John F.
Kennedy (CVA-67) was laid down on 22 October 1964 at Newport
News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry
Dock Company; launched on 27 May 1967; sponsored by Miss
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John
Fitzgerald Kennedy; and commissioned at Newport News on 7
September 1968, Captain Earl P. Yates in command.
After fitting out, John F.
Kennedy embarked on a "fast" cruise from 11 to 13 October
1968, and ultimately put to sea on 21 October. Pilots from
the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, rode
the ship to monitor her catapults and arresting gear and
provided planes for her inaugural flight operations. On 22
October, Commander Harold L. Marr, Commander, Carrier Air
Group (CVW) 1 accomplished the ship's first arrested landing
in a Douglas A-4C Skyhawk; Lieutenant Commander Willard C.
Zimmerman, also in an A-4C, the second; and John F.
Kennedy's own carrier on-board delivery (COD) aircraft
(Caroline II), piloted by Lieutenant Commander Martin P.
O'Keefe and Lieutenant John S. Pugh, the third. Later that
day, Captain Yates, flying Caroline II, made the first
unassisted take-off, while an A-4C from Patuxent River made
the first catapult-assisted take-off. That same day, she
also carried out her first underway replenishment from the
oiler Waccamaw (AO-109).
On 23 October 1968, John F.
Kennedy refueled the destroyer Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) and
completed a highline evolution. After completing a period of
independent ship exercises, she stood in to Hampton Roads on
27 October and anchored. Soon thereafter, she shifted to
Craney Island for deperming, after which time she returned
to Pier 12. She then initiated final preparations for
proceeding to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for shakedown training.
John F. Kennedy recovered Attack
Squadron (VA) 81's A-4Cs while she steamed toward Guantanamo
on 2 November 1968. Later that day, she attempted an
underway replenishment with the ammunition ship Mazama
(AE-9) but problems with the carrier's ordnance handling
system hampered the transfer. The elevator and shuttle
conveyors required remedial work, and those repairs, as well
as 113 other minor discrepancies, were noted in an
inspection immediately after John F. Kennedy's arrival at
Guantanamo on 4 November. While at "Gitmo," the ship
conducted almost daily general quarters and other drills and
both day and night flight operations. Liberty visits to
Montego Bay, Jamaica, the first on 16-17 November, and the
second over the Thanksgiving weekend, punctuated the
underway training.
During subsequent evolutions, on
2 December 1968, shortly after a man overboard drill,
Stewardsman Jose L. Langaman apparently jumped into the
water. The carrier launched a Kaman UH-2A Seasprite from
Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC) 2, Detachment 67,
immediately, flown by Lieutenant (j.g.)s Ronald L. Sitts and
William D. Sokel, with Aviation Machinist's Mate (Jet Engine
Mechanic) Airman Peter A. Dehey, III, and Aviation
Electronics Technician Airman Svante E. Mossberg as crew.
The helo approached Langaman, and prepared to effect the
rescue, but a boat from the carrier, in charge of John F.
Kennedy's boatswain, Chief Warrant Officer Charles I.
O'Donald, recovered the messman instead. O'Donald was
recommended for the Navy-Marine Corps Lifesaving Medal for
his action.
From 12 to 13 December 1968, John
F. Kennedy concluded her stay in Cuban waters with an
operational readiness inspection (ORI). Although the ship
had been able to correct only two of the aforementioned 113
discrepancies, she received an overall grade of
satisfactory. The carrier departed Guantanamo on 13
December.
John F. Kennedy moored at her
builders' yard on 16 December 1968 to commence a
post-shakedown availability that lasted until 15 February
1969, during which time shipyard workers corrected the
ship's deficiencies, most notably those that plagued her
weapons handling system. On 17 February 1969, she departed
to conduct air wing qualifications and check various systems
in the Virginia capes operating area.
John F. Kennedy's first major
accident occurred on 19 February 1969, when a North American
RA-5C Vigilante from Reconnaissance Attack Squadron (RVAH)
14 plunged into the water just after launch. A Seasprite
(BuNo 149748) from HC-2, Detachment 67, piloted by
Lieutenants Robert E. Hofstetter and William H. Gregory,
with Aviation Machinist's Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d
class Dehey and Aviation Electrician's Mate 1st class Donald
L. Lewis as rescue crewmen, retrieved Lieutenant (j.g.) John
R. Ellis, the Vigilante's naval flight officer (NFO), but
Lieutenant Commander Richard A. "Dick" Bright, the pilot,
went down with the plane.
