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YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan -- It's an exercise not quite like any Rear Adm. James Kelly has led his battle group into before. In the coming weeks, the USS Kitty Hawk and six other Navy aircraft carriers will be deployed around the globe to demonstrate America's ability to deal with a decidedly post-September 11 scenario: the outbreak of violence just about everywhere at once.

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...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Petty Officer 2nd Class John A. Caldwell walked around the aircraft he was inspecting on the carrier’s flight deck, flashlight pointed up to avoid striking the jet’s wing overhead. He felt something below his feet, stumbled and felt himself turn over into nothingness. He grabbed for the edge of the deck but slipped and fell, head first, 75 feet into inky black waters. It was February, nearly 3 a.m., and miles from land. Caldwell, an aviation structural mechanic, was one of two sailors who fell overboard from the USS Kitty Hawk on its recent spring...

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The commander of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii indicated Wednesday that the conventionally powered USS Kitty Hawk will be replaced by an advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier around 2008. The 80,800-ton Kitty Hawk, the navy's oldest active aircraft carrier, is deployed to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture. The possible deployment of a nuclear-powered carrier in Yokosuka is expected to draw strong objections from local residents and antinuclear groups. "We would hope to replace her with one of our most capable aircraft carriers," Adm. Thomas Fargo told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. "This is ....

<p>U.S. military commanders in the Pacific warned Congress yesterday that North Korea could provide nuclear arms to terrorist groups such as al Qaeda.</p> <p>Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, leader of the U.S. Pacific Command, and Army Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of U.S. forces in Korea, testified about the danger of nuclear terrorism at a budget hearing for the House Armed Services Committee.</p>

<p>"Tomorrow you will watch the destruction of an American Aircraft Carrier"</p> <p>Within the past half hour, a posting was made on an Arabic language jihad forum that has proven credible in the past. The posting makes a threat on the USS Kitty Hawk for tomorrow, March 30. NEIN Director Douglas Hagmann has already notified the appropriate officials in the US military of this posting.</p>

<p>Arabic posting:  "Tomorrow you will watch the destruction of an American Aircraft Carrier"  Within the past half hour, a posting was made on an Arabic language jihad forum that has proven credible in the past.  The posting makes a threat on the USS Kitty Hawk for tomorrow, March 30.  NEIN Director Douglas Hagmann has already notified the appropriate officials in the US military of this posting.</p>

Story Number: NNS040311-07 Release Date: 3/11/2004 11:33:00 AM From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs HONG KONG (NNS) -- A Sailor assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195, embarked aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), died March 9 while on liberty here. Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Thomas Francis Doughty, 25, of Nashville, Tenn., was on liberty in Hong Kong and was transported to Fenwick Pier where he stopped breathing. Resuscitation efforts were initiated by three U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen who were on duty at the pier’s first aid station. An ambulance was summoned and arrived four minutes later. Doughty was taken...

USS Kitty Hawk strike group docks in HK USS Kitty Hawk visits HK The USS Kitty Hawk strike group pulled into Hong Kong port Saturday with the approval of the Chinese government, revisiting the city more than 15 months since its last visit in November 2002. Joining the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk for the port call are two ships from the strike group, the USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Cushing (DD 985), and the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5. Rear Adm. James D. Kelly, commander of the Carrier Group 5, also the embarked strike group commander, said at...

<p>The family of USS Kitty Hawk Petty Officer 1st Class Ricardo "Rex" Del Mundo was prepared yesterday for his homecoming.</p> <p>They brought eight rolls of kelaguen and titiyas, a bagful of empanadas and two "Welcome Home" signs. But they forgot the Tabasco.</p>

<p>Japan's navy began a major annual training exercise on Friday, including joint maneuvers with the U.S. Navy, mobilizing as many as 25,000 personnel, 80 ships and 170 aircraft around Japanese shores.</p> <p>During the 10-day maneuvers -- the largest this year -- the Maritime Self-Defense Force also will be joined by the Navy's Seventh Fleet to simulate anti-submarine, air defense and anti-ship warfare, according to Japan's Defense Agency.</p>

