USS Ford CSG Begins Atlantic Transit Toward Middle East

The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, returning from operations in the Caribbean related to the Venezuela intervention, began its transatlantic crossing toward the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean. The deployment extension created an unprecedented two-carrier posture aimed at Iran, with the Ford set to complement the Lincoln already in the Arabian Sea. The Navy described it as a 'routine deployment extension' though it would push Ford past 240 days deployed.