ALWAGHT- After 309 days of continuous deployment backing the unprovoked US terrorist war against Iran, the USS Gerald R. Ford—the largest and most expensive aircraft carrier ever constructed by the United States—has been compelled to withdraw from West Asia.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, America's largest and most expensive aircraft carrier, is returning to Norfolk, Virginia, after 309 days of continuous deployment—the longest since the Vietnam War—in a state of significant mechanical degradation. The $13 billion leviathan suffered a fire in March 2026 that injured several sailors and displaced over 600 crew members, while chronic sanitation failures produced roughly one sewage issue per day for months. Key systems, including its advanced aircraft launch technology and weapons elevators, remain unreliable, and the carrier will now enter an extended maintenance period of up to 14 months, effectively removing it from active duty for over a year.
The Ford's retreat is not an isolated case. The USS John C. Stennis is 14 months behind schedule and $483 million over budget for its overhaul, while the USS Harry S. Truman will begin its own extended refueling in June 2026, meaning two nuclear carriers will be out of service simultaneously. With the USS Nimitz scheduled for decommissioning by March 2027, the US Navy may soon fall below its legally mandated minimum of 11 active aircraft carriers for the first time in decades—a systemic collapse driven by the strain of the unprovoked war on Iran.
The USS George Washington endured a six-year overhaul during which 11 crew members died by suicide, and crew turnover reached 85 percent. Similar morale crises now plague the fleet, with some Ford crew members considering leaving the Navy due to the unprecedented deployment length. Observers conclude that the withdrawal of the Gerald R. Ford sends an unmistakable message: the American war machine, for all its bluster and billions, is crumbling under the weight of its own aggression sustained on behalf of Israeli interests.
