U.S. Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Might Be Out of Action for 14 Months

[BootinUp]

Max Boot
10m
@maxboot


Trump/Hegseth push the Gerald R. Ford—the world’s most expensive and sophisticated warship—toward a record-setting deployment to support Trump’s attacks on Venezuela and Iran. This is the result.

https://substack.com/@maxboot/note/c-231827720

The U.S. Navy faces a potential “aircraft carrier crunch” as its most advanced warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), sits at Souda Bay undergoing damage assessment. The transition from active combat in the Red Sea to a shipyard in Crete marks a critical pause in Operation Epic Fury, highlighting the physical and industrial limits of 21st-century naval power.


ByJack BuckbyPublished2 days ago
Google News

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 29, 2019) USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) conducts high-speed turns in the Atlantic Ocean. Ford is at sea conducting sea trials following the in port portion of its 15 month post-shakedown availability.


-Currently docked at Souda Bay, Crete, the first-in-class supercarrier has completed a grueling nine-month deployment supporting over 7,000 strikes against Iran.

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/03/u-s-navy-nuclear-aircraft-carrier-uss-gerald-r-ford-might-be-out-of-action-for-14-months/

[UpInArms]

1. When you give children toys that they don't respect,

the toys generally get abused and broken

[JBTaurus83]

2. Anybody think it was hit

And the government doesn’t want to admit it?

[sarisataka]

3. No

[Tasmanian Devil]

4. Intentionally set?

Much more believable are the rumors that the laundry room fire was intentionally set.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-navy-investigates-sabotage-uss-gerald-r-ford-fire-1786273

'They Were Extended. Then Extended Again' — USS Gerald R Ford Sailors Now Suspected of Sabotage to Avoid Continuing Deployment

The US Navy is investigating whether sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford deliberately started the fire that tore through the aircraft carrier's main laundry spaces on 12 March — a blaze that took more than 30 hours to extinguish and left over 600 crew members without proper sleeping quarters. The carrier, the most expensive warship ever built, is now diverting to Souda Naval Base in Crete for repairs and a formal investigation into the incident, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planned port call.

The investigation explicitly includes the possibility of deliberate sabotage by crew members, with one theory suggesting the fire was intentionally set to interrupt the carrier's lengthy and repeatedly extended mission. The Ford has now entered its tenth month of deployment, with crew members told their assignment will likely stretch into May — twice the length of a normal aircraft carrier deployment.

[JBTaurus83]

6. I hadn't thought of that

[BootinUp]

5. My understanding is that fires in that part of the ship are not unheard of

NAPLES, Italy — A potent mixture of flammable materials, equipment pushed beyond its limits and human error could be behind a fire last week aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, according to a shipping expert. “It’s just a smorgasbord of danger all put together,” said Sal Mercogliano, an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The Ford, along with nearly 4,500 personnel, is operating in the Red Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing joint American and Israeli military campaign against Iran. The carrier left Norfolk, Va., in late June for a then-routine deployment to Europe that unexpectedly included duty in the Caribbean Sea and the Middle East. That extended time at sea also could have been a factor in the March 12 fire in the main laundry areas, Mercogliano said. “Equipment that normally would be serviced and taken down may be running at levels past when they need to run,” Mercogliano said. “Anytime you go past normal operating hours, the chances of mechanical and human error increase.”

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2026-03-18/fire-ford-red-sea-iran-sailors-21107086.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

[PufPuf23]

7. A lint fire that does that much damage to such a valuable military instrument in

the first day of what is potentially the start of WWIII is an epic failure of command.

[Melon]

8. In submarines. The laundry dryers are considered high risk with a watch posted while operating.

[hunter]

9. The toilets didn't work either.

No reason to jump to conclusions. The laundry system may have been bad too.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/15/nx-s1-5676229/the-uss-ford-crew-is-struggling-with-sewage-problems-on-board-the-navys-new-carrier