USS Gerald R. Ford remains at sea as the Navy spotlights crew resilience and sustained readiness. The carrier moves beyond eight months deployed after departing Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025, for what was expected to be a routine Mediterranean rotation. The strike group first operated in the Atlantic and the U.S. Sixth Fleet area, then shifted west through the Strait of Gibraltar in November 2025 for U.S. Southern Command missions in the Caribbean. Additional orders later sent the ship