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East-Asia-Intel.com, June 9, 2010 The Obama administration is debating whether to dispatch the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington to waters near Korea as a show of force. The strike group would ratchet up pressure on North Korea over its provocative sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan in March that killed 46 sailors. The carrier strike group would be sent for a joint U.S.-South Korean anti-submarine drill. The drill was put on hold June 4. Officials in the Obama administration are opposing the exercises and the carrier strike group deployment over concerns that the show...

Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon denied Thursday it has approved sending the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean warship in March. Two U.S. military officials said U.S. Forces Korea was expected to make the announcement Thursday. The officials declined to speak on the record because the announcement had not been made. But Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told CNN, "No carriers are going anywhere near there anytime soon." However, the military officials are planning for the deployment and said they expect it to be announced.

U.S. defense officials say they may deploy the massive aircraft carrier USS George Washington off the Korean Peninsula in the Yellow Sea, where North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean warship. The deployment would be a show of force by the U.S., which has vowed to protect South Korea and is seeking to blunt aggression from North Korea. An international investigation last month blamed North Korea for torpedoing the Cheonan warship in March, killing 46 sailors. U.S. officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Wednesday that a final decision on deployment of...

US aircraft carrier will join a major anti-submarine naval exercise with South Korea next week in a show of strength to North Korea after the sinking of a warship, reports said Wednesday. South Korea, which accuses the North of torpedoing its ship Cheonan in March with the loss of 46 lives, is also mounting a diplomatic drive at the United Nations but indicated it would not seek new sanctions. The USS George Washington will leave its base in the Japanese port of Yokosuka around Saturday and arrive in the Yellow Sea early next week, Yonhap news agency quoted a military...

TOKYO — Groups opposed to Thursday’s arrival of the USS George Washington to Yokosuka Naval Base say demonstrations will grow in size and number in upcoming days. "We want to express our opposition to America," Masahiko Goto, a lawyer and leader of a Yokosuka citizen’s group, said Tuesday. "We want a withdrawal of the deployment." On the day of the ship’s arrival to its new forward-deployed base, a rally will be held at 6 a.m. at Kannonzaki Park near Uraga station, where protesters can watch the carrier as it approaches, organizers said. Protesters also will embark on boats to follow...

SAN DIEGO, July 31 (UPI) -- A $70 million fire on the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington left its top two officers stripped of their duties, officials said Wednesday. Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, directed the skipper, Capt. David C. Cykhoff, and his executive officer, Capt. David M. Dober, be relieved of their command, Navy Times reported. Dykhoff was fired for "loss of confidence in his ability to command and his failure to meet mission requirements and readiness standards," Navy officials said in a statement. Dober was ousted for "substandard performance." Two months ago,...

NAVAL STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Robert F. Willard, issued a final endorsement to the investigation of a fire that occurred aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) on May 22. As directed by Adm. Willard, Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific, Vice Adm. Thomas J. Kilcline, Jr., relieved the Commanding Officer of USS George Washington (CVN 73), Capt. David C. Dykhoff, today due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command and his failure to meet mission requirements and readiness standards. As directed, Kilcline also relieved the George Washington Executive Officer, Capt. David...

Fire damage aboard the USS George Washington will delay the swap out with USS Kitty Hawk and may push back the carrier’s arrival to Japan, the Navy announced. The Kitty Hawk, which left Yokosuka last month for eventual decommissioning in Bremerton, Wash., was to turn over duties to the George Washington this month at Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier transfer will now happen in San Diego in August, according to a Navy release. The George Washington is already in San Diego undergoing repairs. A May 22 fire aboard the George Washington damaged electrical cabling and components in about 80 of...

The USS Kitty Hawk will have to remain in the Pacific longer than initially planned after its replacement, the USS George Washington, was damaged by a recent fire, a Navy official said. The two carriers were to meet in Pearl Harbor next week for a "hull swap," with the newer George Washington taking over for the 47-year-old Kitty Hawk, the oldest active-duty warship in the fleet. About 900 Kitty Hawk sailors and the carrier’s air wing were expected to transfer to the George Washington. But a fire broke out on the George Washington on May 22, while the carrier was...

