Thousands of Navy family members cheered Tuesday morning as the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt docked at its berth at Naval Air Station North Island.
The last time its crew saw the San Diego skyline was nine months ago, when they departed for what was supposed to be a scheduled seven-month deployment to the western Pacific.
However, due to instability in the Middle East tied to the ongoing Israeli war on Hamas — including frequent missile and drone attacks on U.S. ships by Houthi rebels in Yemen — the ship was sent to the region in July.
Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, said the changing missions demonstrated the ship's worth.
"It shows the inherent flexibility of a carrier strike group — that no matter where the crisis is, where the contingency is, where the operation is — we can quickly respond anywhere around the world," Alexander said. "We were extended a total number of four different times."
Capt. Brian Schrum, the Roosevelt's commanding officer, said the extended time away took its toll on sailors.
"It is great to be back home here in San Diego," Schrum said. "We are very, very excited to be back — very tired, but excited."
The guided-missile destroyer USS Russell also returned to San Diego on Tuesday. It left in January as part of the Roosevelt's strike group.
After the long deployment, the crew of the Roosevelt can expect to be home for a while, a Navy official told KPBS. The next carrier due to deploy from San Diego is the USS Carl Vinson, which is scheduled to leave by the end of the year.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, San Diego's third carrier, left on deployment in July. By August, it was on station in the 5th Fleet area of operations in the Middle East, where it remains today.
