326 Days at Sea: The Ford Strike Group's Historic Homecoming and the Honor They Earned

After nearly eleven months at sea — through three theaters of operation, two seas, one revolution, and a war with Iran — the USS Gerald R. Ford finally pulled back into Naval Station Norfolk on May 16, 2026. The crew came home with something most service members will never see in their entire career: the Presidential Unit Citation, the military's highest collective honor.

What Is the Presidential Unit Citation?

The PUC isn't handed out for showing up. It exists in the same conversation as the 1st Marine Division at Chosin Reservoir and the 2nd Ranger Battalion at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. It is reserved for units that perform under conditions so extreme that the unit as a whole rises to the level of individual heroism.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally pinned the citation on the strike group, with Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao signing the document and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle on hand for the ceremony.

The Numbers Behind the Award

• 326 days deployed — the second-longest carrier deployment in five decades, just behind the USS Nimitz's 341-day mark from 2020.
• 1,700+ air sorties launched off the flight deck.
• Hundreds of strikes coordinated against Iranian targets during Operation Epic Fury (Feb 28 – May 1, 2026).
• Continuous operations under threat of ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones.

A Deployment That Refused to End

The Ford left Norfolk in June 2025 expecting a routine cruise. What followed was anything but. The strike group rotated through the Mediterranean for NATO exercises, dropped into the Caribbean for Task Force Southern Spear, and in January 2026 played a key role in Operation Absolute Resolve — the raid that ended with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Then orders came down to head east. Within weeks the Ford was launching combat missions in the opening salvos of the Iran war.

The Unsung Battle: Keeping the Ship Alive

Combat operations get the headlines. Sailors will tell you about the other war — the one fought inside the hull.

Plumbing Problems

The Ford's notorious vacuum toilet system failed repeatedly throughout the deployment, with overflowing heads becoming a running joke and serious morale issue.

The Laundry Fire

In March, a fire broke out in the laundry compartment, causing significant damage and forcing the carrier to peel off for emergency repairs in a European port before rejoining the fight.

None of it stopped the mission. The flight deck kept running. The sorties kept launching.

Why This Matters

The Ford Strike Group didn't just complete a deployment — they wrote a piece of naval history. Three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Bainbridge, and USS Mahan) and nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Eight all shared in the citation.

The Iran ceasefire remains fragile. The USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush are still on station in the region. But for tonight, around 5,000 sailors are walking down the brow at Pier 12 in Norfolk, hugging spouses and meeting babies born while they were gone.

They earned every day of that homecoming. And they earned every word on that citation.

Welcome home, Ford.