The oldest active ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, made its final departure from Japan on Wednesday to be decommissioned after nearly half a century of service. ***** The Kitty Hawk, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier in the Navy, is to be replaced later this summer by the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier. The decommissioning date for the ship is set for Jan. 31.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One sailor was treated for first-degree burns and 23 others for heat stress after a fire on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier burned for hours, the Navy said Friday. The U.S. Navy described a fire as "serious" aboard the USS George Washington. There were no fatalities on the ship.

NORFOLK When the George Washington ties up in Yokosuka, Japan, in August, it will become the first nuclear-powered carrier based in the only nation ever to be attacked by nuclear weapons. While its departure Monday from the East Coast brings both a sentimental and financial loss, its relocation to the Far East means the ship’s crew must bring along as much diplomacy as weaponry. “What people don’t understand they sometimes fear,” said Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, commander of the George Washington Strike Group. “Sometimes it’s a matter of articulating the story so that people understand it.” The carrier’s arrival in...

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which typically handles just one aircraft carrier at a time, will be home to three carriers at once this fall, said Navy Capt. Joseph Campbell, the yard's commanding officer. The three carriers make up one-quarter of the nation's flattop fleet and are scheduled to be in the yard simultaneously for several weeks. The USS Harry S. Truman arrived at the yard Jan. 9. It will be joined by the USS Theodore Roosevelt in September and the USS George Washington in October. The Truman is scheduled to depart in November.

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy announced Dec. 2 that USS George Washington (CVN 73) will replace USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) as the forward-deployed aircraft carrier in the western Pacific and will arrive in Yokosuka, Japan, in 2008. George Washington is currently homeported in Norfolk, Va., and is receiving necessary maintenance and upgrades at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding to facilitate this forward deployment. The forward deployment of George Washington will not necessitate a change in the assigned air wing in Japan, nor in the composition of the air wing. Carrier Air Wing 5 will remain the forward-deployed air...

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...

Aboard USS George Washington U.S. Navy Seaman Marc Ochoa directs an F-14B Tomcat assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Fighter Squadron 11 onto a catapult on the flight deck aboard USS George Washington, June 18, 2004. The Norfolk, Va.-based nuclear powered aircraft carrier is on a scheduled deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Robert Brooksllllllllllllll  U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Juan Solorzano works from photographs to paint a mural depicting various scenes on an elevator door onboard USS George Washington, June 19, 2004. The mural will cover more than 2,500 square feet...

Wanted to share this letter with FR. This is an email from one of our 4 adopted sailors/soldiers. thanks for the package. i shared it with a few of the guys in my berthing. we all appericate the gifts alot. i wanted to personaly say thanks and how much i appericate the package. sometimes it does seem like we are out here and no one back home remembers us. when someone like ya'll speak out we all know that we are not forgotten. I am a 20 year vet, retiring next march. i am an electrican by trade but also...

Fellowship Breakfast Gives GW Sailors Peace of MindStory Number: NNS040517-02Release Date: 5/17/2004 9:59:00 AMBy Journalist Seaman Kary Favell, USS George Washington Public AffairsUSS GEORGE WASHINGTON, At Sea (NNS) -- The Command Religious Ministries Department aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) held a breakfast May 14 in observance of the National Day of Prayer. The day gave Sailors a chance to unwind from their heavy mission loads, and reflect on their blessings in a celebration that dates back 52 years. Observed every first Thursday in May, it has become increasingly popular throughout the United States. “It’s great to be under...

  Official U.S. Navy file photo of USS Elrod (FFG 55). Elrod, USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Ross (DDG 71) deployed April 30 as a surface strike group in support of the global war on terrorism. View Larger Download HiRes   Surface Strike Group Ships Deploy From NorfolkStory Number: NNS040430-12Release Date: 4/30/2004 2:34:00 PMFrom Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public AffairsNORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- More than 1,000 Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Ross (DDG 71), and the guided-missile frigate USS Elrod (FFG 55) departed Naval Station Norfolk April 30, for a Mediterranean Sea...

USS George Washington’s Hornets Support Vigilant ResolveStory Number: NNS040412-04Release Date: 4/12/2004 12:39:00 PMFrom Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public AffairsMANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- F/A-18 Hornets from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, flying from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) in the Arabian Gulf, participated in Operation Vigilant Resolve in April. April 8, one of the Naval Air Station Oceana-based “Wildcats” from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 conducted a 20mm strafing run against an enemy position. Another VFA-131 Hornet dropped two 500-pound GBU-12 laser-guided bombs on another enemy position in Fallujah, Iraq, April...