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ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — The aircraft carrier leading the U.S. military's tsunami relief effort steamed out of Indonesian waters yesterday after the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions — part of a broad effort by Indonesia to reassert control over its territory.     The USS Abraham Lincoln's diversion, which was not expected to affect aid flights, came as the White House asked the Indonesian government to explain why it appears to be demanding that the U.S. military and other foreign troops providing disaster relief leave the country by the end...

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, On board the 'USS Abraham Lincoln' off Banda Aceh Coast The ship's alarm sounded at 5:40 a.m., prompting Lt. Eric Danielsen, a helicopter pilot, to quickly rise from his bed in his small cabin in the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln. He took a shower and rushed to the morning briefing, which was attended by other crew members and pilots of helicopters deployed for humanitarian purposes to Aceh. After the briefing, Danielsen and his colleagues had breakfast in the ship's public dining room. At about 8.30 a.m, the young lieutenant and about 10 other pilots...

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (AP) - Standing in the hangar bay of this mammoth aircraft carrier, Seaman Joviena Kay looks across the waves toward the devastated coast of Sumatra, remembering a time 13 years ago when she huddled on the same deck with evacuees from another great Asian disaster. Joviena was 6 years old then, a refugee from a volcano. The Filipino-American eventually joined the U.S. Navy, and she is serving on the ship that rescued her as its sailors help the survivors of an earthquake and tsunami. ``It's horrible, what happened to those people out there,'' she says...

Description: CBS Anchorman Dan Rather and his news crew return to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) after touring the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Dan Rather will be anchoring from Indonesia and the Navy released a photo of him on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in his flight suit. I find this hillarious after the way the left pilloried Bush for "wearing a costume" for his landing on the....ta da!....USS Abraham Lincoln! LOL! The Lefties...the gift that keeps on giving.

Capt. Dye is reporting on his weekly radio show. The crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln is forgoing fresh-water showers so that the evaporators can produce the maximum of 25,000 gallons of fresh water per day. US helicopters are not only delivering on-ship goods, but moving/delivering humanitarian supplies from charity groups.

Tsunami Survivors Mob U.S. Aid Copters 38 minutes ago World - AP Asia By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN - Desperate, homeless villagers on the tsunami-ravaged island of Sumatra mobbed American helicopters carrying aid Saturday as the U.S. military launched its largest operation in the region since the Vietnam War, ferrying food and other emergency relief to survivors across the disaster zone. From dawn until sunset on New Year's Day, 12 Seahawk helicopters shuttled supplies and advance teams from offshore naval vessels while reconnaissance aircraft brought back stark images of wave-wrecked coastal landscapes and...

Reuters finally broke the story about USS Abraham Lincoln and it's task force bringing aid to the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia, and briefly mentions some of the aid being given to Sri Lanka, but there is more to the story... Resupply ships, such as AORs, are detaching themselves from the aircraft carrier task force and from Diego Garcia and are fanning out to more isolated islands and using their three launches and two helicopters to bring aid to those in need. The plan is to make two deliveries to each community they come across. The first, sadly enough,...

SPIEGEL ONLINE - 01. Januar 2005, 18:59 URL: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,335207,00.html Hygiene Emergency Doctors Confirm Cholera Outbreak Many remote areas are still without help on the sixth day after the flood catastrophe. US-Helicoptors reached the region for the frist time today, and they are now distributing food and medicine from the air. Meanwhile, Cholera has broken out in a refugee camp in Sri Lanka. AP Aid delivery: Packages are thrown out above the crisis areas Galle/Banda Aceh - A doctor has diagnosed the gastro-intestinal disease cholera in four families in a reception camp in the city of Galle, Sri Lanka. The spokesperson for the relief organization...

Six San Diego based ships have been diverted to provide disaster and humanitarian assistance to victims of earthquake and tsunamis in South Asia, according to the US Navy's Seventh Fleet.The ships with Expeditionary Group 5, including the amphibious ships Rushmore, Bonhomme Richard, and Duluth, the guided missile cruiser Bunker Hill, guided missile destroyer Milius and guided missile frigate Thach.The strike group will provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the governments of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand and other affected nations, according to the Navy. The Navy is also sending the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, according to the Seventh...

