US Navy carrier Ford to go on unusual deployment this year
By Megan Eckstein
Thursday, Feb 3
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has promised a first deployment for its new aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford by this fall — but that deployment won’t be a typical one, the head of Naval Air Force Atlantic told Defense News.
Ford won’t fall under the operational command of a regional combatant commander. Rather, it will conduct a “service-retained early employment” period where the Navy keeps full control over the ship’s activities and schedule, Rear Adm. John Meier said.
The carrier and its strike group will operate on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean alongside a long list of foreign navies, he said. But the operations will be outside the typical Global Force Management-dictated deployment in support of the joint force.
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2022/02/03/us-navy-carrier-ford-to-go-on-unusual-deployment-this-year/
