NORFOLK, Va. — After an eight-and-a-half month deployment that included operations in Europe and Africa, USS George H.W. Bush is returning to Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday.
The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) left Norfolk in August 2022 and, with other members of its Carrier Strike Group (CSG), participated in NATO-led vigilance activity Neptune Strike and Juniper Oak 23-2, the largest bi-lateral U.S.-Israeli exercise in history, according to a news release from the U.S. 2nd Fleet public affairs office.
Eight squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 7 came home first. Several of them are based right here in Hampton Roads. Some squadrons had a flyover and homecoming event at Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana on Friday.
Martha Kahle traveled from Ohio to welcome her son.
"It’s just incredible. We’ve waited so long and then when they had the extension... we just really just almost couldn’t believe it," Kahle said.
“Since taking command before deployment, I have had the privilege and honor to serve with the finest warriors, teachers, leaders, and ambassadors in the U.S. Navy,” said commanding officer Capt. Dave Pollard in a news release. “Our Sailors serve our great nation honorably, exemplifying the service, grit, humility and resilience our namesake, President George Herbert Walker Bush, displayed throughout his life of service to family and country.”
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulfe and guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) will be returning to Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday.
