Summary and Key Points: Stephen Silver — award-winning journalist, Philadelphia Inquirer contributor, and decade-long national security correspondent — reports on a serious non-combat fire aboard USS Gerald R. Ford that burned for more than 30 hours in the carrier’s main laundry spaces while operating in the northern Red Sea during Operation Epic Fury.
-Over 600 sailors lost their berthing, the ship’s laundry facilities remain inoperable, and the Navy stripped 1,000 mattresses from the USS John F. Kennedy to resupply the crew.
-The Gerald R. Ford — now approaching the post-Vietnam record for longest carrier deployment at nearly a full year at sea — is departing for Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete, for pierside repairs, even as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters has formally designated the carrier strike group a military target.
The USS Gerald R. Ford Has Been at Sea for Nearly a Year and the Crew Is Paying the Price
“On March 12, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) experienced a fire that originated in the ship’s main laundry spaces. The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained,” the Navy said in a statement. “There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational. Two Sailors are currently receiving medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition. Additional information will be provided when available.
The ship was operating in the northern Red Sea at the time of the fire, a ship spotter reported at the time.
Per USNI News, the Gerald R. Ford was preparing to leave the Red Sea to head to Souda Bay in Crete for repairs.
“Ford will travel to Naval Support Activity Souda Bay for more than a week of pierside repairs, a senior U.S. official confirmed to USNI News on Tuesday. The official confirmed a report in a local Greek news outlet that said Ford is returning to Crete.”
No one was killed in the fire, although “one sailor was medically evacuated from the carrier after being injured in the damage control effort and is in stable condition, while two others were treated for lacerations,” USNI News reported.
“Ship’s force is inspecting and overhauling affected spaces, and the cause of the fire is under investigation,” a spokesperson for U.S. 5th Fleet told that outlet in a statement on Tuesday. “The ship continues to operate in the Red Sea, accomplishing U.S. Central Command tasking in support of Operation Epic Fury.”
Because the berthing facilities were affected, the Navy had to remove 1,000 mattresses from the ship that will become the USS John F. Kennedy and send them to the Ford.
NORFOLK (Nov. 26, 2022) The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) returns to Naval Station Norfolk after completing their inaugural deployment to the Atlantic Ocean with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG), Nov. 26. The GRFCSG, returned to Naval Station Norfolk following a scheduled deployment with Allies and partners in an effort to build strategic relationships and contribute to a stable and conflict-free Atlantic region, while also showcasing the U.S. Navy’s most advanced class of aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy Photo/Video by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Nathan T. Beard)
USS Gerald R. Ford Supercarrier Flight Deck. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier or Supercarrier
Oct. 9, 2022 – The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams the Atlantic Ocean during a simulated straits transit with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG) in the Atlantic Ocean, Oct. 9, 2022. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is deployed in the Atlantic Ocean, conducting training and operations alongside NATO Allies and partners to enhance integration for future operations and demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s commitment to a peaceful, stable and conflict-free Atlantic region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)
The laundry facilities also remain unusable.
“The Navy has also collected almost 2,000 sweatsuits and other clothing items to distribute to the crew because many sailors are unable to clean their clothes with most of the laundry services out of commission,” USNI News reported.
This followed months of reports that the toilets on board the Ford were backed up or otherwise in poor condition.
“Every day that the entire crew is present on the ship, a trouble call has been made for the ship’s force personnel to repair or unclog a portion of the VCHT system, since June 2023,” said an undated document obtained by NPR through a FOIA request earlier this year.
A 30-Hour Fire Knocked Out USS Gerald R. Ford’s Laundry and Displaced 600 Sailors in the Red Sea
The New York Times on Monday filled in some details about what happened during the fire.
“It took more than 30 hours for sailors to put out the fire aboard the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford last week, sailors and military officials said, as the beleaguered ship continued its monthslong slog through President Trump’s military operations,” the Times reported from Washington, although it communicated with sailors aboard the carrier.
“The fire started in the ship’s main laundry area last Thursday. By the time it was over, more than 600 sailors and crew members had lost their beds and had since been bunking down on floors and tables, officials said, according to the Times.
The newspaper account also filled in some backstory about the deployment itself.
“The ship, along with its 4,500 sailors and fighter pilots, was in the Mediterranean on Oct. 24 when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered it to steam to the Caribbean to add weight to President Trump’s pressure campaign on Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s leader before his seizure,” the Times reported.
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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
“Speaking to sailors on board aircraft carriers is difficult in the best of circumstances,” the Times added. “During a war, the ships and military bases involved in operations go ‘dark,’ limiting the ability of service members to communicate with the outside world. The officials and sailors interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.”
A Long Deployment
As the Times noted, the Gerald R. Ford has been deployed for an uncommonly long time, and is just a couple of weeks away from breaking the post-Vietnam record for the longest carrier deployment in history.
“Crew members on the Ford have been told that their deployment will probably be extended into May, which would put them at an entire year at sea, twice the length of a normal aircraft carrier deployment,” the Times account added.
“Ships get tired too, and they get beat up over the course of long deployments,” Rear Admiral John F. Kirby, a retired naval officer who was the Pentagon press secretary during the Biden presidency, told the Times. “You can’t run a ship that long and that hard and expect her and her crew to perform at peak capacity.”
The announcement about the trip to Crete for repairs came the day after the Times account was published.
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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
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.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
A Potential Target?
Per Iran Wire, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement declaring the USS Gerald R. Ford a “target.” The IRGC’s “Khatam al-Anbiya” Headquarters has called the presence of the carrier in the Red Sea a “threat against the Islamic Republic.”
“The logistics and service centers supporting the aforementioned carrier strike group in the Red Sea are considered targets for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic, and there is no way to escape this predicament,” the report added.
There is no evidence that the fire on board the Gerald R. Ford had anything to do with those threats.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