Another accident occurred the
following day, 20 February 1969, when a McDonnell-Douglas
F-4J Phantom II from Fighter Squadron (VF) 101 was lost
while attempting to land at night. A Seasprite (BuNo 149015)
(Angel 104), piloted by Lieutenant Gregory (who had been
involved in the rescue the previous day) and Lieutenant
(j.g.) Sokel, with Aviation Machinist's Mate (Jet Engine
Mechanic) 3d class John H. Cooper and Aviation Electrician's
Mate 1st class Lewis (who had also been involved in the
previous day's rescue), retrieved Lieutenant (j.g.) Frank H.
Lloyd, the pilot, and Lieutenant (j.g.) Robert D. Work, his
radar intercept officer (RIO), who had ejected from the
F-4J, accomplishing the task in total darkness, in the teeth
of 35-knot winds and 8-to-10-foot seas, operations made even
more difficult by the turbulence caused by the carrier
upwind of the rescue site.
After conducting further
qualifications, refresher operations for the air wing and
extensive type training exercises on 3 March 1969, John F.
Kennedy returned to Pier 12, Norfolk Naval Station, on 18
March. The vessel undertook final preparations for extended
deployment, but difficulties with the ship's catapults
postponed her departure to 5 April.
That afternoon, John F. Kennedy
got underway for the Virginia capes as flagship for Rear
Admiral Leroy V. Swanson, Commander Carrier Division
(ComCarDiv) 2, to conduct type training and undergo an ORI.
On 12 April, the ship welcomed on board Vice Admiral Robert
L. Townsend, Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Atlantic
Fleet. That same day, Undersecretary of the Navy John Warner
and Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, Chief of Naval Operations,
visited the ship, calling upon Vice Admiral Townsend and
Rear Admiral Swanson. After the conclusion of the ORI, she
disembarked ComCarDiv 2 and his staff by helicopter and set
course for the Mediterranean on 14 April 1969, with CVW-1
(VF-14 and VF-32, VA-81, VA-83, and VA-95, RVAH-14, VAH-10
Detachment 67, VAQ-33 Detachment 67, VAW-121 Detachment 67
and HC-2 Detachment 67) embarked, out-chopping from the 2nd
Fleet and reporting for duty with the 6th Fleet on 21 April.
One day before reaching Rota, Spain, however, in a foretaste
of such shadowing that would become commonplace, John F.
Kennedy came under surveillance on 20 April by a pair of
Tupelov Tu-95 [Bear] maritime reconnaissance aircraft from
the Soviet Northern Long Range Air Forces.
John F. Kennedy reached Rota on
the morning of 22 April 1969 and relieved Forrestal
(CVA-59). Rear Admiral Pierre N. Charbonnet, Commander,
Carrier Striking Forces, 6th Fleet, and Commander, Carrier
Striking Unit 60.1.9, shifted his flag to John F. Kennedy.
The turnover complete by nightfall, the carrier, escorted by
destroyers, transited the Strait of Gibraltar at the start
of the mid watch on 22 April. The next day, John F. Kennedy
refueled from Marias (AO-57), and acquired the company of a
Soviet Kotlin-class destroyer (Pennant No. 383). The carrier
later conducted refueling and replenishment from
Mississinewa (AO-144) and Arcturus (AF-52), operations
observed by a Soviet intelligence collection ship and a
Kresta-class guided missile cruiser (No. 542). Observing
maritime courtesy, the Soviets rendered honors to John F.
Kennedy's embarked flag and the carrier returned them. The
formation transited the Strait of Messina on 27 April 1969
for the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas , en route to Valletta,
Malta. Soviet Tupelov Tu-16 [Badger] reconnaissance aircraft
took them under surveillance; and the Kresta-class guided
missile cruiser (No. 542) again made her appearance. Two
Badgers observed the carrier and her consorts on 28 April.
John F. Kennedy anchored at
Valletta on 2 May 1969. Following this brief liberty and
upkeep period, she sailed on 12 May for operations in the
Ionian Sea. On 16 May, she participated in Mini-National
Week exercises, that simulated locating and maintaining
continuous surveillance over all Soviet and Orange forces
within a defined area; action following a declaration of
open hostilities by the Orange force that included strike
and self defense; and maintaining an air defense posture.
