The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and its embarked air wing will arrive at Pearl Harbor Tuesday for a port visit after a five-and-a-half month deployment that included operations in the Persian Gulf and air missions over Afghanistan.

Vinson is on its way home to San Diego, the Navy said.

Vinson serves as the flagship for Carrier Strike Group 1, led by Rear Adm. T.K. Shannon, which also includes the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey and guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill.

The carrier will be greeted in Hawaii by family and friends as they prepare to embark on a “tiger cruise” for the last leg of the deployment back home to San Diego.

Carl Vinson left Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., Nov. 30 for a deployment to the Western Pacific, Middle East and Indian Ocean.

The Vinson left Hong Kong on Dec. 30 after a three-day port visit, and arrived in the Middle East Jan. 9. It was part of a three-aircraft carrier presence in the region along with the John C. Stennis and Abraham Lincoln at a time of increased tensions with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. 

The carrier strike group made two trips into the Persian Gulf, stopping in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and also operated in the Indian Ocean off India.