{"id":1931,"date":"2020-05-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:05:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:05:58","slug":"31-uss-kitty-hawk-cv-63-decommission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/31-uss-kitty-hawk-cv-63-decommission\/","title":{"rendered":"#31 – USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63 Decommission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. What movie made the word, \u201cPlethora<\/em>\u201d popular?<\/li>
  2. Who said, \u201cYou miss 100% of the shots you don\u2019t take.<\/em>\u201d?<\/li>
  3. In what song (and who sang it) do we hear the following lyrics?
    Left a good job in the cit<\/em>y
    Workin’ for the man ev’ry night and day<\/em>
    And I never lost one minute of sleepin’<\/em>
    Worryin’ ’bout the way things might have been<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
    <\/div>
    Blog #31 (Audio)<\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>

    Listen to the audio of this blog, read by Andy Adkins. Click the \u201cAudio<\/strong><\/em>\u201d button below.<\/p>\n<\/div>

    Published: <\/span>October 15, 2021<\/span><\/div>
    <\/div>Audio by Andy Adkins<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>2<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    After forty-eight years of faithful service, USS Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong> was decommissioned in Bremerton, Washington on January 31, 2009. Her active duty covered the Vietnam War<\/strong>, the Gulf War<\/strong>, and the Global War on Terrorism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I was fortunate to have spent 2 1\/2 years aboard her (\u201975-77). Like many of you, those were times & memories I\u2019ll never forget<\/em>. It\u2019s also one of the reasons I continue to write about Kitty Hawk<\/em>–so much rich history before, during, and after my time. And, like I wrote earlier, I love military traditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Throughout her lifetime, Kitty Hawk<\/em> had 407,511<\/strong> arrested carrier landings and 448,301<\/strong> launches (who keeps these statistics?!). On August 6, 2008, the final trap and catapult launch was made, and the ship pulled into San Diego<\/strong> the next morning for the turnover to the USS George Washington<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She had been to the shipyards many times for retrofits, including the $100 million overhaul in Bremerton, Washington<\/strong> in 1976. She completed the overhaul in March 1977 and departed the shipyard on April 1 of that year to return to San Diego. I was aboard Kitty Hawk<\/em> during that entire time. Here’s an earlier blog post I wrote about the Bremerton Shipyards<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last Ride from San Diego<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/a>
    USS Kitty Hawk Decommissioning Ceremony – Jan 31, 2009
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Kitty Hawk<\/em> left San Diego for her last “cruise” on Thursday, August 28, 2008 bound for its next stop: Bremerton Naval Ship Yards<\/strong>. The Kitty Hawk Veterans Association<\/a><\/em><\/strong> had worked diligently with Kitty Hawk<\/em> and the Navy to get former shipmates on board for this last cruise and had been successful–a \u201cTiger Cruise\u201d like no other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I tried like the dickens to make that voyage, but I was stuck in Arkansas attending a trial in which I was to testify as an expert witness, but never did (that\u2019s a whole \u2018nother story, but \u201cmy side\u201d won). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, 65 former crew members made the cruise, including 38 who had been onboard when Kitty Hawk was<\/em> originally commissioned in 1961; these sailors are affectionately known as \u201cPlank Owners<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Decommission Ceremony<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Over 2,000 former shipmates, crew members, guests, and distinguished visitors attended the January 31, 2009 decommissioning ceremony<\/strong> in Bremerton. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. It was the first time I had seen Kitty Hawk<\/em> in over thirty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    USS Kitty Hawk Decommissioning Ceremony – Jan 31, 2009
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Awesome Memories<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    When I first arrived in Bremerton, I walked up and down the pier several times, admiring Kitty Hawk <\/em>and remembering my time aboard. Since the ship was docked on the starboard side as always, the bow was closest to the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I thought of the times I poked my head out the mooring lines portholes, looking down at the huge keel piercing the water like a hot knife through butter. I looked up and caught sight of the safety nets and thought of the times I had stood on the forward flight deck at sea with my foul weather jacket unzipped, holding it with my outstretched hands and leaning over so far it felt as if I might fly. I wrote about those “bow flying” experiences in an earlier blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    USS Kitty Hawk Decommissioning Ceremony – Jan 31, 2009
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    I thought of the hundreds of times I had climbed the steps and made the trip across the After brow saluting the colors and the watch, coming aboard and leaving the ship. The aircraft elevators were as big as I remembered\u2014enough to hold two F-14 Tomcats with crews ready to man them for flight operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But because there were so many civilians and guests aboard, we couldn’t tour any of the ship nor go up onto the flight deck. The ceremonies were held on the hangar deck. That was OK, though. Just seeing her and being able to board her was enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Emotions…<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    As I climbed aboard for the ceremonies, I experienced a wide range of emotions. In July 1977, all I wanted to do was get off the ship and get out of the Navy. Thirty-two years later, I was happy to be aboard her one last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    USS Kitty Hawk Decommissioning Ceremony – Jan 31, 2009
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    The ship\u2019s CO, Captain Todd A. Zecchin<\/strong>, served as the master of ceremonies and gave an eloquent presentation of Kitty Hawk\u2019s<\/em> rich history. Admiral Timothy Keating<\/strong>, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, also gave a wonderful, heartfelt speech–he had also served aboard Kitty Hawk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I wish I could have visited some of my old onboard haunts, like the flight deck (remember all those hours of flight ops); Flight Deck Control (and the old \u201couija board\u201d); the V-1 Division berthing compartment (and find my old rack); the mess decks (remember my favorite meal, Kitty Hawk <\/em>“steak\u201d); the Forecastle (stick my head out the porthole to look down at the massive keel); the Crash compartment (remember all those times gathered around the coffee pot); and the ship\u2019s onboard radio (entertainment) station, KRAL (and my \u201ccall sign:\u201d Country<\/em> Chet Adkins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Imagine how disappointed I was when I found out later that several attendees asked on-duty sailors to \u201cescort\u201d them around the ship after the ceremonies. Had I known that, wow\u2026 a trip down memory lane. But alas, that wasn\u2019t meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kitty Hawk’s <\/em>Future<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Currently, Kitty Hawk<\/em> sits in Bremerton, Washington, awaiting her last voyage to the scrapyard. There have been several efforts over the past few years to save her to serve as a museum, but those efforts seemed to have hit the wall. The last I heard was that she had been sold to International ShipBreakers<\/em> in Brownsville, Texas and awaits her tow date from Bremerton to Brownsville, which is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Active Aircraft Carriers<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The United States currently maintains eleven aircraft carriers in service. The newer “Nimitz-class” nuclear powered carriers cost about $8.5 billion (2012 dollars) to construct compared to the $265 million price tag for Kitty Haw<\/em>k in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of the eleven carriers, ten of them are Nimitz-class carriers, which means they are CVN-68 or higher. Since the Nimitz was first commissioned in 1975, the Nimitz-class carriers have been around for over 45 years. The newest class is the \u201cGerald R. Ford\u201d class. The following is a list of active (as of 2020) United States aircraft carriers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n