Sailors man the rails as the Carl Vinson pulls into San Diego Bay. Sailors on board the USS Carl Vinson returned from deployment to their homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, Aug. 14. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Family and friends wait just outside the secure dock for their sailors assigned to the Carl Vinson to pull into San Diego Bay. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors man the rails as the Carl Vinson pulls into San Diego Bay. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors man the rails as the Carl Vinson pulls into San Diego Bay. Sailors on board the USS Carl Vinson returned from deployment on Thursday, Aug. 14. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Caitlin Dizon of Mission Valley used her phone to videotape as the USS Carl Vinson pulled up to the pier. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors look on as the Carl Vinson pulls into San Diego Bay on Thursday. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors wave to family and friends. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors wave to family and friends as the Carl Vinson pulls into San Diego Bay. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
After waiting hours to see her son, Jessie Ramirez, Brenda Ramirez (l) lit with excitement once she saw the Carl Vinson pull into San Diego Bay. Brenda was pierside with her son’s girlfriend, Jasmine Delrio (m), and her daughter, Nicole Ramirez (r). (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sailors disembark from the USS Carl Vinson after returning from deployment to their homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Coronado, California. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Brianna Sanderson gave the couple’s newborn baby to her husband, David Sanderson, to meet his 7-week-old son, Elliot, for the first time. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Blayne Benavente hugs and holds his seventh child, baby Luciah, who is one month old and was born while he was deployed onboard the USS Carl Vinson. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Christy Trevino from Amarillo, Texas, hugs her son, Ezra Trevino, who was among the sailors onboard the USS Carl Vinson who returned from deployment to their homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, Aug. 14. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Kaleb Enrriques leans in to kiss his 10-month-old son, Aralias, as his wife, Mia Enrriques, looks on. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Nicole Ramirez from Florida stood just outside the secure zone, holding a large sign while waiting for her brother, Jessie Ramirez, to return from deployment. Jessie Ramirez is assigned to the Carl Vinson and is among the sailors on board the USS Carl Vinson who are returning from deployment to their homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Brianna Sterling hugs her son, Khalil Fahmy, 4, whom she hasn’t seen for the last 9 months. Sailors on board the USS Carl Vinson returned from deployment to their homeport at Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Originally Published: August 14, 2025 at 6:58 PM PDT