2 More Carriers for NS North Island

December 1st: The carriers Nimitz and Ronald Reagan will likley to be home based at N.S. North Island. The final decision will see the Nimitz stationed there from 2002 followed by the Reagan in 2004. They will join the Stennis which based there last August. Another carrier based at North Island, Constellation will be decommissioned in 2003.

Kennedy Loses Sailor

November 24th: A search was called off after a sailor fell from the hangar deck of the Kennedy in the Gulf. A 36 hour search involving ships from the Kennedy battlegroup failed to turn up anything.

Blue Angel Crash

October 31st: A F/A-18B from the Blue Angels crashed during a training flight 2 miles north of Moody Air Force Base. Those killed in the crash were Lt Cmdr Kieron O'Connor, 35 of Burtonsville, Md., and Lt. Kevin Colling 32, of Castle Rock Colo.

23 Blue Angels aviators have died since they were formed and 36 aircraft lost.

Ike Completes Busy Deployment

September 19th: The Roosevelt aircraft completed 20,000 hours and 8,000-9,000 sorties during it's six months deployment in Kosovo and the Gulf

Ike Loses Tomcat

October 23rd: The crew of an F-14 was rescued from the sea after ejecting from their aircraft moments after takeoff from the Eisenhower. Both received only minor injuries, they were assigned to VF-143 based at Oceana in CVW-7. The incident happened during a training excercise near Puerto Rico.

U.S. Military Loses Down

October 23rd: Military loses for the year ended June 30 were down on the same period last year. 15 sailors and airmen were killed, 6 due to aviation incidents (from a total force of over 380,000). 88 died in off-duty accidents, 70 due to car crashes

A total of 108 U.S. military personnel were killed on duty while 319 died off duty.

Operation Allied Force

June 13th: After 77 days Milosevic has admited defeat (to himself) and finally pulled out his army. With an estimated 30% casualties and heavily degraded equipment, the Serb army has begun pulling out. Despite last minute Russian grandstanding, forces from NATO began to move into Kosovo disarming any of the Serbs they find.

May11th: The Roosevelt is getting plenty of action as part of Allied Force. One recent package of 37 aircraft destroyed an airfield in Serbia.

April 11th: The British carrier Invincible will join operation Allied Force with it's compliment of 7 Sea Harriers.

April 6th: The Theodore Roosevelt battlegroup has been diverted to the Adriatic for operations in support of Allied Force. The Kitty Hawk will relieve Enterprise in the Gulf. The TR joins the French carrier Foch

Super Hornet Delivers

March 12th: Much to the consternation of its detractors the F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" is proving to perform beyond expectations. During two weeks of Carrier Suitability Tests aboard the Harry S Truman the aircraft passed the tests with flying colors. Cat shots into cross winds with uneven loads, touch and go with full loads, night landings, single-engine landings and slow cats were among the tests carried out and passed.

Although 'wing drop' was a problem in the past this has now been reduced to 'buffeting', a nuisance, aviators say during extreme manoeuvres, but not a showstopper.

The Navy plans to buy 548 of the aircraft, so far they have taken delivery of 11, 7 for testing and 4 operational in a program expected to cost $43bill. Operational Evaluation is expected to start in May.

Kitty Hawk Deploys

March 2nd: NNS1004. USS Kitty Hawk deploys by USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) departed on a scheduled three-and-a-half month deployment March 2, with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) FIVE, based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan.

During Kitty Hawk's deployment, the Yokosuka, Japan, forward-deployed aircraft carrier is scheduled to participate in Exercise Tandem Thrust, Cobra Gold and Merlion `99. The ship is also planning to make a number of port visits during the deployment, including Guam, Hong Kong, Singapore and Phattya, Thailand. USS Kitty Hawk arrived in Yokosuka Aug. 11, 1998, replacing the now decommissioned USS Independence. This is the ship's first major deployment from Yokosuka and its 19th since Kitty Hawk was commissioned in April 1961. -USN-

War of Atrition

March 1st: Navy aircraft from the Vinson enforcing the southern no-fly zone are regularly fired upon by AAA and SAM's, but so far no damage has been caused. However, these sites have then been hit with precision guided weapons destroying a large part of Hussein's remaining anti-air weapons.

JTFEX 99-1

February 16th: NNS0802. USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Kearsarge groups conduct JTFEX 99-1 by 2nd Fleet Public Affairs NORFOLK (NNS) -- More than 24,000 U.S. joint service members as well as personnel and units from allied nations are participating in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 99-1, Feb. 12 - March 2, 1999. The exercise is being directed by Commander-in-Chief, United States Atlantic Command, Adm. Harold W. Gehman, Jr. Conducting the exercise is Vice Adm. William J. Fallon, Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet and Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic. When in a training role, Fallon is designated as Commander, Joint Task Force 950. Featuring the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Battle Group and the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), JTFEX 99-1 replicates emerging threats and operational challenges our military forces may encounter around the world. It is designed to meet the requirement for quality, realistic training to fully prepare our forces for joint operations when forward deployed.

Participating forces will train using equipment and systems which incorporate the latest advances in technology, and which support the full range of capabilities that may be needed in various geographic areas where forces serve during their deployment. "This Joint Task Force Exercise will train operational units from all services in a battlefield environment that is designed to specifically prepare them for the types of challenges the military faces today," said Fallon. "It provides our battle group and amphibious ready group units valuable experience in operations with forces of other services and other nations, while giving them an opportunity to refine joint and combined warfighting skills. It also provides a challenging test of their capabilities, and completes the training and evaluation process which supports certifying the battle group and ARG as 'ready to deploy.'" In addition to U.S. forces, units from Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Bolivia and Brazil are participating in the exercise. This kind of combined training enhances the readiness of both U.S. and allied forces, and is representative of the way nations often assign forces to deal with modern crises today.

JTFEX 99-1 incorporates significant special operations forces (SOF) participation, as well. More than 2,500 personnel from Navy, Army and Air Force SOF units are coming together during the exercise to practice many of the missions that they may be called upon to perform in a joint task force environment. JTFEX 99-1 is taking place in the waters off Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the Puerto Rican and Jacksonville, Fla., operating areas. The exercise provides "graduate level" training for CVBG and ARG units prior to their deployment. During the exercise, participating forces will be tested on their ability to deploy rapidly, conduct joint operations during a crisis and refine tactics, techniques and procedures in joint force operations. Forces will train in a simulated high-threat environment that involves air, naval and ground operations, and which incorporates surveillance, rescue and other operations such as maritime interdiction, embassy support and non-combatant evacuation. -USN-

Last Nimitz Class in Design Stage

March 1st 1999: The last of the Nimitz class carriers entered the design stage. CVN-77 will be jointly designed by the Navy and Newport News. It is expected the Navy will order the ship in 2001 to be completed in 2008.