John F. Kennedy engaged in more
training on 20 May 1969, this time with Italian naval forces
in NATO-sponsored Quickdraw, wherein the Italians operated
as Orange and Blue forces. The nocturnal evolution provided
John F. Kennedy’s pilots an opportunity to use flare
illumination and test the reaction time of U.S. forces in an
emergency scramble situation. National Week III, from 22 to
24 May, followed Quickdraw, enlivened prior to its
commencement on 21 May by a visit from a Soviet Badger, and
during the exercise on 24 May by another Badger overflying
the carrier and the task force.
Following National Week III, John
F. Kennedy headed for Genoa, Italy, for liberty and upkeep;
one day out, she set a record rigging time for attack
carriers during refueling operations with Pawcatuck (AO-108)
on 26 May 1969, the men of the “can-do” oiler’s rig 10
accomplishing the work in two minutes and 32 seconds. On 27
May, she reached her destination.
On 4 June 1969, John F. Kennedy
stood out for operations in the western Med with the French
Naval Mediterranean Squadron, participating in a TransitEx
(transit exercise). On the first day of that evolution, a
Seasprite (Angel 04) from HC-2, piloted by Lieutenant
Francis P. Donovan and Lieutenant (j.g.) James S. Holt, with
Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 2d Class W.
Case Benham and Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine
Mechanic) 3d Class Robert L. McCandless as aircrew, sped to
the rescue of a Sailor who had fallen overboard from
Pawcatuck; Benham and McCandless, in spite of the high winds
and heavy seas, rescued the Sailor, James Lam, and the helo
returned him to his ship cold and wet but otherwise none the
worse for wear.
After completing the exercise,
the combined task forces anchored at Porto Vecchio, Corsica,
on 6 June 1969. The next day, John F. Kennedy hosted Admiral
Sauzay, Allied Esquery Commander for NATO Mediterranean
Forces and his staff for the exercise critique. That
afternoon, the carrier got underway, conducting operations
in the Tyrrhenian Sea. On 8 June, she conducted flight
operations around the clock and took part in a Sea Sparrow
missile-firing exercise. Three days later, she anchored at
Naples, Italy, for liberty and upkeep.
John F. Kennedy hosted the
families of officers and enlisted men stationed in the
Naples area for a 6th Fleet dependents’ cruise on 14 June
1969. Her air wing also conducted a firepower demonstration
that day, enlivened by HC-2’s Angel 04 carrying out another
rescue, when a Seasprite piloted by Lieutenant (j.g.) Ronald
L. Sitts and Lieutenant (j.g.) Sokol, with Aviation
Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d Class Donald K.
Asada and Aviation Electrician’s Mate1st Class Lewis as
aircrew, expeditiously retrieved Lieutenant Robert E.
Turgeon, Jr., after he had ejected from his A-4C Skyhawk.
The ship returned to Naples that same afternoon and remained
there until 21 June.
On 23 June 1969, in an accident
that illustrated how danger lurked in even routine duties on
the John F. Kennedy’s flight deck, Aviation Ordnanceman 3d
Class Roger D. Winters of VF-32 suffered severe injury to
his right leg when the F-4B onto which he was loading a
missile shifted unexpectedly. His leg ultimately had to be
amputated above the knee.
John F. Kennedy engaged in two
more rounds of Quickdraw with Italian naval forces on 23 and
28 June 1969, during which a Soviet “modified Kotlin-class”
destroyer (No. 533), along with two Badgers, joined the
carrier’s formation while she conducted an opposed refueling
and rearming drill. On 25 June, the ship conducted a combat
readiness assessment exercise, and the following day,
conducted a basic point defense missile (BPDM) firing
exercise, observed by a pair of the ubiquitous Badgers.
On the second day of Quickdraw
operations, 28 June 1969, a Douglas EA-1F Spad (BuNo 132599)
(side number 753) from Carrier Airborne Early-Warning
Squadron (VAW) 33, Detachment 67, ditched about a mile from
the ship. A UH-2 (BuNo 150181) Angel 31, piloted by
Lieutenant (j.g.)s Holt and Sitts, with Aviation Machinist’s
Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d Class Frank A. Richards and
Aviation Structural Mechanic (Hydraulics) 3d Class Major
Samson on board sped to the rescue; Samson, lowered into the
water, assisted in the pickup of Lieutenant Harold
Cummings, USNR (pilot), Lieutenant Jesse A. Fairley, Jr.,
USNR (navigator), Aviation Electronics Technician 2d Class
Robert P. Zeman and Midshipman Kent W. Mohnkern, USNR, from
the EA-1F’s crew. Samson, however, suffered a cramp, and,
unable to assist in his own retrieval by Angel 04 (BuNo
149015), was ultimately retrieved by a whaleboat crew from
the guided missile destroyer Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5).
