Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro addresses the crew of theUSS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in the hangar bay during a visit to mark the completion of the ship’s eight-month maiden deployment, Jan. 15, 2024. (Nolan Pennington/U.S. Navy)
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited USS Gerald R. Ford sailors at sea just days before the ship’s return to Norfolk following an extended maiden deployment in hostile waters.
“I am here today to tell each and every one of you how proud, not just I am of you, but how proud this entire country — every American in the United States — is of what you have done for our nation,” Del Toro said Monday as the ship sailed the Atlantic just off the coast of Virginia.
With “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project playing over loudspeakers, Del Toro rode a weapons elevator down to the hangar bay of the Ford. Hundreds of crew members, gathered there in response to an “all hands call,” cheered and clapped while the top Navy leader shook a dozen hands as he made his way to a stage.
Del Toro flew out to the Ford to address sailors ahead of the ship’s homecoming, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Members of the media were invited aboard during his visit.
The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had left Naval Station Norfolk in May but the Department of Defense extended the deployment beyond the original six months.
The Ford and its strike group were ordered to sail to the eastern Mediterranean following an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, long designated a terrorist group by the U.S. The carrier stayed in the eastern Mediterranean while its accompanying warships went to the Red Sea, where they repeatedly intercepted incoming ballistic missiles and attack drones fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, the Associated Press reported.
“Protecting our national security interests over the last eight months in the eastern Mediterranean, the Baltic and the Atlantic, matters. It matters to the American people,” Del Toro told the sailors.
The Ford’s deployment was extended by 76 days with the crew of around 4,200 spending Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve — holidays they expected to spend with loved ones — at sea.
For aviation electronics technician Michael Asihene, it meant missing crucial time with his newborn son. Waiting for his return in Virginia are Asihene’s wife, 2-year-old daughter, 3-month-old son and his parents.
“There was a little bit of uncertainty but I was like, you know what, anything that happens — it is all in God’s hands,” Asihene said.
This was Asihene’s fourth deployment during his nine years of service with the Navy. This time, he said, “felt different” given the global tensions.
“My other deployments were a little quieter,” Asihene said. “But we had to focus. We knew this was the mission. This is what we came for and we were going to take it to the full extent.”
Eric Snitzer, climate coordinator for the ship, said the crew prepared to be at sea longer than expected from the start. He is tasked with reporting to leadership about the overall climate of the crew and keeping the crew informed of all programs available to them.
“We plan for the best but we also plan for the possibility of the world demanding we stay out longer,” Snitzer said.
The resilience and toughness of the Ford crew was tested with each extension, he said.
“It was disappointing but to go help out our interests and our allies — that is the mission,” Snitzer said.
The deployment was Snitzer’s second spanning his 23-year naval career. His first deployment was a humanitarian mission in 2010. Snitzer will be welcomed home by his wife and two daughters, ages 8 and 10.
While the Ford is returning to Norfolk, the mission is ongoing. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group continue to operate in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In the past week, U.S. Central Command has reported multiple incidents in which U.S. Navy ships and allied ships shot down one-way aerial attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Yemen.
On Sunday, an anti-ship cruise missile was fired toward the USS Laboon, a Norfolk-based destroyer, U.S. officials said. The missile was shot down in vicinity of the coast of Hudaydah by U.S. fighter aircraft. But on Monday, an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from Yemen struck a U.S.-owned container ship. The ship, Gibraltar Eagle, reported no injuries or significant damage.
“Americans from all corners of the United States know what it is to be a member of the most powerful Navy in the world and they understand the sacrifices you make every day on behalf of them,” Del Toro said to the crew of the Ford.
During the Ford’s more than eight months at sea, the strike group participated in 12 military exercises and operations, accumulated more than 17,826 flight hours and completed 8,730 aircraft launches and recoveries.
Before the Ford was ordered to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean, it had operated in the Baltic region with the intention of deterring further aggression from Russia. The ship also visited ports in Oslo, Norway; Split, Croatia; and Piraeus, Greece.
“It is these sailors on the deck of this great ship here today and on the surrounding ships that are deployed as part of this carrier strike group that we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to,” Del Toro said.
caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
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