SBS뉴스

■ 美 항공모함(航空母艦) 키티호크(USS Kitty Hawk)[CV 63]





2003년 2월7일부터 서태평양(The Western Pacific) 지역(地域)에 배치(配置)되어 경계임무(警戒任務)를 수행(遂行)해 온 항공모함(航空母艦) 칼빈슨(USS Carl Vinson)[CVN 70]이 9월19일 모항(母港)인 브레머튼(Bremerton, Washington)으로 귀환(歸還)하게 됨으로써, 8개월 동안의 작전기동(作戰起動)을 마치게 된다.





이것은, 일본 요코스카(橫須賀)를 모항(母港)으로 하는 항공모함 키티호크(USS Kitty Hawk)[CV 63]에 대한, 2003년 5월20일에 시작(始作)된 수리(修理)가 완료(完了)되어, 항공모함 키티호크가 곧 작전기동에 들어갈 수 있게 됨에 따른 조치(措置)인 것으로 보인다.





취역(就役)한지 42년째를 맞은 항공모함 키티호크는, 현역(現役) 美 항공모함 가운데 가장 오래된 항공모함이며, 2008년에 퇴역(退役)될 예정(豫定)이다.





이에 따라, 美 해군은 2003년 9월6일, 니미츠급(Nimitz-class) 항공모함 10번함(番艦)이 되는 항공모함 부시(USS George H. W. Bush)[CVN 77]의 기공식(起工式)을 뉴포트뉴스(Newport News, Virginia) 조선소(造船所)에서 가졌다.





건조비(建造費) 40억 달러인 항공모함 부시는 원자력(原子力) 항공모함으로, 2001년에 건조(建造)가 시작되었으며, 2008년에 완성(完成)될 예정이다.





그리고, 2003년 이라크(Iraq) 전쟁(戰爭)에 투입(投入)되었던 항공모함 콘스텔레이션(USS Constellation)[CV 64]이 2003년 8월7일 퇴역됨으로써, 美 해군(海軍)은 현재(現在), 12척(隻)의 항공모함을 운용(運用)하고 있다.











▶ [THIRD FLEET]





13 September 2003





Carl Vinson Strike Group returns home





From Commander, Third Fleet public affairs





SAN DIEGO - The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is


returning home to the United States West Coast this week,


following an eight-month deployment to the western Pacific.





More than 6,400 Sailors assigned to the supercarrier, her


air wing, escort ships and staffs will be greeted with a


hero's welcome, having maintained America's commitment to


peace, stability and theater security in the region


throughout the strike group's extended deployment.





Aircrew from Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) squadrons will


make the first of many homecomings, as they conduct


a "flyoff" of more than 70 aircraft from the aircraft


carrier Sept. 14. The following day, Monday, Sept. 15, USS


Carl Vinson (CVN 70) will pull into San Diego Bay and moor


at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., to offload the


remaining air wing personnel and equipment.





Carl Vinson will return to her homeport at Naval Station


Bremerton, Wash., Sept. 19.





The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group departed Southern


California waters in mid-January and headed for training in


the Hawaiian operating areas. On Feb. 7, while operating off


the coast of Hawaii, the strike group was ordered to the


western Pacific to backfill the Kitty Hawk Battle Group,


which was deployed to the Central Command area of


responsibility in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.





Carl Vinson and her strike group met U.S. commitments in the


Pacific Rim from as far north as the Korean Peninsula to as


far south as the Australian continent. Meanwhile, the Kitty


Hawk Carrier Strike Group supported operations in the Middle


East, returned to her homeport (Yokosuka, Japan), and


underwent a scheduled maintenance period.





"The primary mission of this deployment was to maintain


presence in the western Pacific," said Capt. Rick Wren,


commanding officer of Carl Vinson. "That mission of


presence, of course, demonstrated to all of our friends and


allies our support for their livelihood. Our presence


stabilized the region and reinforced our commitment to the


welfare of the peoples of the nations across the western


Pacific."





During the deployment, which covered 60,000 nautical miles -


equivalent to two trips around the world - the Carl Vinson


CSG flew more than 10,000 sorties, offered indirect strike-


planning support for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and


participated in several international naval exercises,


including Foal Eagle, Tandem Thrust and Ulchi Focus Lens.