John F. Kennedy anchored in
Taranto, Italy, for liberty and upkeep, on 30 June 1969, and
proceeded thence to Corfu, Greece, arriving on 3 July. She
sailed on 7 July for operations in the Ionian Sea. The next
day, a Soviet Kashin-class guided missile light cruiser (No.
540) joined the formation. On 9 July, Vice Admiral David C.
Richardson, USN, Commander 6th Fleet, arrived by COD and
called officially on Rear Admiral Charbonnet.
During Aircraft Tactical Support
Squadron (VR) 24 carquals early in the mid watch on 10 July
1969, a Grumman C-1A Trader crashed; a UH-2B sped to the
scene from its night plane guard position. Angel 31, flown
by Lieutenant Hofstetter and Lieutenant (j.g.) Sitts, with
Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 2d Class
Benham and Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic)
3d Class Asada on board, located one survivor, Lieutenant
Commander Hugo L. Ecklund, but a motor whaleboat from the
ship showed up immediately and rescued the injured officer.
Sadly, searchers found no trace of Lieutenant (jg) Carl
Preston, the pilot.
A Soviet “modified Kotlin-class”
destroyer (No. 533) returned to observe John F. Kennedy,
relieving her old comrade, Kashin-class (No. 540) on 11 July
1969. The carrier put in to Golfo di Palmas, Sardinia, on
14 July, where Rear Admiral Charbonnet shifted his flag to
Shangri-La (CVA-38). Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 8,
Rear Admiral Frank H. Price, then embarked in John F.
Kennedy; she got underway on 15 July for the Thyrrenian Sea.
Another Quickdraw and Mini
National Week exercise followed shortly thereafter. On 21
July 1969, John F. Kennedy reached Naples, where she
conducted a competitive precision anchoring exercise. After
ten days there, she proceeded to Malta, arriving on 2
August, where Rear Admiral Price and his staff disembarked
and Rear Admiral Jack M. James, ComCarDiv 2, shifted his
flag from Saratoga (CVA-60) to John F. Kennedy, the latter
resuming the role of flagship for Carrier Striking Forces,
U.S. 6th Fleet, and Commander Carrier TG 60.1.
John F. Kennedy quit Valletta on
4 August 1969 for operations in the western Med. Vice
Admiral Richardson, Commander 6th Fleet, and Marshall
Smallwood, Commander Near East Air Force, arrived on 13
August to observe the ship’s undertaking a graded combat
readiness assessment exercise. She simultaneously conducted
a major underway replenishment with storeship Arcturus
(AF-52), after which she anchored at Athens, Greece, on 16
August.
John F. Kennedy departed nine
days later for operations in the Ionian Sea where a Soviet
Krupny-class guided missile destroyer (No. 971) joined her.
Four days later, on 29 August 1969, the warship came under
surveillance by yet another Badger. On 31 August, U.S.
Ambassador to France R. Sargent Shriver, Jr., Vice Admiral
Richardson, and other distinguished visitors arrived via COD
and helicopter for an official visit. Her embarked air wing
performed a firepower demonstration and John F. Kennedy
reached Cannes, France, on 1 September, where Mrs. Joseph P.
Kennedy, mother of the late President Kennedy, presented the
ship with a bust of the late chief executive.
Increased tension in the
Mediterranean basin, however, cut short John F. Kennedy’s
visit. On 1 September 1969, the day the ship had arrived at
Cannes, a coup overthrew the Libyan monarchy, while
instability, that would eventually lead to the 22 October
resignation of that country’s Prime Minister, plagued
Lebanon. In response, John F. Kennedy sailed on 4 September,
Captain Julian S. Lake having relieved Captain Yates as
commanding officer the day before, to begin contingency
operations off the coast of Libya. En route to the region,
the carrier came under surveillance by two Badgers on 6
September. The next day, a Soviet Sverdlov-class guided
missile cruiser (No. 849) joined the carrier’s formation.
Two more Badgers tracked the ship on 8 September as she
rearmed from Nitro (AE-23), refueled from Pawcatuck, and
conducted an underway replenishment alongside Concord
(AFS-5).
