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USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is the tenth and final Nimitz-Class supercarrier of the United States Navy.  She is named for the 41^st President of the United States and former Director of Central Intelligence Agency.  George H. W. Bush was a naval aviator during World War II.  The vessel’s callsign is Avenger, after the TBM Avenger aircraft flown by then Lieutenant George H. W. Bush in World War II.  Construction began in 2003 at the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard.  She was completed in 2009 at a cost of $6.2 billion and her home port is Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

The ship was assigned to Carrier Strike Group Two for her first deployment.  Under the command of Rear Admiral Nora Tyson, George H.W. Bush, Carrier Air Wing Eight and the four ships of her group departed on her first deployment on 16 May 2011.  They sailed across the Atlantic to Britain to participate in Exercise Saxon Warrior, held in the Western Approaches and culminating in a so-called “Thursday War”.  She then moved toward Portsmouth, U.K. on 27 May, anchoring adjacent to Stroke Bay through 31 May, because she was too large to enter the harbor, and the naval base did not have sufficient nuclear berths for the carrier to moor alongside.  The carrier arrives at Naples, Italy on 10 June 2011.  The carrier returned to Norfolk on 10 December 2011, following a seven-month deployment supporting operations with the U.S. Navy’s 5^th and 6^th fleets.

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USS Ronald Regan (CVN 76)

Construction of the ninth Nimitz class ship took place at Northrop Grumman Newport News, Virginia starting with the ship’s keel laying February 12, 1998, and christened by Mrs. Nancy Regan on March 4, 2001.  USS Ronald Regan was commissioned during a ceremony on July 12, 2003.  Vice President Cheney delivered the principal address while Nancy Reagan, wife of the ship’s namesake, served as the ship’s sponsor.  On May 27, 2004 USS Ronald Reagan departed Naval Station Norfolk to circumnavigate South America on its way to its new homeport of Sand Diego.

USS Ronald Regan departed San Diego on January 4, 2006 for her maiden deployment to conduct naval operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism.  This included supporting the missions Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. By May 29, USS Ronald Regan and Carrier Air Wind Fourteen concluded military operations in the U.S. 5^th Fleet area of operations. 

In August 2015, USS Ronald Reagan departed San Diego as the Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) replacement for USS George Washington (CVN 73) in Yokosuka, Japan.

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USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is the eighth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy.  The ship’s callsign is Lone Warrior, and she is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

Harry S. Truman was launched on 7 September 1996 and commissioned on 25 July 1998.  President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker.

Harry S. Turman was initially the flagship of Carrier Group Two and, beginning 1 October 2004, of Carrier Strike Group Ten.

Beginning in 2001, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group participated in Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Deny Flight, Operation Southern Watch, Iperating Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Summer Pulse ’04, and NATO Operation Medshark/Majestic Eagle ’04.

In the first half of 2016, Harry S. Truman, as flagship of Carrier Strike Group 8, carried out an 8-month air operation deployment against ISIL from the Eastern Mediterranean as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.  The ship has been the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 8 since June 2014.

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Aircraft carriers are warships that evolved from balloon-carrying wooden vessels into nuclear-powered vessels carrying scores of fixed and rotary-win aircraft.  Since their introduction they have allowed naval forces to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations.

Balloon carriers were the first ships to deploy manned aircraft, used during the 19^th and early 20^th century, mainly for observation purposes.  The advent of fixed-wing aircraft in 1902 was followed in 1910 by the first fight from the deck of a US Navy cruiser.  Seaplanes and seaplane tender support ships, such as HMS Engadine, followed.  The development of flat top vessels produced the first large fleet ships.  This evolution was well underway by the early to mid-1920s, resulting in the commissioning of ships such as Hosho (1922), HMS Hermes (1924).  Beam (1927), and the Lexington-class aircraft carriers (1927).

Most early aircraft carriers were conversions of ships that were laid down (or had even served) as different ship types: cargo ships, cruisers, battlecruisers, or battleships.  During the 1920s, several navies started ordering and building aircraft carriers that were specifically designed as such.  This allowed the design to be specialized to their future role and resulted in superior ships.  During the Second World War, these ships would become the backbone of the carrier forces of the Us, British, and Japanese navies, known as fleet carriers.

World War II saw the first large-scale use of aircraft carriers and induced further refinement of their launch and recovery cycle leading to several design variants.  The USA built small escort carriers, such as the USS Bogue, as a stop-gap measure to provide air support for convoys and amphibious invasions.  Subsequent light aircraft carriers, such as USS Independence, represented a large, more “militarized” version of the escort carrier concept.  Although the light carriers usually carried the same size air groups as escort carriers, they had the advantage of higher speed as they had been converted from cruisers under construction.

The earlies recorded instance of using a ship for airborne operations occurred in 1806, when Lord Cochrane of the Royal Navy launched kites from the 32-gun frigate HMS Pallas in order to drop propaganda leaflets.  The proclamations against Napoleon Bonaparte, written in French, were attached to kites, and the kite strings were set alight; when the strings had burned through, the leaflets landed on French soil.

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Mission and Capabilities of the CVN-74

The mission of John C. Stennis (named for Democratic Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi) and her wing is to conduct sustained combat air operations while forward-deployed.  The embarked air wing consists of eight to nine squadrons.  Attached aircraft are Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, EA-18G Growler, MH-60R, MH-60S, and E-2C Hawkeye.

The air wing can engage enemy aircraft, submarines, and land targets, or lay mines hundreds of miles from the ship. 

Currently the USS John C. Stennis is at Norfolk, Virginia for refueling complex and overhaul, which began in 2019.  After completion which should be this year, she will return to Bremerton, Washington.

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