2026-04-12T11:00:54.720Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：肖恩·林格斯、扎卡里·科恩
发布时间：2026年4月12日，美国东部时间上午7:00
2025年1月15日，美国海军士兵在加勒比海航行期间，于“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的飞行甲板上行走。
水手佩奇·布朗/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
今年3月中旬，美国规模最大、战力最强的航空母舰“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号的一个舱室突发火灾。
当时该舰正航行在地中海东部，作为对伊朗数周战争行动的一部分执行战机起飞任务，火灾在洗衣房爆发。船员耗时30小时才将火扑灭、清理现场并防止复燃，约600名水兵因受损区域无法继续使用铺位，同时也无法使用洗衣设施。所幸没有水兵受重伤。
这只是“福特”号船员遭遇的最新一次考验。据统计，本周该舰将打破越南战争以来航母部署时长的纪录。作为唐纳德·特朗普总统干预主义外交政策的先锋，该舰从1月协助抓捕委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗，到在伊朗战争中出动大批战机，始终活跃在一线。
尽管特朗普曾以批评美国卷入过往战争作为竞选纲领，但他重返白宫的第一年，军事行动大幅增加，“福特”号扮演了核心角色。
自今年6月从弗吉尼亚州起航以来，该舰的任务组合包括横跨大西洋的多次紧急部署：最初按计划前往地中海并北上挪威，随后被调往加勒比海执行针对马杜罗的行动；接着又被紧急调往中东协助应对潜在战争，途中曾短暂停靠维修舰船马桶故障。
火灾发生两天后，“福特”号恢复了战机出动任务。随后该舰前往希腊进行维修，又在克罗地亚停靠补充后返回海上，赶得上特朗普上周威胁对伊朗发动基础设施打击的行动。
2025年11月25日，一名水兵在加勒比海航行期间，检查“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的飞机弹射器轨道。
二级士官格拉吉米·巴里萨奇/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
此次部署经军方两次正式延长，给水兵家属带来了沉重压力。
“我们每天都活在无尽的不确定中，”阿米尼·奥西亚斯说，他的女儿正在“福特”号上服役。他告诉CNN，有时候“我几乎彻夜难眠”。
本月伊朗军方击落一架美国战机的事件，让奥西亚斯真切感受到了战争的危险。“如果我女儿当初加入的是空军，那遭遇危险的可能就是她了，”他说。
奥西亚斯的女儿是一名航空电工，他自豪地谈起女儿从一名热爱海洋生物学的少年，成长为世界最致命舰艇之一的水兵的经历。但他也一直在纠结美国是否应当卷入这场战争。
“我们真的应该为此开战，送我们的孩子上前线吗？”奥西亚斯自问。“归根结底，作为父母，我的职责是保护我的女儿。”
“福特”号航母搭载约4500名水兵和数十架战术飞机，其遭遇的困境也引发了更广泛的质疑：过去一年海军资产承受的压力，将如何影响美军应对未来可能在太平洋爆发的对华战争的能力。
马桶故障和洗衣房火灾是“福特”号特有的问题，但长期部署的航母往往会面临越来越多的小故障：随着部件老化，海上维修只能临时治标。用于拦截降落战机的拦阻索会磨损，海水会渗入舰载系统，诸如此类的小问题会不断累积。
2025年2月1日，水兵们在加勒比海乘坐刚性充气艇下放时，移动安全绳。
水手艾莉莎·乔伊/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
2025年11月6日，水兵们在“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的喷气式飞机维修车间进行消防综合演练，扑灭模拟火灾。
水手斯宾塞·斯塔格斯/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
熟悉海军内部讨论的消息人士表示，这些因素，再加上“福特”号执行的高强度战机出动任务，增加了发生事故的风险。
这艘耗资130亿美元的航母是美国11艘核动力航母中最新型、技术最先进的一艘，也成为了美国海军力量的实力与局限的象征。
“如果没有‘福特’号，我们将难以维持作战部署，同时也难以让我们的航母保持对敌人的技术优势，”曾在海军服役26年的前潜艇军官布伦特·萨德勒说道。
美国海军将“福特”号在伊朗和委内瑞拉行动中的角色相关问题，交由分别负责这两场行动的美国中央司令部和南方司令部回应。这两个司令部均拒绝提供具体细节。CNN已就该舰的损耗情况和船员士气问题向“福特”号公共事务办公室发送了提问。
CNN还联系了“福特”号的监察员——负责连接航母指挥层和水兵家属的人员。监察员将问题转交给了“福特”号公共事务办公室。
2026年2月26日，世界最大航母“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号从希腊克里特岛干尼亚附近的苏达海军基地驶离。
扬尼斯·安杰拉基斯/美联社
