Mark Warner

Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner were in Portsmouth on Friday to tour the USS Gerald R. Ford.

The aircraft carrier recently began its scheduled maintenance at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The senators said shipyard leadership told them the Ford’s maintenance is on an “extraordinarily ambitious” timeline of six months.

“The captain is a get-it-done kind of guy,” Warner said. “If he can get that done in six months, we need to put him in charge of all acquisitions.”

The Ford spent a record-breaking 11 months at sea in 2025 and 2026. The carrier and its strike group sailed the equivalent of four trips across the globe in support of operations in the Caribbean and Middle East.

During its lengthy deployment, the crew faced ongoing plumbing issues and a fire in the laundry that destroyed bedding and limited its ability to clean clothes. USNI News reported thousands of sweatsuits and about 1,000 mattresses were flown to the Ford as replacements.

The Navy is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle confirmed its findings and recommendations will be made public when complete.

Warner said the report may recommend a change to the carrier’s fire suppression system in future designs. The senators also confirmed that during the blaze, sailors had to quickly jettison equipment from the pyrotechnic ammo storage that sits directly above the laundry bay. They said the crew also drilled a hole in the deck for a water hose.

The Ford’s maintenance period will cover both scheduled and emergent repairs. The senators did not share cost estimates.

As for morale, the senators said they’ve heard for months from Navy families about the toll extended deployments have on their families. Kaine and Warner also heard from sailors about what would make their time away easier on them and their families, including more robust and innovative shore-based services.

During the Ford’s extended deployment, Navy leadership convened a town hall at Naval Station Norfolk to give space for families’ concerns and answer questions.

Attendees described the event as heated and said they left without much additional information.

As for lengthy deployments, Kaine said, they’re not necessarily the new norm, but they’re becoming more common. And for shipyard schedules, that can present its own challenges.

Emma Rose Brown, [email protected]