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — At a glacier’s speed, but with choreographed precision, the U.S. Navy’s oldest active ship was nudged, shoved and pulled Wednesday out of what likely may be its last dry dock. By 8 p.m., the 86,000-ton USS Kitty Hawk had been eased from Dry Dock 6 — where the 42-year-old aircraft carrier was perched since May 20 — back into the water and into its usual berth a few spaces away. The day, which began shortly after sunrise when U.S. and Japanese workers slowly started flooding the dry dock, was “a significant milestone in our overall...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Pull the plug, drain the tub and there it is: 86,000 tons of U.S. Navy power, out of water and resting its bare keel on a series of enormous concrete blocks. If only getting the USS Kitty Hawk into dry dock was that easy. Officials say Tuesday’s process of moving the aircraft carrier from its normal pier to Dry Dock 6, where it will undergo maintenance and repairs, was months in the planning. “It is an unbelievably complicated procedure,” Lt. Brook Dewalt, the ship’s public affairs officer, said earlier this week. “To move something this...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan Most Kitty Hawk sailors are taking the new emphasis on proper civilian attire in stride, but half a world away, one of the restrictions is causing an uproar.A ban on any clothing articles emblazoned with the Confederate flag or any other words or symbols deemed offensive or inappropriate has some Southerners on a rampage. And they 're expressing their anger via e-mail.The brouhaha began with a single line in a May 6 article about the instructions given to sailors regarding proper dress while on liberty in Japan. Through his command master chief, Capt. Thomas Parker, the...

CVN 21 said to offer biggest changes in decades, seeking a ‘leap ahead’ in technology by Harold Kennedy The U.S. Navy is moving ahead with plans for its much-debated, next-generation aircraft carrier, now called CVN 21. The service has requested $1.5 billion in its fiscal year 2004 budget for research, development and engineering and advanced procurement for the ship. CVN 21 is scheduled to begin construction in 2007 and to be delivered in 2014, according to Rear Adm. Dennis M. Dwyer, the Navy’s program executive officer for aircraft carriers. The budget for the entire project “now stands at $11.7 billion,”...

Received via email: Mr. Robinson, My name is Ben [last name deleted], a fellow FReeper, stationed at the Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. My screen name is idc_USN. I have attached several digital photos of the return of the USS Kitty Hawk BATTLE GROUP triumphant return to Yokosuka from OIF early this morning (Tuesday, 06 May). As I know these are the first photos coming out of here, (media attention was negligible), I beat CNN Asia and the other media outlets to the punch. I am not too literate on how to post pictures on the internet, but certainly wanted to...

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- With five of six carrier battle groups deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Pacific Fleet was nearly tested to its limits. The ability to deploy the fleet's assets -- ships, subs and personnel -- quickly has given Navy leaders a great sense of pride. "That's a phenomenal undertaking," Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Walter Doran said in his historic Pearl Harbor office. "That underlines the commitment we have made over the last couple of years in short-term readiness and maintenance. And it talks very, very highly about training and the readiness capability of the sailors." However, it...

Two Navy Battle Groups to Leave War Zone By ROBERT BURNS .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and the ships in their battle groups will leave the Persian Gulf this week and return to their home ports, a U.S. defense official said Monday. Their departure reflects a winding down of the air campaign, although the Pentagon is still sending more ground forces to Kuwait and Iraq. The USS Kitty Hawk will return to its base at Yokosuka, Japan, and the USS Constellation will return to San Diego, the official said, speaking on condition of...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK — The Navy has identified the remains of an F/A-18 Hornet pilot assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk and missing since his plane was shot down April 2, according to the aircraft carrier’s commanding officer. Capt. Thomas Parker said the body of Lt. Nathan D. White, 30, of Abilene, Texas, was found Saturday. He was a pilot with Strike Fighter Squadron 195, the Dambusters. He is survived by his wife and three children. “Nathan White was a fine officer and a great pilot,” Parker said. “We send our best to his family and his shipmates.”...

U.S. Sends Some Warplanes Home By ROBERT BURNS .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military is beginning to pull some attack planes out of the Iraq war, now that the major ground battles are over and the focus is shifting to stabilizing the country. The air campaign is far from over, but its focus has shifted away from heavy bombing toward protective air cover for ground troops around Baghdad and in northern Iraq. Surveillance and reconnaissance missions by U-2 spy planes, unmanned Predator drones and other aircraft are continuing apace, and aerial refueling and cargo planes are...

U.S. Marine Task Force Heads to Tikrit By DAVID CRARY .c The Associated Press A Marine task force headed north from Baghdad on Sunday, seeking to destroy any Iraqi forces remaining on the route to Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. The first TV news footage of Tikrit indicated its defenses had already dissolved. The footage, aired by CNN, showed no signs of active Iraqi army defenses around Tikrit and suggested that intensive U.S. airstrikes had taken a heavy toll on the desert city's military forces. CNN correspondent Brent Sadler reported that U.S. military officers were negotiating with tribal chiefs in...

