Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jesus Aguiar | U.S. Navy Capt. Randy Peck, second from the left, commanding officer of the USS John...... read more read more
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NORFOLK, Va. – Sailors aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ship’s commissioning, Dec. 9, 2020.
The celebration was held aboard the ship and culminated with a cake cutting ceremony, attended by the crew and command leadership.
President Ronald Reagan deemed the late senator as “the father of America’s modern Navy” due to Stennis’ contributions to nuclear research that made important impacts on naval nuclear power. The ship was commissioned by the U.S. Navy at Naval Station Norfolk, Dec. 9, 1995.
“It was an incredible honor to join the Stennis two months before her commissioning,” said Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Bill McCarthy, the first operational executive officer of the John C. Stennis. “By that time, the crew had already gained a superb reputation for its professionalism and teamwork.”
The John C. Stennis is the seventh of 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and has completed a total of eight deployments over its 25-year lifespan.
“It was an incredible first year,” said McCarthy. “The ship set out to complete all of the basic phase training events prior to entering its post-shakedown availability. It was the most aggressive carrier shakedown cruise in over 40 years. Rather than simply conducting carrier qualifications, we embarked a large portion of Carrier Air Wing 8 and headed to the Caribbean. The shakedown included the ship's first foreign port visit to the island of St. Maarten.”
For the last 25 years the ship has navigated the world and is now pierside in Norfolk to prepare for a refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) period at Newport News Shipbuilding.
According to Master Chief Machinist’s Mate (Nuclear) Eric Motter, the ship’s maintenance master chief, completing one-third of the maintenance that will ever be conducted during the ship’s lifetime on time and on budget is crucial.
“USS John C. Stennis has always set the standard,” said Motter. “Returning Stennis to the fleet on time is vital to relieve the watch from the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that are currently steaming on the mission at hand.”
25 years is typically considered the mid-point of an aircraft carrier’s lifespan. RCOH ensures that systems are modernized, habitability of Sailors aboard is updated, and the ship is refueled.
“Once RCOH is completed, John C. Stennis will be at sea, launching and recovering aircraft, displaying the most technologically advanced naval engineering marvels,” said Motter. “Our great national asset will be able to answer the nation’s call for another 25 years or more.”
During the John C. Stennis’ 25 years of commissioned service, it has gone through three minor maintenance periods prior to RCOH. The ship is preparing for RCOH to ensure the ship will continue to operate and defend the country for its full-service life.
“When the John C. Stennis gets delivered, it will be the most advanced aircraft carrier that we have,” said Capt. Randy Peck, commanding officer of the John C. Stennis. “We have a unique opportunity this year to kick off the next quarter century of operations and excellence.”
John C. Stennis is partnering with Newport News Shipbuilding to complete RCOH on schedule with a trained, resilient and cohesive crew.
For more news on John C. Stennis, visit www.stennis.navy.mil or follow along on social media at www.facebook.com/stennis74 on Facebook, stenniscvn74 on Instagram, and @stennis74 on Twitter.
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.09.2020 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 384575 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 538 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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