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...three (tragic) stories and a legendary plane Few days ago, Dario Leone, a long time reader and a huge F-14 Tomcat fan, sent me an email to point out what he had noticed about the date Tony Scott, the famous director of “Top Gun”, chose to commit suicide. He had observed that Aug. 19 was the 31th anniversary of the day when two F-14s downed two Libyan fighters in 1981 (something that Scott, most probably, didn’t even know) and provided some interesting news about the fate of the two Tomcats involved in the dogfight and their crew members. “Top Gun...

The U.S. aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf will temporarily decline due to unexpected repairs and unusual maintenance problems, the Navy said on Wednesday. The USS Nimitz was expected to be deployed to the Gulf early next year to relieve the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is now stationed in the region, but will be delayed due to the need for extensive repairs on a failed propulsion pump. The USS Eisenhower is being sent back to the U.S for repairs to its flight deck. It will remain in Norfolk, Virginia, for two months and then return to the Middle...

The American supercarrier USS Nimitz, the largest aircraft carrier of the entire U.S. Navy's fleet.I am probably a tad above the average age for a member of the Canadian Senate – still in my 60s, but hurtling recklessly toward the biblical age of three-score-and-ten. So I felt slightly out of place when I visited the U.S. Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier USS Nimitz this summer, and watched young warriors (average age is 22.5) prepare for a mission. Visiting the ship gave me a variety of insights into massive military equipment and how it functions, the strategic value of naval capability —...

Worse than practicing bleeding. It's a two-parter. Start here: http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/carrier1.html

No. 68 has left the bay. The Navy aircraft carrier Nimitz, which bears the familiar number 68 on its tower, departed San Diego Monday morning, bound for a year of maintenance work in Washington state. Its 2,800-sailor crew called San Diego home for almost a decade. The $4 billion flat-top leaves a question mark in its place at Coronado’s North Island Naval Air Station. The Navy has not revealed whether the Nimitz will return to San Diego in a year – restoring the city to its status as a three-carrier port – or stay in the Puget Sound region. The...

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 began carrier qualifications July 12 off the coast of Southern California. Carrier qualifications test both CVW 11 and the Nimitz crew. "The Nimitz and Air Wing 11 team did a great job of refreshing flight deck currency," said Capt. Eric Wright, Nimitz's air department head. "These operations aren't always fast or error-free, but we operated deliberately and safely. It was a great first day back." Nimitz and CVW-11 will continue to launch and recover aircraft throughout the week of July 12 to qualify and re-qualify pilots, extending...

): USS Nimitz (CVN 68) has successfully completed its sea trials at the western Pacific Ocean. For the first time in three months Nimitz was departed from the Naval Base Coronado on June 29 and the sea trials were completed by July 2. The trials were mainly done to test and evaluate Nimitz' main engines along with other equipment (elevators, doors, catapults and high-speed power turns) after conducting a 30-day Carrier Incremental Availability. "For us, the main concern was shaking off the dust after a three month layoff making sure we had the same skill sets in place," Master Chief...

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) has started from her homeport of Naval Base Coronado to perform sea trials at the western Pacific Ocean, for assessing its readiness and capability. The trails have begun from June 30. Later on, a 30-day carrier incremental availability (CIA) will be conducted when the ship will return from the extended deployment. "We have accomplished some high quality maintenance on critical equipment and systems during this availability, for the next few days we get to validate that work by putting the ship through its paces," Capt. Paul O. Monger, Nimitz commanding officer, said in an US Navy...

Industry players have until early May to respond to a U.S. Navy request for information (RFI) for a carrier-based, stealthy, unmanned, strike and surveillance system capable of integrating with manned aircraft as part of a carrier air wing by 2018. The unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (Uclass) RFI calls for a notional system made up of 4-6 autonomously launched and recoverable vehicles to operate in “irregular and hybrid warfare scenarios.” The system must be able to operate from CVN-68 and -78-class carriers, and be capable of being directed from both carrier- and shore-based mission control stations. The stealthy UAV...

Kong Wednesday amid heightened tension between Washington and Beijing over arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's plan to meet the Dalai Lama. The stop by the USS Nimitz, one of the world's largest warships, came just weeks after China said it would suspend military and security contacts with the United States over Washington's 6.4-billion-dollar arms package for Taipei. It also coincided with a trip to Washington by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for a long-awaited meeting with Obama, a visit that has infuriated Beijing which has denounced him as a separatist bent on independence for his...

All photos with captions. See link above

091126-N-8960W-015 GULF OF OMAN (Nov. 26, 2009) Rainbow side boys render honors to Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 are currently deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Robert Winn/Released) 091126-N-9760Z-005 GULF OF OMAN (Nov. 26, 2009) Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command, address the crew before a reenlistment ceremony in the forecastle of the aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz and embarked Carrier Air...

Story Number: NNS040317-12 Release Date: 3/17/2004 11:48:00 PM By Journalist 3rd Class (SW) Kristine DeHoux, USS Nimitz Public Affairs NORTH ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Four USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Sailors helped represent the Navy March 6 at a NASCAR Busch Series race held in Las Vegas. The No. 14 Navy “Accelerate your life” Chevrolet Monte Carlo ran in the Sam’s Town 300 and was dedicated to the ship and her crew. Former pro-football player Terry Bradshaw and the FitzBradshaw racing team own the Navy-sponsored car that was dedicated to Nimitz. They've had an ongoing partnership with the Navy for two...

Story Number: NNS040308-15 Release Date: 3/9/2004 12:38:00 AM By Journalist 2nd Class Ahron Arendes, USS Nimitz Public Affairs NORTH ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- USS Nimitz (CVN 68) broke the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) single-day blood donation record Feb. 20 at a blood drive to support service members deployed to the Middle East, military hospitals and clinics, and retirees, and their family members. According to Doreen Rekoski, ASBP blood donor recruiter, in one day, Nimitz Sailors donated 162 pints of blood, breaking the previous record of 133. The record for a two-day blood drive is 204 pints. "The one-day drive...