On now. Does this say anything about letting the Syrians off the hook?

Reporter experiences Iraq war first hand By Betsy Levinson / Staff Writer Thursday, April 10, 2003 Richard Miller, a Concord resident and reporter for the U.S. Talk Radio Service Network, spent two weeks embedded on the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Here, a member of the Kitty Hawk's crew helps miller into a special suit to protect him from chemical or biological attack. - The scariest part of the day for Richard Miller, an embedded reporter aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf, was changing into the chemical and biological suits when the alarm sounded. Miller returned a short time...

Lone U.S. Carrier Group Watches N. Korea By ERIC TALMADGE .c The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON (AP) - Corp. Douglas Mesnan and dozens of others sat riveted as the mess hall television carried reports that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might have been killed. ``If it's true, I'm happy,'' Mesnan, of Highland, Ind., said Tuesday. ``But being a Marine, I feel like I should be over there with the other Marines.'' Mesnan is stationed on an aircraft carrier thousands of miles from home, but television reports are the only way he's keeping up with the war in Iraq....

THE people of Iraq awoke to a newly named international airport yesterday after an audacious night assault by coalition forces wrested control of the civilian and military complex from Republican Guard units. After British SAS and US Delta Force special operations teams spent Thursday morning making covert reconnaissance patrols of the airport’s outer perimeter they pulled back in preparation for a fearsome dusk assault that could be clearly heard ten miles away in central Baghdad. The attack on Saddam International Airport began when tanks of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division punched through its outer wall, rumbling past a towering portrait...

Elizabeth Vincelette of Virginia Beach, shown with 4-year-old Annie, says a guardian angel must have been watching over her husband this week.Photo by Genevieve Ross / The Virginian-Pilot.VIRGINIA BEACH -- For her fourth birthday Tuesday, Annie Vincelette got a Rapunzel costume and a copy of the movie "Sleeping Beauty." Her best present, though, was a fairy-tale ending to her father's brush with death that day, 20,000 feet above the Iraqi desert. Lt. Chad Vincelette, 32, a Virginia Beach native and Navy F-14 fighter pilot, was heading back to the carrier Kitty Hawk after a bombing run when a mechanical failure...

Navy Searches for Downed Fighter Pilot By ROHAN SULLIVAN .c The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AP) - The U.S. military conducted a helicopter search-and-rescue mission Thursday for the pilot of a Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet shot down by a surface-to-air missile during a bombing run over Iraq. It was the first American fighter jet shot down during the war on Iraq. The Iraqis have downed several pilotless surveillance drones. The single-seat plane from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf went down just before midnight Wednesdsay near Karbala, a city about 50 miles...

Iraq Shoots Down U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Iraq shot down a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet with a surface-to-air missile Wednesday, military officials said. There was no immediate word on the fate of the pilot. Statements released from U.S. Central Command said the twin-engine jet, flying from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, went down at about 3:45 p.m. EST. The plane went down near Karbala, a city about 50 miles south of Baghdad where fighting raged between U.S. Army forces and the Iraqi Republican Guard. Iraqi forces shot down an Army Black Hawk...

<p>WASHINGTON — Iraq shot down a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet with a surface-to-air missile Wednesday, military officials said.</p> <p>There was no immediate word on the fate of the pilot. Statements released from U.S. Central Command said the twin-engine jet, flying from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, went down at about 3:45 p.m. EST.</p>

Navy's F-14A Tomcat Crashes in Iraq By ROHAN SULLIVAN .c The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AP) - A F-14 Tomcat strike fighter crashed into the Iraqi desert during a bombing mission early Wednesday after a mechanical failure caused its engines to fail, senior Navy officers said. The pilot and a second crewman ejected to safety and were rescued by helicopter. The F-14A - a type of plane that dates from the late 1960s and is among the Navy's oldest - went down in southern Iraq about 1:50 a.m. said Rear Adm. Matthew G. Moffit, commander of the...

breaking, SAM

Pilots Describe Being Behind Enemy Lines By ROHAN SULLIVAN .c The Associated Press ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AP) - The two Americans bailed out of a failing F-14 Tomcat fighter jet in the Iraqi desert, and when rescuers asked if they could walk, they didn't hesitate. ``I can run, just point me in the right direction,'' replied one crew member, a lieutenant commander nicknamed Gordo. Gordo, the plane's radar intercept operator, and its pilot, a lieutenant who goes by Vinny, returned to their base on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk on Wednesday after a frightening night behind enemy...

