After decades of faithful service to the United States Navy, it is time for the USS Nimitz to return to its homeport.
What is almost certainly the final deployment of the oldest active nuclear-powered supercarrier is now on its final leg. Earlier this week, USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departed from Pearl Harbor and is now heading back to her homeport at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. However, the warship will first make a port call in San Diego, the former homeport for CVN-68 for 11 years from November 2001 to March 2012.
From “America’s Friendliest City,” the carrier was homeported at Naval Air Station North Island and supported operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The USS Nimitz also departed from San Diego this past March for her final deployment.
The USS Nimitz’s Notable Final Deployment
During the nine-month deployment, the lead vessel of the Nimitz-class of supercarriers has conducted operations in the Middle East, becoming the last US Navy flattop deployed to the region since the Pentagon maintained a near-constant presence in the region following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. That event ignited the most significant fighting seen in the Middle East in decades.
Washington had rotated several carrier strike groups (CSG) to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Persian Gulf to stop an escalation and to deter Iran and its proxies.
After departing the region in October, USS Nimitz operated in the South China Sea, but not without incident. In what may be the most significant blemish on her final deployment, two of its aircraft suffered catastrophic mishaps just 30 minutes apart. A Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighter and a Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting “routine operations.”
Both the pilot and the weapons system officer (WSO) from the two-seat Super Hornet ejected safely, and all five personnel on the rotary aircraft were recovered safely.
The United States Navy didn’t state what caused the crash, but other posts on social media noted that the South China Sea was experiencing isolated showers, with heavy rain falling in short bursts and strong wind gusts. In a social media post, President Donald Trump blamed “bad fuel.” However, the crashes are still under investigation.
The Nimitz Is Hitting the Big 50
The deployment of USS Nimitz, named for World War II US Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz, also coincided with the 50th anniversary of her commissioning in 1975.
During the ceremony, then-President Gerald Ford suggested, “Wherever the United States Ship Nimitz shows her flag, she will be seen as we see her now—a solid symbol of United States strength, United States resolve—made in America and manned by Americans.”
Those words have been valid for the past five decades.
Throughout the 1980s, the supercarrier was regularly deployed worldwide. In 1988, the Nimitz provided security off the coast of South Korea during the Olympic Games in Seoul.
In 2003, during her 11th operational deployment, the USS Nimitz took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, launching Carrier Air Wing 11 aircraft over Iraq and over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The carrier was even given its close-up twice.
The USS Nimitz appeared in the 1980 sci-fi historical drama The Final Countdown, in which the warship was sent back in time to December 1941. In 2005, when CVN-68 commemorated its 30 years of service, film crews spent an entire deployment on board for the PBS documentary Carrier, providing an intimate look at life aboard the ship.
About the USS Nimitz
- Beam: 252 ft (76.8 m) overall
- Engines: Two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors and four steam turbines
- Top Speed: 30 knots
- Range: Unlimited (20-25 years)
- Armaments: Multiple systems including Phalanx CIWS, Sea Sparrow, and Rolling Airframe Missiles
- Crew: ~ 3,532 ship’s company and ~2,480 air wing
The USS Nimitz was first authorized by Congress in fiscal year 1967 and commissioned in 1975. The ship was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport, Virginia.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/Parkdolly