JAKARTA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier group was headed for Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province on Thursday and several other U.S. military ships were on course to the Bay of Bengal to help with relief operations, officials said. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and four other vessels will be stationed off Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra island where the death toll from Sunday's earthquake and tsunami has risen past 47,000. Another group of seven U.S. military ships, including a helicopter carrier, steamed for the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. Lieutenant General James T. Conway,...

THE US military said today it had diverted an aircraft carrier, other ships, at least 20 aircraft and thousands of sailors and marines to Asian countries struck by devastating tsunami waves. The men and material were dispatched by US Pacific Command with many of the aircraft heading for Thailand and Sri Lanka, two of the worst hit countries. Logistical problems hampered a massive humanitarian relief operation along Asia's devastated shores as the death toll from a huge earthquake and deadly tidal waves surged past 55,000. “We have diverted the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and its five ships. They left Hong...

EVERETT WA- The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) pulled out of port early this morning beginning its 4-6 month long deployment to the west pacific. The Lincoln has become a rare sight on the Everett waterfront. In the last 2 years the ship has been in its home birth less than 13 weeks. As the Lincoln pulls away it and its complement of support ships make new ground. The Battle Group is the first one to be surged under the new fleet response plan. The navy’s new training cycle that allows the President a more flexible naval force.

Before his death, Navy flier escorted president to carrier Monday, September 13, 2004 By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette On May 1, 2003, Lt. Cmdr. Scott Zellem was standing in a briefing room at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego when President George W. Bush entered, wearing an olive-green naval flight suit. "Mr. President," Zellem said, "you look awesome." Lt. Cmdr. Scott Zellem, right, stands with Lt. Rockne Baker, left, and President George W. Bush.     "Thanks, 'Z-man,' " Bush replied, using Zellem's Navy call sign.Later that day, the president made a tailhook landing on the USS...

USS Abraham Lincoln To Be Deployed Next Month September 5, 2004 By KOMO Staff & News Services Tools Email This Story Printer-friendly Version EVERETT - The USS Abraham Lincoln will leave on deployment in mid-October, not early next year as the Navy had previously planned.

USS Truman: Out for fun and games? FILE UNDER: 'NO WAY TO DELAY THAT TROUBLE COMING EVERY DAY'USS Harry S. Truman, USS Enterprise Leave Norfolk to Test Navy's Deployment Capabilities (AP) - The USS Harry S. Truman sailed Wednesday- and the USS Enterprise left Thursday - in a test of the Navy's ability to have seven of its 12 carriers away from port simultaneously, a major shift from the way carriers have traditionally been used. The two Norfolk-based carriers are participating in the exercise, dubbed "Summer Pulse 04." "Summer Pulse 04" continues through August, with seven carriers conducting joint exercises...

<p>Dealing With Democrats Democrats are continuing to grouse about President Bush's decision last week to use a Viking jet to land on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has issued this statement, "Considering the expense to the American taxpayer and use of American military men and women as 'extras' for this media stunt, the president should pledge that his landing not appear in any presidential campaign commercials and videos." McAuliffe also called Bush's choice "indefensible." The White House is about as likely to issue such a statement as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is to stop mentioning his service in Vietnam. And in fact, the White House is throwing the profligacy charge back at Democrats. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer claimed yesterday that the president actually saved taxpayers money. Fleisher said the Viking jet costs just $7 more to operate each hour than does a helicopter. Said Fleischer: "Given the fact that it actually takes a Viking less time to travel than a helicopter, you can do the math."</p>

<p>FOR all you conspiracy theorists out there, I've got a hot new one for you: Based on the available evidence offered over the past few days, it appears key Democrats on Capitol Hill are secretly in the employ of the president and his political adviser, Karl Rove.</p>

LANCASTER - Brent Sforzini, a U.S. Navy fire controlman, and his shipmates aboard the USS Shiloh spent their deployment in the Persian Gulf as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Friday, Sforzini brought back stories from the battle group to the students at Lincoln Elementary School in Lancaster. A week ago, when the ship docked in San Diego, the 24-year-old Sforzini and his shipmates were greeted by a crowd of people cheering and waving American flags. At Friday morning's assembly in the school yard, Lincoln School students cheered and waved small American flags to...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryMay 3, 2003 Radio Address by the President to the Nation      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. On Thursday, I visited the USS Abraham Lincoln, now headed home after the longest carrier deployment in recent history. I delivered good news to the men and women who fought in the cause of freedom: their mission is complete and major combat operations in Iraq have ended. Our coalition is now engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. The United States and our allies have prevailed. Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision, speed...