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The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford returned to Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday, ending its first deployment less than two months after it departed.
After embarking on October 4, the carrier and its strike group focused on air defense and anti-subsurface warfare, distributed maritime operations and carried out a transfer of authority to NATO.
“We have sailed with our Allies and partners and trained together, tirelessly, day and night, and we are stronger for it,” said Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, commanding officer of Ford, in a release.
“Through integrated operations, such as Carrier Air Wing 8’s live and inert ordnance expenditure, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and air defense, we set the stage for operating with Ford technologies- class in a deployed environment,” added Lanzilotta. “We’ve completed more than 1,250 sorties, expended 78.3 tons of ordnance, and completed 13 underway replenishments – and we’ve done it because of what Ford-class aircraft bring to battle.”
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The carrier, originally scheduled to deploy in 2018, will conduct a longer, more traditional deployment next year. Conducting this preliminary, which placed the carrier under the authority of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday instead of a geographic combatant commander as usual, aiming to allow the crew to become more familiar with the ship’s new technologies.
“This deployment laid a strong foundation for the strike group, created momentum to carry us into the future for future operations, and prepared us to answer our country’s call when needed,” said Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, commander of Carrier Strike Group 12, in a release.
As part of the deployment, Ford participated in Exercise Silent Wolverine in the eastern Atlantic, where it worked with six other NATO allies to test new carrier technologies through integrated high-end scenarios of naval warfare.
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Additionally, the carrier made port visits to Halifax, Canada, and Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and operated alongside ships from Canada, The Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Finland, and Sweden.
“This deployment has brought together an incredible group of Allies and partners with a common focus – to contribute to a peaceful, stable, and conflict-free Atlantic region through our combined strength -sea,” Vice Adm. Dan Dwyer, commander of the US 2nd Fleet and Joint Force Command Norfolk, said in a statement. “Opportunities to interoperate and come together will strengthen our nations, our navies, and the NATO Alliance.”
Ford’s carrier strike group included the destroyers Ramage, McFaul and Thomas Hudner, the cruiser Normandy, the replenishment oiler Joshua Humphreys, the dry cargo ship Robert E. Peary and the US Coast Guard cutter Hamilton.
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