Two U.S. Navy pilots were rescued Tuesday when their F-14 Tomcat crashed in southern Iraq, the Navy said. Both pilots were in good condition, the Navy said in a statement. The crash was not believed to be due to hostile fire. The fighter jet, flying from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf, was on a combat mission when it crashed, the statement said.

U.S. Warplanes Raid Targets Near Karbala 54 minutes ago By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press WriterBAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. warplanes raided targets early Sunday near Karbala where there are believed to be concentrations of Republican Guard forces, forty-five miles south of Baghdad. AP Photo (AP Video) Latest news: · U.S. Warplanes Pound Republican Guard AP - 9 minutes ago · U.S. Warplanes Raid Targets Near Karbala AP - 54 minutes ago · Bush: U.S. Fights 'Desperate' Iraq Troops AP - Sat Mar 29,11:26 PM ET Special Coverage   Several loud explosions rocked Baghdad again late Saturday and early Sunday, many around...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AP) - Slow-moving and packed with electronic equipment, the Prowler radar-jamming plane usually stays clear of battle. But with the campaign against Baghdad's defenses heating up, the Prowlers are joining in the strikes. It's a risk for the vulnerable aircraft, but their crews say they've been eager to get into the fight. "It's about time," said Lt. Doug Graber, an electronic warfare officer who was on a EA-6B Prowler that fired a missile Saturday -- the second strike by a Prowler from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in two days. Prowlers usually stay...

Baghdad Hit Again by Several Explosions By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq - Several loud explosions rocked Baghdad again late Saturday and early Sunday, many around the southern fringes of the city where the Republican Guard, Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s best trained fighters, are thought to be dug in. As a heavy string of blasts lighted up the horizon, buildings downtown shook over and over. At one point, an orange fireball illuminated the sky, followed by columns of white smoke. Three-quarters of the allied air strikes are now going after Republican Guard forces ringing Baghdad, Air...

Vincent Laforet/The New York Times Lt. Dewaine Barnes, who became a pilot after learning about the Tuskegee Airmen, is aiming to lead a team in combat. ABOARD THE U.S.S. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in the Persian Gulf, March 28 — After all the briefing, the training, the flying, the waiting, the war with Iraq has not unfolded as Lt. Dewaine Barnes had anticipated. The campaign started unexpectedly with the cruise missile strike aimed at killing Saddam Hussein. The dedicated air war, dominated by precision-guided bomb strikes, shifted within just days to a riskier scenario that focused on close air support for fast-advancing...

SOUTHWEST IRAQ (AFP) - Apache attack helicopters from the army's 101st Airborne Division and airforce planes launched a night attack on Iraqi forces near the holy Shiite city of Karbala, military officials said. Gass said the airforce also joined the attack, but did not give details on their role. "We worked closely with the airforce and it was a success," he said. Gass said the crack Medina Division of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Republican Guard was known to be near Karbala, but did not say the attack was aimed specifically at its troops or armour, nor did he...

<p>With two days of sandstorms finally over, allied warplanes flew 1,500 sorties against targets in north and south Iraq yesterday, while coalition troops resumed their march north to Baghdad.</p> <p>The planes dropped bombs "just about as fast as we can load them," said Capt. Thomas Parker aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf.</p>

There is no bunker deep enough, no mountain high enough, Saddam. Our guys are on the way, and they have our support BIG TIME.

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/23/03 - Baghdad, burning trenches, Umm Qasr,Basra,Khormal BREAKING: IRAQI MISSILES SEEN IN BAGHDAD -- Iraqi war crime BREAKING: Baghdad, Saddam burns trenches- Iraqi war crime BREAKING: Baghdad, Saddam centers "orphanage" in military complex- Iraqi war crime BREAKING: Battle of Umm Qasr, 15 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) BREAKING: Umm Qasr - Iraqis, freed by the USA BREAKING: Battle for Basra, 3/4 Lima company BREAKING: Basra, Freed Iraqis, welcome the British 2nd Royal Tank Regiment BREAKING: al Nasiriyah - Battle by US 3rd Army BREAKING: Safwan -freed Iraqis BREAKING: al-Ratka oilfield - Iraqi war...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK, Mar 21, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The U.S. Navy launched about 320 Tomahawk cruise missiles on Iraq from ships in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, senior officers said Friday. "We have just begun the next phase of attacks in Iraq," said Rear Adm. Matthew G. Moffit, commander of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk battle group in the north Persian Gulf. "The intention is to convince the regime that it is time to leave, and if they don't we will try to take them out by force," Moffit told reporters...