“这给家属带来了巨大压力”
现任和前任军方官员均表示，“福特”号在伊朗和委内瑞拉行动中发挥了不可或缺的作用。
萨德勒称，该舰的电磁弹射系统可以从小型无人机到大型战机实现各类机型的弹射起飞，为指挥官提供了多样化的火力选择。美国其他10艘航母均不具备这一能力。
但美国军方对“福特”号及其船员的依赖，在伊朗战争期间暴露无遗。
在委内瑞拉附近海域停靠期间，“福特”号的机组人员出动架次相对较少——大部分任务集中在特朗普批准抓捕马杜罗行动后的一个短窗口内。转移到中东后，随着美军从主要使用防区外武器转向出动战机飞入伊朗领空投放炸弹，飞行员的任务量大幅增加。
据一名知情人士透露，甚至在特朗普周二宣布与伊朗停火之前，“福特”号的领导层就已告知船员，预计将于5月返回美国。尽管船员们终于看到了归期，但长期部署往往会留下持久的影响。
2025年12月14日，在加勒比海航行期间进行垂直补给时，水兵们在飞行甲板上准备货物运输。
二级士官艾莉莎·斯珀勒/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
2025年3月16日，在“史诗愤怒”行动期间，一名水兵在“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的飞行甲板上指挥F/A-18E“超级大黄蜂”战机起飞。
美国海军/美国中央司令部公共事务部
北约前最高盟军司令、退役海军上将詹姆斯·斯塔夫里迪斯表示：“海军分析显示，一旦舰艇部署时长超过6个月，人员留存率和士气问题就会‘加速恶化’。”他表示，考虑到此次部署的时长，他“预计‘福特’号船员会面临诸多挑战”。
创纪录的部署时长会给船员带来挑战，但“福特”号上有一位特殊的舰员，其任务就是帮助缓解船员压力。
一只名为塞奇的雌性拉布拉多寻回犬自2023年起便在“福特”号上担任治疗犬，最初是作为海军该理念的试点项目。塞奇拥有“上尉”军衔，“经过训练可以预警焦虑、缓解压力并干预有害行为”，“使命救助犬”组织的发言人塔拉·费舍尔说道。该组织是一家非营利机构，专门为军方和执法人员配备经过特殊训练的工作犬，塞奇便是其中之一。
费舍尔表示，在“福特”号上，塞奇“正在提升舰友们的心理韧性、降低压力、打破隔阂，并减少围绕心理健康的污名化”。费舍尔称，塞奇“接受过在这艘巨型航母上活动的全面训练”，拥有自己的医疗箱和安全装备。塞奇的目标之一是“成为对话的催化剂，鼓励水兵和海军陆战队员寻求专业心理支持”。随着“福特”号继续在海上执行任务，并从紧张的数月战斗中恢复，这些技能显得尤为重要。
2025年8月4日，水兵们抚摸着通过“使命救助犬”组织分配到“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的治疗犬塞奇。
二级士官亚历山大·卡斯柯/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
据多位熟悉海军内部相关讨论的消息人士透露，整个海军都面临着水兵倦怠的问题。这些消息人士表示，从飞行员到维修人员的海军航空人员，正以极高的比例离开部队。
美国国防部长皮特·赫格斯西已下令对海军打击战斗机中队的人员流失率进行审查，CNN获得的赫格斯西3月的一份备忘录显示了这一情况。为留住顶尖人才，海军还向飞行军官和海军飞行员提供每年数万美元的奖金。
“我们现在正处于留存情况不佳的阶段，”海军第二舰队前司令、退役海军中将安德鲁·“伍迪”·刘易斯说道。他指出，海军人员部署不确定性、海军飞行员获得飞行认证所需时间过长，一直是长期存在的难题。“当充满不确定性、事情进展比预期慢得多时，行政负担也不断增加，这会侵蚀你的心态，”刘易斯说。“这给家属和个人都带来了压力。”
刘易斯和其他前任高级海军官员表示，“福特”号的船员会乐于接受长期海上部署的挑战，而“福特”号的指挥层也会密切关注倦怠问题和家属压力。
“在航母上服役既是福也是祸，”曾执行过11次为期6个月及以上航母部署任务的刘易斯说道。福在于，航母被用于执行大量“极具战略意义的重要任务”；祸则在于，“你不得不出海，部署会被延长，你会长时间处于完全不知道接下来会发生什么的状态”。
2025年12月18日，一名水兵在加勒比海航行期间，通过“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母的飞行甲板。
见习水兵内森·西尔斯/“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母/美国海军
CNN的阿尔皮塔·达西卡对本文亦有贡献。
The record-breaking trip of the USS Gerald Ford, the aircraft carrier at the center of Trump’s military ambitions
2026-04-12T11:00:54.720Z / CNN
By Sean Lyngaas, Zachary Cohen
PUBLISHED Apr 12, 2026, 7:00 AM ET
US Marines walk on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on January 15.
