Eleven House Armed Services Committee Democrats have written to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding a classified briefing on the condition of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, now approaching ten consecutive months at sea — a deployment that may soon break the U.S. Navy’s record. The letter, led by Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA), Wesley Bell (D-MO), and Joe Courtney (D-CT), warns that the strike group is operating at “the outer edge of, and potentially exceeding, standard Navy deployment timelines.