U.S. commander in Gulf predicts quick victory ABOARD USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Gulf, March 21 (Reuters) - A top U.S. military commander in the Gulf on Friday predicted a swift victory in the war against Iraq. "We're into this now, we're going to win it and we're going to win it fast," said Rear Admiral John Kelly, commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln battle group and of all Navy aircraft in the Gulf. He told reporters Iraqi air defences against Tomahawk cruise missiles and aircraft had increased significantly in response to U.S. air attacks on key targets in the Iraqi capital...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/20/03 - First Blood, Baghdad, Kuwait, USS Kitty Hawk, F-117 BREAKING: Tomahawks launched BREAKING: Baghdad - smoke over al-Rasheed military facility BREAKING: Kuwait - Incoming missile attack BREAKING: Heroes everywhere return from sorties. =========== USS Bunker Hill delivers justice =========== A Tomahawk 'Land Attack Missile' (TLAM) leaves the USS Bunker Hill and other US assets. In Kuwait, heroes of the British Royal Air Force about to deliver justice. ========= Baghdad ========= In Baghdad, smoke rises from an explosion over the al-Rasheed military facility south east of Baghdad. In Baghdad, one of Saddam's...

Debka- Fighter-bombers took off from USS Kitty Hawk Wednesday night for bombing missions over Iraq...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/16/03 -USS T.Roosevelt, USS Kitty Hawk, B-2, GR7, A10, AV-8B, leaflets BREAKING: US SEEKS PEACE ---- BUT IS READY - GOOD MORNING BAGHDAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! BREAKING: USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Kitty Hawk BREAKING: B-2, 'Spirit of Oklahoma', 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, BREAKING: Harrier GR7, A10, Harrier AV-8B, Living Support Area 7, 633 Squadron Royal Air Force BREAKING: Nutcakes in Saddam City BREAKING: Leaflets dropped BREAKING: B-1 JDAMs in measured response ========= USS Kitty Hawk ========= Somewhere near Iraq, heroes on the USS Kitty Hawk prepare. ========= USS Theodore Roosevelt =========...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK March 13 — U.S. sailors responding to a radio distress call rescued eight Iraqi fishermen after their boat sank Thursday in the southern Persian Gulf, a senior Navy officer said.The guided missile frigate USS Gary responded to a mayday call from a boat the caller identified as the Kaptain Muhamad shortly before 6 p.m., said Capt. Mike Mahon, the officer responsible for the frigate's squadron. He said the fishermen were in good condition and did not need medical attention.The 30-yard fishing boat was in international waters about 15 nautical miles from the Gary in the...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK — Deep in the belly of this aircraft carrier, through red-painted trapdoors, a handful of sailors do a job they say is more important than that of the pilots who would launch the first strikes against Iraq. “This is where it all begins,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Dasch, who oversees bomb assembly teams in some of the 22 weapons magazines aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. Known as “Mag rats,” the sailors who ready the bombs and missiles that are loaded onto the more than 70 warplanes aboard this carrier say the strike...

On the USS Kitty Hawk, which is operating in the Persian Gulf in preparation for a possible war with Iraq, tension is at a peak as warplanes make reconnaissance sorties day and night, some of them coming under attack from Iraqi forces. "For us, the war has already begun," said a 36-year-old sailor who has been aboard the Kitty Hawk and in the Gulf for nearly a month. The 81,123-ton aircraft carrier with 30 warplanes on board left its base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in February and is now in waters near Iraq. There was hardly a minute of silence...

ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK, Mar 08, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Sailors and air crews aboard this aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf traded the roar of jet engines for the noise of punk rock guitars Saturday at an on-deck party thrown as a reward for 45 continuous days at sea. Daily flight operations conducted as part of the U.S. military buildup for a possible war with Iraq were interrupted to open the flight deck to the more than 5,000 crew for a "steel beach party," complete with beer, barbecue and bands. An earlier ship-to-ship replenishment of...