By Jamie Parsons
The Center Square

After spending almost nine months overseas, the USS Carl Vinson and Carrier Strike Group One returned to Naval Base San Diego on Thursday afternoon, with friends, families and newly born babies waiting to greet them home.

Carrier Strike Group One, a U.S. Navy team consisting of ships, aircraft and more than 7,000 sailors, set sail on Nov. 18 to maintain regional stability and demonstrate America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, commander of Carrier Strike Group One, said during the press conference Thursday at the base.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson had around 4,500 sailors aboard and conducted deployments to the U.S. 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations before returning to its homeport at Naval Air Station North Island.

The aircraft traveled 86,000 nautical miles, with the sailors completing 23,000 hours of safe flight operations and about 11,000 sorties, Bauernschmidt told reporters from The Center Square and other media.

The Carrier Strike Group One team conducted missions in the Indo-Pacific and the Central Command’s area of responsibility — areas encompassing the Middle East and parts of Central and East Asia.

Bauernschmidt said the team also “conducted operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aiden, protecting global commerce and countering regional threats.”

The USS Carl Vinson was initially going to return in April, but its deployment was extended to August in March. The Navy said it was due to events occurring in the Red Sea and threats received by the carrier.

As families stood waiting for their loved ones to disembark from the carrier, many held signs that read: “Welcome Home” or “My Hero.” Some families were also wearing matching custom T-shirts that had their loved one’s face on them.

The Center Square spoke to a few of the wives whose husbands were deployed, some of whom had a newborn baby. They said they were excited to hug their husband, and if their husband missed the birth of their child, they were excited to introduce them to their baby.

“Daddy! Daddy!” children chanted before the sailors disembarked.

As the first set of sailors were preparing to get off the ship, Capt. Joshua F. Wenker, commanding officer of the USS Carl Vinson, said he was thankful for the sailors and the work they did during their deployment.

“Thank you for what you do. Thank you for what you do for each other, for the ship and for this nation,” Wenker said during the press conference.