battle, heading toward the Middle East<\/a> as tensions with Iran escalated.<\/p>\n