"By our theater security commitment, by our visits to


various nations, and by our participation in multi-national


exercises, we have been a very visible reminder to nations


throughout the world that we have been ready, and are ready,


to assist at maintaining peace and security wherever


required," said Rear Adm. Marty Chanik, Commander of Carrier


Group Three and the Carl Vinson CSG.





Unique among western Pacific cruises since the Gulf War,


which have concentrated on the Middle East, the Vinson


Strike Group's deployment reflects the classic Far East


cruise of years past.





"Similar to a Med deployment 15-20 years ago, this cruise


has been a tremendous blend of operational flying, exercise


participation with our friends in the region, and a


tremendous exposure of the crew to foreign ports of call,"


Wren said. "We hit every gem in the Western Pacific."





The Carl Vinson CSG's numerous port calls included Guam, the


Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Hong


Kong. During nine port visits, strike group Sailors and


Marines participated in 27 community relations projects,


amounting to 2,280 hours of service to host nations.





The Carl Vinson Strike Group's deployment has been unique


since the very beginning of its cycle. It was the first


strike group to undergo a new, innovative Inter-Deployment


Training Cycle (IDTC), which greatly compressed the training


required for deployment.





"The Carl Vinson Strike Group has led the way in the new


fleet readiness plan concept of strike group deployment,"


Chanik said.





"We had, as part of our IDTC, achieved readiness levels


early in the cycle; we were, therefore, employable earlier


in the cycle, allowing the Navy to have more combat power


available, if required. In our innovative IDTC, we showed


what the possibilities were for attaining readiness in an


earlier timeframe. And, we provided many of the lessons


learned for the Navy to develop a fleet readiness plan. We


verified that deployment cycles can change, and we will


continue at this as we get back home and maintain our


readiness to support potential contingencies."





From innovative and record-setting work-ups last fall, to a


short-notice deployment in February and, finally, to the


unexpected news of an extended deployment - the Carl Vinson


Strike Group's schedule has been unpredictable and often


times unprecedented. The ability to overcome this


uncertainty and become a force in the western Pacific came


from the unity and teamwork of the many assets assigned to


the CSG.





"The strength of this strike group comes from the individual


ships and squadrons working together as a team," Chanik


said. "From day one, this ability has made the strike group


particularly effective at accomplishing all assigned tasks,


despite the compressed and changing schedule, and able to do


so without any drop in performance or capability."





The first Carl Vinson Strike Group ship to return home will


be USS Antietam (CG 54), arriving Sep. 14 at Naval Station


San Diego. Throughout the deployment, the Aegis cruiser's


primary missions have been to provide area air defense for


the carrier strike group and to direct air defense of U.S.


naval units throughout the western Pacific. A multi-mission


warship, Antietam also provided surface and sub-surface


surveillance for the strike group and was prepared to


conduct Tomahawk cruise missile strikes, if directed.





The strike group's fast combat support ship, USS Sacramento


(AOE 1), will arrive in the Bremerton area Sept. 18.


Sacramento's crew conducted 150 underway replenishment


(UNREP) evolutions, delivering more than 26 million gallons


of fuel to strike group ships and enabling them to maintain


a constant presence in the region.





The professionalism and attention to safety the "Golden


Bear" team put forth during every UNREP was rewarded early


in her deployment, when she was presented with the 2002


SECNAV Safety Award for the auxiliary-class ship category.





Returning to Everett, Wash., is the CSG's Sea Combat


Commander, Destroyer Squadron Nine (CDS-9). This staff


coordinated defense for the strike group against surface and


sub-surface threats, as well as surveillance over thousands


of square miles of ocean. They also maintained the readiness


of assigned surface ships and embarked helicopter


detachments to be ready to respond to missions throughout


the western Pacific.





One CDS-9 ship, USS Ingraham (FFG 61), will also be


returning to her homeport Sept. 19 in Everett. The guided-


missile frigate provided escort support through some of the


world's busiest waterways, ensuring safe transit. A proven


undersea warfare platform, Ingraham also provided the CSG


with keen surveillance for foreign submarines. The strike


group's unofficial "ambassador" to Japan, the Ingraham crew


made six calls to the "Land of the Rising Sun" ports of


Yokosuka, Okinawa and Kure.





