The USS Nimitz is at sea for one last job. The aging aircraft carrier, set to be decommissioned, departed its homeport in Washington State this weekend and is heading to the waters around Latin America.
The USS Nimitz and its crew of several thousand sailors departed Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, for its planned final destination at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia ahead of being decommissioned. Stars & Stripes reported on Saturday that the ship will be deploying to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility during that final voyage.
The exact locations and the length of the Nimitz’s deployment are not immediately clear, but it will be the first carrier deployed to SOUTHCOM since the USS Gerald R. Ford and its carrier group left the region in February to head to the Middle East ahead of strikes on Iran. Although several Navy ships have left the Caribbean in the aftermath of the attack on Venezuela in January, U.S. operations in SOUTHCOM have continued. Joint operations inside Ecuador started last week, while the Trump administration is talking about expanding military activities in Latin America in partnership with other nations.
Top Stories This Week
“This ship and her crew could not be more thankful to the people of Washington State for their decades of hospitality, friendship and trust,” the ship’s commander, Capt. Joseph Furco, said when the ship left port. “It is in no small part due to the support of our local community that Nimitz Sailors have been able to successfully train, fight and win, exemplifying the ship’s motto; ‘Teamwork, a Tradition.’”
According to Stars & Stripes, the details around the deployment are still being determined, but the ship will be operating in the Southern Command area of responsibility, according to a spokesperson for the carrier. Due to the size of the ship, it will take the long route around South America, traveling to its southern tip to circumvent the continent. As such it will make stops at several partner nations, Stars & Stripes reported.
The Nimitz was commissioned in 1975, going on to take part in operations in the Gulf of Sidra, Lebanon, the western Pacific and throughout the Global War on Terror over the next five decades.
During its previous deployment, the carrier saw extensive service around the globe, traveling to the Middle East during tensions with Iran, before sailing in the South China Sea, where two aircraft on the carrier crashed within an hour of each other.
Task & Purpose Video