8 months at sea takes a toll on the ship itself. The equipment breaks because maintenance and upgrades get postponed. NPR reported in January that the plumbing system on the carrier was getting worse.
The United States is building the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, as US President Donald Trump warns of a military action against Iran. However, the conflict with Iran is the least of the troubles for almost 5,000 sailors on the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
USS Gerald R. Ford’s Extended Deployment
The USS Gerald R. Ford has been at sea since June last year. The Republican leader’s decision to extend its deployment for a second time has snowballed into a growing list of problems, such as blocked toilets and sewage troubles.
The Ford played a major role in the capturing of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in January. After the mission, the crew got to know that their deployment would be extended for potential US strikes on Iran and are now heading toward the Middle East to join another carrier.
US aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is pictured docked at Souda Bay in the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete, on February 24, 2026
Photo Credit: AFP
Typically, a carrier deployment lasts 6 months during peacetime, Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral, told the Wall Street Journal. Ford’s sailors have been at sea for 8 months, and the stint could extend to 11 months, he said, breaking the record for a continuous deployment by a US Navy ship.
Of Toilets And Plumbing Systems
8 months at sea takes a toll on the ship itself. The equipment breaks because maintenance and upgrades get postponed. NPR reported in January that the plumbing system on the carrier was getting worse. The carrier that cost $13 billion to build has toilets that are not functional, with sailors working round the clock to fix leaks.
“Since it’s a vacuum system, a problem with one head can cause all of the toilets in that part of the ship to lose suction, making it difficult for the maintenance crews to isolate a problem. The crews find everything from T-shirts to a four-foot piece of rope clogging the system. But the most common problem seems to be a part of the back of the toilet that comes loose,” NPR reported.
Personal Troubles For Sailors
A sailor on board told the Journal that the crew members are angry and upset and wish to leave the Navy as soon as the deployment ends.
Family and friends look on as the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford prepares to depart from the Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025, in Norfolk, Virginia
Photo Credit: AFP
Most of the sailors on board are men and women in their early 20s who miss their family members and cannot remain in touch with them during “ghost mode” because of the secrecy surrounding carrier movements.
Washington currently has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier — the USS Abraham Lincoln — nine destroyers and three littoral combat ships.
It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers — which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors — in the Middle East.
(With inputs from agencies)