Seaman Paige Brown/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
In mid-March, a fire tore through a compartment of the United States’ largest and most powerful aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.
The ship was floating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, launching aircraft as part of the weeks-old war with Iran, when the blaze broke out in the laundry department. It took the crew 30 hours to put out the fire, clean it up and prevent it from reigniting, and roughly 600 sailors lost access to their bunks due to the damage. They also couldn’t do laundry, though fortunately no sailors were seriously injured.
It was just the latest trial for the crew of the Ford, which is slated, by one count, to break a record this week for the longest deployment for an aircraft carrier since the Vietnam War. The ship has served as the tip of the spear of President Donald Trump’s interventionist foreign policy, from helping capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January to launching waves of aircraft in the Iran war.
Though Trump ran on a platform criticizing US involvement in past wars, his first year back in office has seen a surge in military operations with the Ford playing a prime role.
The combination of missions since the ship pulled away from Virginia in June has included pinballing across the Atlantic, initially heading to the Mediterranean and up to Norway as part of its scheduled trip before being pulled to the Caribbean for the Maduro operation. Then it got ordered to rapidly make its way to aid in a potential Middle East war, stopping briefly to get an issue with the ship’s toilets fixed.
Two days after the fire, the Ford was able to fly sorties again. The ship then headed to Greece for repairs, but was back at sea after an additional stop in Croatia in time to be available for Trump’s threatened day of infrastructure strikes in Iran last week.
A sailor inspects an aircraft catapult launch track on the USS Gerald R. Ford, while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on November 25, 2025.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Gladjimi Balisage/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
The trip, formally extended by the military twice, has weighed on the sailors’ families.
“It’s constant uncertainty that we live on a daily basis,” said Amini Osias, whose daughter is serving on the Ford. Sometimes, he told CNN, “I can hardly sleep.”
The Iranian military’s downing of a US fighter jet this month brought home the dangers of the war to Osias. “That could have been my daughter if she would have joined the Air Force,” he said.
Osias’ daughter is an aviation electrician, he said. He spoke with pride about his daughter’s journey from a teenager interested in marine biology to sailor aboard one of the world’s most lethal ships. But he also has wrestled with whether the US should be at war in the first place.
“Is it really something we should fight and send our children to?” Osias said he asks himself. “In the end, as a parent, my duty is to protect my daughter.”
The travails of the Ford, which has about 4,500 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft, are raising broader questions about how the strain on Navy assets over the last year positions the military service for a future that could include war with China in the Pacific.
The issues with the toilets and the laundry fire are specific to the Ford, but carriers on long deployments often face increasing gremlins as components wear out and repairs at sea serve as temporary band aids. Arresting cables that catch landing aircraft begin to fray and saltwater seeps into shipboard systems, among other minor issues that begin to compound.
Sailors move a safety line while being lowered in a rigid-hull inflatable boat, in the Caribbean Sea, on February 1.
Seaman Alyssa Joy/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
Sailors fight a simulated fire in the USS Gerald R. Ford’s jet shop during a general quarters drill, on November 6, 2025.
Seaman Spencer Staggs/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
Those factors, paired with flying a high-volume of sorties like those launched from the Ford, increase the chances of a potential mishap, sources familiar with internal Navy discussions said.
The $13 billion ship is the newest and most technologically advanced of the 11 US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and has become a symbol of the strength, and limits, of US naval power.
“If we didn’t have the Ford, we would be struggling to maintain an operational presence, but we’d also be struggling to keep our aircraft carriers ahead of our enemies,” said Brent Sadler, a 26-year veteran of the Navy and former submarine officer.
The Navy referred questions about the Ford’s role in the Iran and Venezuela operations to US Central and Southern Command, the military commands that, respectively, have overseen those operations. The commands declined to provide any specifics. CNN has sent questions to the Ford’s public affairs office on any wear and tear the ship has experienced and the morale of sailors on board.