During contingency operations on
9 September 1969, an RA-5C (BuNo 150833) from RVAH-14 lost
an engine during a “cat shot” and Lieutenant Commander Jesse
L. “Jess” Reed, the pilot, and Lieutenant Andre Marechal,
the radar analyst/navigator, both ejected from the
Vigilante. A UH-2A Seasprite (BuNo 149748) piloted by
Lieutenant (j.g.) Jack D. Ossont and Lieutenant Commander
Curtis B. Cutting (officer-in-charge of HC-2’s Detachment
67), with Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 2d
Class Benham and Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine
Mechanic) 3d Class Asada as crew, retrieved both men from
the rough sea.
John F. Kennedy transited the
Strait of Messina on 14 September 1969, she and her consorts
accompanied by a Soviet Kotlin-class guided missile
destroyer (No.368), and reached Naples on 15 September 1969.
After ten days of liberty and upkeep, she sailed for the
Ligurian Sea, en route to Pollensa Bay, Majorca. The next
day, she conducted anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises
with the submarine Sirago (SS-485) and later provided air
support for the NATO exercise Diamond Blue. On 28 September,
the ship anchored in Pollensa Bay for turnover of the
destroyer squadrons and then sailed immediately afterwards
for operations in the western Med. Following another
Quickdraw engagement and systems tests, during which time
she cross-decked two A-7s and a pair of A-6s from Saratoga,
the aircraft carrier entered the Adriatic on 3 October and
anchored at Trieste, Italy, the next day.
One week later, John F. Kennedy
participated in Deep Furrow, a joint NATO amphibious
exercise in the eastern Med, between 17 and 23 October 1969.
Tragically, during Deep Furrow, CVW-1 suffered the loss of
two pilots and two planes in a single day, 19 October.
Commander John M. Wolfe of VA-83 perished when his A-4C
crashed in western Turkey, while an F-4B from VF-32 crashed
at sea; Lieutenant (j.g.) James P. Dilworth, the pilot,
died, but Lieutenant (j.g.) Mitchell “Mitch” Austin,
Dilworth’s RIO, was recovered.
On 28 October 1969, a Soviet
Kynda-class guided missile cruiser (No. 854) joined the
carrier’s formation. Two days later, on 30 October, CVW-1’s
misfortunes continued when an RA-5C (side number 601) from
RVAH-14 broke free from its tie-downs during a high-power
turn-up as the ship was heeling to starboard. Tragically,
the Vigilante rolled over Airman Roy E. Shaw, from RVAH-14,
as it did so, severely injuring the unfortunate Sailor as
the plane continued off the port side of the flight deck and
plunged into the sea.
John F. Kennedy conducted an ASW
transit exercise with Sirago and Seawolf (SSN-575) on 1
November 1969, and three days later anchored off Athens to
begin a week of liberty and upkeep, during which time she
hosted Secretary of the Navy John Chafee, who visited the
ship on an official call. She sailed for the Ionian Sea on
11 November, and on 12 and 14 November conducted ASW
exercises with Seawolf. John F. Kennedy reached Marsaxlokk,
Malta, on 14 November and stayed for a week. The carrier
then operated in the Ionian Sea once more, conducting flight
operations in support of Quickdraw. John F. Kennedy
transited the Strait of Messina on 24 November 1969, and
that day hosted U.S. Ambassador to Germany Kenneth Rush, as
well as Admiral Waldemar F.A. Wendt, Commander U.S. Naval
Forces, Europe, and Vice Admiral Richardson, Commander 6th
Fleet, who were on board to observe a major battle problem
and engineering competitive exercises.
John F. Kennedy stood in to
Barcelona, Spain, on 25 November 1969, and two days later
hoisted U.S. Ambassador to Spain Robert C. Hill. The
carrier left Barcelona on 4 December 1969 for St. Paul’s
Bay, Malta, and reached her destination on 9 December. The
next morning, she sailed for Pollensa Bay, arriving there on
12 December, where, after having been relieved by Forrestal,
John F. Kennedy set course for home. She passed through the
Strait of Gibraltar on 13 December and once again came under
operational control of the Commander 2nd Fleet. Her embarked
air group flew off on 20 December, the evolution marking the
final carrier operations for Tactical Electronic Warfare
Squadron (VAQ) 33 and its Douglas EA-1F Spads. Four days
before Christmas of 1969, John F. Kennedy reached Pier 12,
where she remained into the third week of January 1970.
