(CNN) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai took his first tour of a U.S. aircraft carrier Thursday in the Gulf of Oman to understand U.S. Navy overseas operations, the Navy said Friday.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai stands on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday.
Video from the Department of Defense showed Karzai smiling as he got off a plane on the Nimitz-class USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday afternoon. He was formally welcomed to the ship by naval officers' salutes and music.
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, gave Karzai a tour of the ship, showing him the aircraft hangars and the flight deck.
Karzai also chatted with a few sailors.
"How many months or days ... do you have to spend on the ship before you're allowed to go home?" he asked, which was answered with smiles and laughter.
"Six and half to seven months," one sailor responded.
"I'd be happy here!" Karzai replied with a laugh as he patted one of the sailors on the back.
Gortney told him how the aircraft on board are used in U.S. operations in the region and explained what equipment the aircraft carry and why.
Karzai strapped on a protective vest, goggles and sound-muffling headgear to explore the flight deck of the ship as part of his tour.
"Karzai visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier at sea to gain a better understanding of how the U.S. Navy conducts operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom," the U.S. Navy said in a written statement.
The Gulf of Oman is between Oman and Iran.
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