Free Republic

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) successfully completed Sea Trials Oct. 20, marking another milestone in the warship’s long and storied career. Following her four-year, mid-life Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) and four-month Post Shakedown Availability (PSA), Ike is now operational and beginning the journey toward becoming surge ready. “The ship is in much better material condition than it was four months ago,” said Capt. Dan Cloyd, Ike’s commanding officer. “The crew has performed magnificently. To be able to get through RCOH successfully and then to taste the operational side earlier this year and then go back...

WASHINGTON — A war averted more than a decade ago may be pointing the way toward 21st-century warfare for the U.S. Navy. In September 1994, a U.S. flotilla positioned itself off the coast of Haiti to help restore a democratically elected president to power. The flagship, the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, was stripped of its fighter planes and turned into a landing hub for Army helicopters and barracks for 2,000 soldiers. Operation Uphold Democracy, as it was called, ended in a few weeks and the Norfolk-based Eisenhower headed to the Mediterranean for a more conventional deployment. But Navy leaders...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - A Navy helicopter based on an aircraft carrier crashed into the Atlantic Tuesday afternoon. All eight people aboard were rescued from a life raft. The helicopter from the USS Eisenhower crashed about 30 miles off Naval Air Station Oceana, according to Lt. Mark Jones, assistant public affairs officer for Commander Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The MH-53E Sea Dragon, primarily used for minesweeping, was part of a helicopter squadron from the Norfolk Naval Station and was doing exercises with the Bataan, an amphibious assault ship. The eight crew members took refuge on a life...

The Eisenhower gets a new look By MATTHEW DOLAN, The Virginian-Pilot The Eisenhower will be moved to a new pier at Northrop Grumman Newport News on Saturday to test and certify some of its overhauled systems. photos by Ariana Lindquist/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT NEWPORT NEWS — It’s the Navy’s version of “Extreme Makeover.” First, you find an aging aircraft carrier in need of a face lift. Then you rip open its heart to juice up its power source. You tear out, repair or replace almost everything from berthings to bulkheads, seal up the decks and finally, call it a day. Or, in...