CNN also contacted the “ombudsman” for the Ford, which connects the ship’s command with sailors’ family members. The ombudsman referred questions to the Ford’s public affairs office.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, departs from Souda Naval Base near Chania on the island of Crete, Greece, on February 26.
Giannis Angelakis/AP
‘It stresses the families’
Current and former military officials say the Ford has been indispensable in the Iran and Venezuela operations.
The ship’s electronic catapult system allows it to launch anything from small drones to big aircraft, giving commanders an array of firepower options, Sadler said. The other 10 US aircraft carriers don’t have that capability.
But the US military’s reliance on the Ford, and its sailors, has also been on full display during the Iran war.
While parked near Venezuela, aircrew from the Ford flew a relatively low number of sorties — most of which took place during a short window once Trump approved the operation to capture Maduro. After moving to the Middle East, those pilots flew more missions as US forces moved from using primarily stand-off weapons to bombs dropped by aircraft flying in Iranian airspace.
Even before Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, the Ford’s leadership informed sailors that it expected to return to the US in May, according to a source with the matter. Although the end is in sight for the crew, extended deployments tend to leave lingering effects.
Sailors prepare cargo for transport on the flight deck, during a vertical replenishment while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on December 14, 2025.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Alyssa Sperle/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
A sailor signals the launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft on the flight deck of USS Gerald R. Ford, during Operation Epic Fury, on March 16.
US Navy/US Central Command Public Affairs
“Navy analysis shows that once a ship crosses six months on a given deployment,” issues with retention and morale “accelerate,” according to retired Adm. James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander at NATO. He said he would “expect challenges for the crew” of the Ford, given the length of the deployment.
The record deployment can challenge sailors, but the Ford does have a unique crew member onboard whose mission is to help relieve stress.
A female Labrador retriever named Sage has served as a therapy dog on the Ford since 2023, initially as part of a trial of the concept for the Navy. Sage, who holds the rank of captain, is “trained to alert to anxiety, reduce stress, and interrupt detrimental behaviors,” said Tara Fisher, a spokesperson for Mutts with a Mission, a nonprofit that connects specially trained dogs like Sage with military and law enforcement personnel.
Aboard the Ford, Sage is “enhancing the resiliency of her shipmates, lowering stress, breaking down barriers and reducing the stigma around mental health,” Fisher said. Sage has “extensive training” in navigating the vast ship and has her own medical kit and safety equipment, according to Fisher. One of Sage’s goals is to be “a catalyst for conversations, encouraging sailors and Marines to seek professional support,” Fisher said. Those skills are in high demand as the Ford remains at sea and recovers from an intense few months of combat.
Sailors pet Sage, a dog assigned to the USS Gerald R. Ford through Mutts with a Mission, on August 4, 2025.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Casco/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
The Navy as a whole is facing issues with sailor burnout, according to multiple sources familiar with internal Navy discussions about the issue. Navy aviation personnel, from pilots to maintainers, are leaving the service at a high rate, according to those sources.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of attrition rates among Navy Strike Fighter Squadrons, according to a March memo from Hegseth obtained by CNN. To retain top talent, the Navy is also offering flight officers and naval aviators tens of thousands of dollars annually in bonuses.
“We’re at a point right now where retention’s not great,” said retired Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis, former commander of the Navy’s Second Fleet, citing the evergreen challenge of uncertainty over deployments for Navy personnel and the length of time it takes for Navy pilots to get certified to fly. “It eats into your mentality when there’s a lot of uncertainty, things take longer than they should. You get a lot of administrative burden coming down on you,” Lewis said. “It stresses the families, stresses the individuals.”
Lewis and other former senior Navy officials said the Ford’s crew would relish the challenge of being at sea that long and the Ford’s command would be closely attuned to burnout issues and stresses on the families.
“It’s a curse and a blessing at the same time, being on an aircraft carrier,” said Lewis, who did 11 aircraft carrier deployments of six months or more. The blessing: Aircraft carriers are used for a lot of “very strategically important missions,” Lewis said. “And it’s a curse at the same time because you got to go, you get extended, you get these long periods of you don’t know what the hell is going on.”
A sailor transits the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford, while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on December 18, 2025.
Seaman Apprentice Nathan Sears/USS Gerald R. Ford/US Navy
CNN’s Arpita Dasika contributed to this report.
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