John F. Kennedy conducted
carquals from 19-23 January 1970, then underwent repair and
maintenance at Norfolk Naval Shipyard from 30 January, a
pre-administrative readiness inspection while in restricted
availability at the shipyard from 4-8 May, and a fast cruise
on 18-19 May. She completed her restricted availability on
23 May 1970.
Following limited carquals and
other exercises, John F. Kennedy completed nuclear weapons
acceptance inspection on 28 May 1970 and on 12 June sailed
for Guantanamo for refresher training. She completed her
administrative readiness inspection three days later.
John F. Kennedy returned to
Norfolk, and through July and August continued training and
upkeep, punctuating those operations with a visit to Boston,
Massachusetts (2-4 August 1970) during which time Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, brother of the late President, members of
the Kennedy family, including Caroline, who had been the
ship’s sponsor, and her brother John F. Kennedy, Jr.,
visited the ship.
While conducting operations en
route to Norfolk on 6 August 1970, an RA-5C experienced
trouble on a catapult launch and went into the water. An
HC-2 HH-2D (BuNo 152205) flown by Lieutenant (j.g.)s James
C. Harrison and Larry R. Ammerman, with Aviation Machinist’s
Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) Airman Kurt M. Karlsen and
Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Robert E. Touchett,
rescued the Vigilante’s crew, Commander Edward O. Williams
and Lieutenant Ralph S. Feeback, without incident.
After a stint of local operations
out of Norfolk that followed John F. Kennedy’s return from
Boston, Captain Ferdinand B. Koch relieved Captain Lake on 4
September 1970. Ten days later, on 14 September, the carrier
headed for the Caribbean and an ORI. On 18 September,
however, she received a change of orders in the wake of the
6th Fleet having been placed on alert (3 September) because
of tension in the Middle East. Fighting had broken out
between Jordanian and Palestinian forces. Following Syrian
intervention in Jordan on 18 September, John F. Kennedy and
elements of the 8th Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB),
received orders to return to the Med. By 24 September,
however, all Syrian forces had quit Jordanian territory and
on 8 October the carrier returned to Souda Bay.
During her 1970-1971 deployment,
John F. Kennedy, with CVW-1 (VF-14, VF-32, VA-34, VA-46,
VA-72, RVAH-14, HC-2, VAQ-131 and VAW-125) embarked, visited
Athens three times, Naples twice, Palma de Mallorca, Spain,
and Malta twice (on 27 November 1970 being visited by U.S.
Ambassador to Malta John C. Pritzlaff), Avgo Nisi, near
Crete, Souda Bay again, St. Paul’s Bay, Valletta, Malta, and
Barcelona. On 19 December 1970, while in Souda Bay, John F.
Kennedy hosted the Bob Hope Christmas Show.
On New Year’s Day 1971, while
John F. Kennedy lay anchored at Athens, she deployed one of
HC-2’s HH-2Ds on a rescue mission. Bernard Selinger, a
Canadian citizen, had fallen while mountain-climbing near
Delphi, Greece, and broken his back. The Seasprite, flown by
a volunteer crew; Lieutenants W. Dale Sokel and David C.
Heiter, with Aviation Structural Mechanic (Structures) 3d
Class James E. Cook as rescue crewman and Lieutenant (j.g.)
Robert P. Legg, MC, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Clifton
F. Halsey representing the ship’s medical department, flew
“over, around, and between mountains” into the valley where
the village of Delphi lay, retrieved Salinger, and
transported him back to Athenai Airport, where an ambulance
awaited him to take him to a hospital.
Departing Athens on 6 January
1971, John F. Kennedy proceeded to Malta, where she lay in
St. Paul’s Bay (14-16 January) and Valletta (16-23 January)
before getting underway and conducting operations with
guided missile frigate Dahlgren (DLG-12) in the Ionian Sea.
Further evolutions in that body of water ensued (24-29
January), observed by a Soviet Kashin-class destroyer (No.
522) on the 24th.
Reaching Barcelona on 30 January
1971, John F. Kennedy remained there until 8 February.
Out-chopping from the 6th Fleet on that date, she continued
to operate in the Mediterranean for the next 10 days. During
that time, on 11 February 1971, while the carrier was at
sea, she hosted Secretary of the Navy Chaffee and Rear
Admiral Merlin H. Staring.
