The Navy's newest and most advanced carrier is stepping back from the Iran fight for a pit stop. The USS Gerald R. Ford is sailing to the US base at Souda Bay in Crete after a fire broke out in its laundry area on March 12, reports CNN. The blaze, which the military says was not related to combat, left two sailors with non-life-threatening injuries. It's just the latest in a series of issues for the carrier, notes the Guardian, which have included clogged toilets and sinking morale amid a marathon deployment. The $13 billion Ford has been launching jets in support of ongoing operations aimed at countering Iran's threat to shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.
The repair is expected to be brief and will help determine what can be fixed now versus back at the carrier's home port. Other ships in the Ford Carrier Strike Group will remain on station in the region. The New York Times reported it took more than 30 hours to extinguish the fire and that 600 sailors lost their beds; the official pushed back, saying the 30 hours covered the full response and that just over 100 beds were damaged, though about 600 crew members were temporarily displaced due to smoke and water damage. "We're thinking about the crew there who were injured in the fire," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine on Friday. "We believe and hope that everyone will be OK and we're grateful for that."
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