by On Thursday, 5,000 sailors’ families and friends welcomed the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson back with tears, applause, placards, and hugs. as well as newborns.
At North Island, Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, who took command of Carrier Strike Group 1 on the Vinson on April 24, gave a briefing to the media.
According to her, Vinson completed 11,000 sorties over her 23,000 hours of safe flight operations, which included 86,000 nautical miles.
According to Bauernschmidt, in addition to participating in multinational exercises, we also carried out actual operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, safeguarding international trade and thwarting regional threats.
She did not provide specifics, but according to media sources, the Vinson launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in April in advance of U.S.-Iranian negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Navy posted footage of the Vinson launching F-35 and F/A-18 fighter fighters and preparing ordinance.
The European Union’s Copernicus program provided satellite images of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier operating northeast of Socotra, an island off Yemen close to the Gulf of Aden’s mouth, which the Associated Press noted.
According to Bauernschmidt, our sailors carried out the operation safely and with expertise. They demonstrated that warfighting is about people just as much as it is about our amazing resources by contributing talent, flexibility, and teamwork.
Mallorie Nordahl was one of the spouses waiting for her husband, Joseph Mini, at the pier. Her daughter Charley, who was 2 1/2 years old, was in her arms. Azalea, her 3-month-old daughter, in a stroller.
According to Nordahl, it has been quite difficult.
She claimed that after Joseph’s departure, Charley has undergone significant change.
She used to hardly speak, but now she runs and jumps and speaks in complete words.
When her husband arrives home, what will she do? Gaze at one another while sitting in the house.
While she waited for her sailor daughter, Pria, Kateri Chino was a flurry of emotions.
Chino responded, “Relief and I’m not going to let her go,” when asked how she was feeling. Simply embrace her and savor the moment.
While watching for her husband, Blayne Benavente, who specialized in religious programs, Jasmine Venavente had seven children. They cheered Daddy! loudly from the kids on the pier. Daddy! Daddy!
On November 18, the Vinson strike group departed Naval Air Station North Island in preparation for a scheduled tour of the West Pacific.
Four months into the mission, however, the Navy directed the ships, notably the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett and the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, to the Middle East.
According to USNI News, the ship was also conducting operations in the South China Sea by Christmas 2024.
According to that newspaper, it returned to the South China Sea in early January after visiting Port Klang, Malaysia. Since George Washington was still in port in Yokosuka, Japan, Carl Vinson was the only carrier in the area at the time.
The carrier made a port visit in Laem Chabang, Thailand, following three months there, which included an exercise with the Philippines.
Together with a French carrier strike group and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer carrier JS Kaga, the Vinson group participated in Exercise Pacific Steller 2025 in February.
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After a five-day port call at Busan, South Korea, the carrier strike group conducted operations in the Sea of Japan in early March, according to USNI News.
The media was also addressed by Capt. Josh Wenker, who has been the Vinson’s commander since July 30.
The Vinson, which was dubbed America’s Favorite Carrier after burying Osama Bin Laden’s body at sea in May 2011, spotted dangers nearby, according to Wenker.
“We were operating to ensure the safety of the ship and our sailors while maintaining our position as the world’s most lethal Navy,” he said. All of the threats directed at Carl Vinson were dealt with by us.
Wenker also presented Captain Rudder, a labrador retriever.
The dog served as an exceptional facility animal aboard the ship for the duration of the trip.
Wenker described his presence as a “true game-changer,” saying, “He goes with us on deployment on the ship and provides a touch of home for the sailors add some extra resiliency.” It’s been fantastic.
