Langley laid the muse for the subsequent 100 years of plane service heritage, agility, flexibility, resilience, and future energy. It completed a feat which exemplified the true nature of what it means for a rustic to keep up naval superiority – carrying the struggle to the enemy so it isn’t fought on U.S. soil. March 20, 2022, marks the centennial of this momentous achievement.
“The nuclear-powered plane service is the Nation’s premier class of warship,” stated Capt. Craig Sicola, commanding officer, USS Nimitz (CVN 68). “It’s indisputably america’ strongest asset with regards to sustaining superiority of the seas, defending worldwide maritime commerce, and deterring international aggression.”
The service fleet permits the U.S. to keep up freedom of the seas, and its capabilities allow our forces to fulfill any problem, from fight missions to humanitarian help and catastrophe reduction. Since June 22, 1968, when Nimitz laid its keel, it has carried forth a legacy of innovation, evolution, and dominance.
Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz was america’ final surviving fleet admiral, a rank he earned whereas serving as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas throughout World Warfare II. On this place, he helped lead the U.S. to victory in opposition to Japan.
USS Nimitz continues to play a key position within the Navy’s energy projection and represents a novel and measureable dedication to our allies and companions whereas honoring its namesake – one which all subsequent Nimitz-class carriers now share.
“Chester Nimitz was a pioneer, chief, strategist and mannequin for all different naval officers and Sailors who got here after him,” stated Sicola. “The reverence I maintain for a person who performed such a pivotal position in our nation’s historical past is tough to explain. It’s an honor to command a ship bearing his identify, which additionally holds the excellence of being first in its class.”
Most lately, Nimitz underwent an unprecedented restriction of motion (ROM) interval in April of 2020 whereas pierside in Bremerton as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and left for deployment quickly after. Its voyage would final for nearly a yr, a historic deployment by way of period, returning in March 2021. After finishing a deliberate incremental availability (PIA), the ship returned to sea to arrange for its subsequent deployment.
