Ships/Navy: Aircraft carriers

Sea Power, Jan 2002

The figures listed as the complement for each class of ship represent the average manpower requirements for those ships. However, actual manning may differ from the average requirement, depending on availability of personnel, specific mission requirements, etc.

BRIEFING: USS Ranger (CV 4), delivered in 1934, was the first ship designed as an aircraft carrier. However, carriers did not come into their own until World War II, when they became the most important ships in the fleet, particularly in the Pacific. Since World War II, carrier task forces have been called upon over 200 times to serve as the principal manifestation of U.S. strength in times of crisis. USS Forrestal (CV 59), commissioned in 1955, was the first carrier designed to operate jet aircraft. USS Enterprise (CVN 65), commissioned in 1961, was the first carrier with nuclear propulsion. Although USS Enterprise clearly demonstrated the inestimable value of nuclear propulsion for ships of this size, both USS America (CV 66) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), commissioned in 1965 and 1968 respectively, were powered by fossil fuel because the Navy was unable to convince then-Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara that the operational advantages to be gained from nuclear propulsion more than compensated for its higher costs. However, commencing with USS Nimitz (CVN 68), commissioned in 1975, all carriers have been designed and built to be nuclear-powered. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) followed USS Nimitz. Funding for the fourth ship of the USS Nimitz class, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), was approved in the FY 1980 budget and the ship was commissioned in late 1986. An incentive was introduced on the CVN 71 construction contract to accelerate the schedule to deliver the ship more than one year earlier than planned. This led to a modern day "first of funding the next two carriers in the same FY 1983 budget, permitting continued accelerated build schedules and deliveries. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and USS George Washington (CVN 73) were commissioned in 1989 and 1992, respectively. In FY 1988, funding for two carriers in the same budget was once again approved. The first of these, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), joined the fleet in December 1995. The second, initially named United States, was renamed USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) by President Bill Clinton in early 1995 and commissioned in July 1998. Advanced Procurement for CVN 76 was funded in the FY 1993 budget with the balance provided in FY 1995. Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), named in honor of the nation's 40th president, was christened and launched on 4 and 10 March 2001, respectively, and is scheduled to join the fleet in March 2003.

Today, the carrier force includes nine nuclear-powered ships and three that are conventionally powered: USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), USS Constellation (CV 64) and USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). All are more than 30 years old. In mid1998, USS Kitty Hawk replaced USS Independence as the carrier forwarddeployed in Japan. USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) completed a lengthy overhaul in late 1995, and was the first carrier to be assigned to the Naval Reserve Force; however, due to operational requirements, she was shifted back to the active-duty force in October 2000. USS Enterprise completed a third nuclear refueling and complex overhaul in September 1994, which extended her service life to 2013.

During the last several years, crises around the world continued to necessitate the on-scene presence of carrier battle groups. In August 1990, when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Independence were immediately ordered to the scene and were the first formidable manifestations of U.S. combat strength to arrive in the area. Ultimately, six other carriers, two of which replaced the first two to arrive, were deployed to the Middle East; aircraft flying from their decks during Desert Storm accounted for 16 percent of the combat missions flown against Iraqi targets. Since the Gulf War aircraft carriers have enforced the no-fly zones over Iraq (Operation Southern Watch). USS Kitty Hawk launched punitive strikes against Iraq in January 1993. In October 1994, the threat of another invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces caused USS George Washington to be rushed to the scene; the overwhelming power represented by her presence, and that of shore-based ground and air forces, resulted in a quick withdrawal by the Iraqis. Also in 1994, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was utilized to transport more than 50 Army helicopters to strife-torn Haiti when U.S. forces entered that country, and USS America became a floating base for operations of Special Forces Command units. Carriers began deploying regularly to the Adriatic Sea in 1992; there they strongly supported successful NATO efforts in 1995-when strikes were launched from USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS America-to bring an end to the bloody civil war in Bosnia. In March 1996, when tensions increased between China and Taiwan, two carrier battle groups quickly were ordered to the scene. USS Independence steamed into the area from the Western Pacific, where she was conducting routine exercises, and USS Nimitz was ordered to the area from the Arabian Gulf. In early 1998, when Iraq refused to allow United Nations weapon inspectors access to special presidential sites suspected of being involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction, USS John C. Stennis sprinted from Virginia to the Persian Gulf (over 8,000 nautical miles) in 303 hours. Iraq was forced to honor the terms of its agreement with the United Nations. In December 1998, USS Enterprise and USS Carl Vinson launched intensive strikes against Iraq in support of Operation Desert Fox. Since that time, aircraft from every carrier deployed to the Persian Gulf have struck targets in Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch. In 1999, aircraft from USS Theodore Roosevelt struck targets in Serbia and Kosovo in support of NATO's Operation Allied Force. On 11 September 2001, the United States once again relied on carriers as part of the military effort that followed the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. USS George Washington and USS John F. Kennedy patrolled and protected the East Coast as a sign of U.S. resolve, while USS John C. Stennis patrolled the West Coast. USS Enterprise stayed in the Arabian Gulf area past her planned departure date, to be joined on station by USS Carl Vinson. Beginning in October 2001 both CVNs launched long-range strikes against Taliban and al Qaeda forces inside Afghanistan as units of Operation Enduring Freedom. USS Kitty Hawk served as a platform for special operations helicopters as well as for launching strikes. USS Theodore Roosevelt later replaced USS Enterprise in the Arabian Sea, and was joined in December 2001 by USS John C. Stennis, which sortied on her deployment two months early.