John F. Kennedy then took part in
NATO exercises in the North Atlantic en route to her home
port, fueling from the British fleet replenishment tanker
Olmeda (A.124) on 20 February 1971 and in turn fueling the
Dutch anti-submarine destroyer Gelderland (D.811) the
following day. Ultimately, John F. Kennedy reached Pier 12
on 1 March 1971. What had been slated to be a two-week
training cruise in the Caribbean had ended up as a
35,127-mile odyssey to the Mediterranean that had spanned
six months.
John F. Kennedy conducted flight
operations off the Virginia capes from 13-22 April 1971, one
day into those evolutions (14 April), an explosion in the
02N2 plant burned Motor Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Charles
Pifer, who was transferred to Naval Hospital, Portsmouth,
Virginia, three days later. A crash tragically punctuated
the intensive carquals when Lieutenant John P. Lay of VA-46
died when his Ling-Temco-Vought A-7B Corsair went down into
the ocean on 17 April. After a brief in-port period, the
ship returned to the capes from 3-8 May for Operation Exotic
Dancer IV, which included a 64-hour endurance exercise
(EndurEx). Two days later, she began carquals. Training
continued into July, August, and September, in areas that
ranged from Guantanamo (during which time she operated a
reserve squadron, CVWR-20, from 10-20 August), to
Jacksonville, Florida, the Virginia capes, and Newport,
Rhode Island.
On 1 October 1971, John F.
Kennedy welcomed her third commanding officer when Captain
Robert H. Gormley relieved Captain Koch. In November, the
ship began operations with the cleaner and more efficient
distillate fuel oil. On 1 December, John F. Kennedy cleared
Norfolk, and on 9 December, she relieved America (CVA-66) at
Rota, rejoining the 6th Fleet; the next day, she entered the
Mediterranean.
John F. Kennedy reached Naples on
17 December 1971 and lingered until the day after Christmas.
She then conducted air operations en route to Barcelona,
where she spent New Year’s Eve, when the ship’s supply
division opened a dairy bar on the after mess decks during
the festivities, distributing milkshakes and sundaes free of
charge.
During the balance of 1972, John
F. Kennedy, with CVW-1 embarked (VA-34, VA-46, and VA-72,
VF-14 and VF-32, RVAH-14, VAW-125, a VAQ-135 detachment, and
Detachment 67 of HC-2) conducted operations in the Med
during a period of relative stability in the international
scene. The ship and her air wing took part in a succession
of exercises: PhiblEx 8-72 (9-10 January), National Week XII
(6-9 February) (during the commencement of which A-7 jet
blast blew Hospitalman 2d Class Curcuru over the side);
Quickdraw (20-21 February), Dawn Patrol (4-9 may), Operation
Red Eye (with Spanish forces, 26 May-1 June), and National
Week XIII (17-20 July), interspersed with port calls that
included Naples, Athens, Corfu, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Genoa,
Cannes, Barcelona, Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Gaeta, Italy,
Golfo di Palma, Augusta Bay, Izmir, Turkey, La Maddalena,
Sardinia, and Rota. On 8 April 1972, Lord Balniel, UK
Minister of State for Defense visited John F. Kennedy. That
same day, Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 3d
Class Mark W. Raymond of VA-34 died in an A-6 canopy
accident. Two days later, the carrier hosted Operation
Rivets, the retirement ceremony for Admiral Horacio
(“Rivets”) Rivero.
Only five days after the canopy
accident that claimed the life of Aviation Structural
Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 3d Class Raymond, an A-6 crashed
during a conventional ordnance exercise on 13 April 1972,
and a search and rescue effort ensued for Lieutenant (j.g.)s
William T. Hackman and David L. Douglas, without success.
Two days later, however, debris from the missing Intruder
was sighted near the Avgo Nisi target range.
CVW-1 lost three more aircraft
(two from VA-72) before the year was out. The first was an
A-7 (BuNo 154386) to hydraulic failure on 20 May 1972, with
Lieutenant Bernard J. Hedger, from VA-72, being rescued by
an HH-2D flown by Lieutenants LeRoy E. Hays and Roy E. Hey,
with Aviation Structural Mechanic (Structures) 3d Class F.
L. Barthold and Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine
Mechanic) 3d Class G. H. Trouton, as crew. The second was an
HH-2D Seasprite (Angel 013) to a lost tail rotor on 11 June,
its four-man crew (Lieutenants Larry E. Crume and James R.
