Amid cheers and tears, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt returned to San Diego on Tuesday, ending an extended deployment that included tense moments in the Middle East, where the ship helped protect Israel from a potential attack by Iran.

In a ritual dating back decades, friends and family lined a pier at North Island and waved as the nearly 1,100-foot carrier gracefully sidled up to its berth, nine months after leaving home.

Roxanne Brown of Tuscany, Italy, was near the front, searching the ship’s rails for a glimpse of her daughter, Austin, a surgeon on the TR.

“She’s been gone so long, and I need to see her face,” Brown said. “There’s been so much craziness going on in the world, and it worries me.”

Brown was alluding to the fact that the carrier was diverted to the Middle East in late August to supplement another San Diego-based carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln. It’s very rare for two carriers to work together so closely.

The Lincoln is still in the Middle East and is unlikely to return to San Diego before early next year.

The Roosevelt served as the flagship of a carrier battle group while plying the Indo-Pacific and Middle East — a role it is expected to play again, starting sometime in 2025.

The frequent deployments cause a lot of stress.

“It was hard not knowing where Cameron was,” said Charlotte Moore of St. Augustine, Fla., referring to her son, a member of the Roosevelt’s crew. “The ship went to the Persian Gulf, which was very scary. I’m here waiting to hug him.”

Standing nearby was Vondi Grijalva of Tucson, who was waiting to greet her niece, Vienetta Grijalva.

“I’ve been praying and praying for days that she’ll come home safe,” she said. “I’ve missed her so much. I haven’t seen her since last Christmas.”