The Carl Vinson Strike Group's guided-missile destroyer, USS


Lassen (DDG 82), is currently undergoing maintenance in


Yokosuka, Japan. A return date for Lassen has not been


publicly released yet.





One of the Navy's newest destroyers, Lassen's multi-mission


warfare capabilities allowed her to assume the role of


alternate air warfare commander and provide air defense for


the CSG. During the deployment, the ship made an historic


visit to Vladivostok, Russia and a favorite port call "down


under" to Sydney, Australia.





USS Carl Vinson and her crew departed their homeport of


Bremerton, Wash., Jan. 13. The Navy's third Nimitz-class


aircraft carrier, the ship was commissioned March 13, 1982.


Displacing more than 95,000 tons, Carl Vinson is home to


nearly 5,000 Sailors and Marines, as well as approximately


75 combat and support aircraft.





From its 4.5-acre flight deck, the carrier crew can quickly


launch and recover the world's most modern military aircraft


to operate with other elements of the U.S. Armed Forces as


well as those of allied nations.





http://www.cvn70.navy.mil/13sep03-homecoming.htm











▶ [STARS AND STRIPES]





Most repairs done, Kitty Hawk back in berth





By Sharen Shaw-Johnson, Stars and Stripes





Pacific edition, Friday, September 12, 2003





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 maintenance


period," said Capt. Thomas A. Parker, the Kitty Hawk's


commanding officer.





Still ahead, said Lt. Brook DeWalt, a Kitty Hawk spokesman:


finishing various repairs and upgrades that could be


completed back at the regular berth.





Among the main tasks done when the ship was out of the


water, its keel perched on more than 200 custom-made wood


and concrete blocks: blasting the hull down to bare metal,


then priming and painting it. The hangar bay also was


refitted and crew quarters were upgraded, DeWalt said. With


its air wing, the Kitty Hawk's crew numbers about 5,500.





That includes hundreds who worked on the dry dock, along


with about 600 Japanese workers and some 300 American


workers from U.S. firms. "We continue," said Parker, "to


have a very successful relationship" among Kitty Hawk


personnel, the Ship Repair Facility at Yokosuka


and "numerous Japanese and U.S. contractors."





The maintenance period's final overall cost has yet to be


tallied, DeWalt said. Repairs completed during the Kitty


Hawk's last dry-dock period, in 1998, totaled $110 million,


according to the ship's official Web site.





Although the actual move from dry dock to berth took just a


few hours, the lead-up took at least six days, while the


ship and its systems were tested extensively, Kitty Hawk


officers said.





The ship floated in the newly flooded dry dock more than six


hours Wednesday before being moved. Among the reasons, said


DeWalt and other Kitty Hawk officers:





* The need to ensure the carrier, which has a 4.5-acre


flight deck, remained level and stable once it was off the


dry-dock blocks - accomplished chiefly by shifting water


from one tank in the ship to another, DeWalt said.





* The wind. For most of the afternoon, it blew steadily


between 11 mph and 15 mph, with gusts approaching 20 mph,


according to meteorologists' reports broadcast at the dry


dock. "Anything over 15 mph can be dangerous," DeWalt said:


When being moved to its berth, the carrier was "dead stick,"


its main propulsion system shut down, leaving it more


vulnerable to instability. "For safety, we had to wait till


the winds died down," DeWalt said.





This maintenance period, including the time in dry dock, was


planned before the Kitty Hawk's recent deployment to the


Iraq campaign, ship officers have said.





They have declined to discuss effects of that deployment and


a prior one to Afghanistan.





But if the Navy maintains its current plans, Wednesday may


have been the last time the Kitty Hawk glides out of a dry


dock, flags snapping and new paint glistening: The carrier


is slated to be decommissioned in 2008.





http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=16850&archive=true











▶ 현역(現役) 美 항공모함





USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63)





USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67)





USS Enterprise (CVN 65)





USS Nimitz (CVN 68)





USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)





USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)





USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)





USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)





USS George Washington (CVN 73)





USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)





USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75)





USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)








* CV : Multi-purpose Aircraft Carrier





* CVN : Multi-purpose Aircraft Carrier (Nuclear-Propulsion)














(끝)