Sailors Answered Every Call

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the sailors and crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford. They have returned home after the longest aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam war.

For nearly 300 days, nearly 11 months, these Americans served halfway around the world, missing their families, carrying out every mission asked of them with discipline, courage, and professionalism.

They endured combat operations, dangerous onboard conditions, and extraordinary strain on both ship and crew.

We must also recognize the growing burden these extended operations place upon our sailors, our military families, and our Nation. This deployment was repeatedly extended to support illegal and unconstitutional operations in Venezuela and Iran.

Behind every extra month at sea are missed birthdays, holidays, exhausted crews, and families left waiting at home.

Our sailors answered every call. We must swiftly end this expensive war of choice in Iran while honoring the service of the men and women of the Gerald R. Ford. We thank them and their families on this Memorial Day weekend for every sacrifice made throughout this costly war of choice and unnecessarily long deployment.

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