USS Nimitz returns to Bremerton after record-setting deployment
The U.S.S. Nimitz is back home in Bremerton after the longest deployment since the Vietnam War.
The 1,092-foot-long aircraft carrier arrived at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on Sunday around 11 a.m., after its 99,000 mile journey.
The Nimitz left Bremerton in April 2020. Its strike group was the first Navy group to deploy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Navy usually aims for six-month deployments, but due to extensions as a result of COVID-19 quarantine protocols, the Nimitz has been away for nearly a year.
More than half of the sailors were serving their in first-ever deployment, according to the Navy.
The Nimitz traveled more than 99,000 miles during its deployment, according to the Navy.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin visited the Nimitz in February and praised the sailors’ resolve and “incredible professionalism.”
“I don’t want deployments this long to be the norm,” Austin said. “And so, we need to take a hard look at that, but you handled it very, very well. You led. You took care of each other in the midst of a pandemic, and you were a team.”
Now that the Nimitz is home, it’s scheduled for a period of maintenance at Naval Base Kitsap known as “planned incremental activity.” It’s due to be decommissioned in 2025.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 1:20 PM.