Palmquist, Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic)
3d Class Kent D. Swedberg and Aviation Structural Mechanic
(Safety Equipment) Airman Richard F. Diaz) being rescued by
Angel 010 flown by Lieutenants Hays and James C. Harrison,
with Aviation Machinist’s Mates (Jet Engine Mechanic) 2d
Class David T. Warmkessel and James C. McDonald as crew. The
third was another Corsair (Decoy 401) due to a stall spin,
on 27 June, with Lieutenant (j.g.) Newton R. Gaines, also of
VA-72, being rescued by Angel 010 (Lieutenant Palmquist and
Lieutenant Commander Lawrence B. Kauffman, with Swedberg and
McDonald as crew), with British guided missile destroyer HMS
Antrim providing wind velocity data to the inbound helo.
From 14-28 September 1972, John
F. Kennedy participated in NATO Exercise Strong Express.
During that time, on 17 September, she crossed the Arctic
Circle for the first time and received a visit, on 19
September, by Secretary of the Navy John Warner and General
Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC, the Commandant of the Marine
Corps. Another notable event that occurred during those
operations was the cross-decking of an F-4K Phantom II and a
Hawker-Siddeley Buccaneer IIB from HMS Ark Royal to John F.
Kennedy and an F-4B and an A-6 to the British carrier, an
evolution that “increased the flexibility of air operations
in allied efforts and opened the door to increased
efficiency in combat conditions and strategic concepts.”
Flight deck crews having been exchanged prior to the
evolution ensured that those involved encountered “no major
difficulties.” During the same period, John F. Kennedy,
operating in the North Sea, cross-decked four A-7s to
Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) operating in the
Mediterranean at the time, and received a like number of
Corsairs from Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Upon the conclusion of Strong
Express, John F. Kennedy proceeded to Norfolk, arriving on 6
October 1972. The next day, she went “cold iron” until 31
October. On 1 November, the ship conducted a fast cruise,
then shifted to Portsmouth to begin eight weeks of
restricted availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. During
that yard period, that saw the rework of the catapult water
brakes, repairs to weapons elevators, installation of
modifications to enable the ship to handle the EA-6B, and
the installation of four new salt water cooling pumps, among
other items, the carrier also underwent a change of command
when Captain John C. Dixon, Jr. relieved Captain Gormley on
30 November 1972.
Emerging from her overhaul on 5
January 1973, John F. Kennedy, earmarked to deploy to
Southeast Asia, worked-up in the Virginia capes operating
areas, but during her 8-17 February in-port period received
word that, in the wake of the Paris peace accords, she would
deploy to the Med in April instead of the western Pacific in
March. The carrier then began her ORI with flight
operations off the Virginia capes and down off the Florida
coast, including operations against the Pinecastle, Florida,
target range. On the first launch of the day on 17 February,
a division of Intruders from VA-46 sank its quarry, ex-Meade
(DD-602). Soon thereafter, the ship visited Mayport, Florida
(20 February) before returning to Norfolk on 22 February.
She remained in port until she participated in Exercise
Exotic Dancer VI (28 March - 4 April).
John F. Kennedy departed Norfolk
on 16 April 1973 and dropped anchor at Rota on 25 April,
relieving Intrepid (CVS-11). The next day, she hosted
Spanish Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sophia, during which
visit the 35-year old heir apparent to the Spanish throne
commented upon not only the complexity of carrier
operations, but the cleanliness of the ship in which he was
embarked. CVW-1 performed an air show for the royal guests
and then the ship got underway for the Strait of Gibraltar.
John F. Kennedy spent the next
five months of 1973 operating with the 6th Fleet, her port
visits including Barcelona and Palma, Formia, Italy, Augusta
Bay, Gaeta, Souda Bay, Rhodes, Athens, and Livorno. Her
period of routine operations, exercises, and underway
replenishments, was punctuated by the ship losing her
301-ton starboard anchor (and 180 fathoms of chain) at
Cannes on 1 June. She regained it, with the help of the
salvage vessel Opportune (ARS-41) a week later. At Palma on
2 September, John F. Kennedy’s fire and rescue detail
extinguished an engine room fire on board a nearby yacht.
After transiting the Strait of
Gibraltar on 22 September 1973, John F. Kennedy paused
briefly at Rota (23-24 September), relieved by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, before she got underway to proceed to the North
Sea. Transiting the English Channel on 30 September, the
carrier crossed the Arctic Circle on 4 October during NATO
exercise Swift Move, a nine-day evolution that combined the
efforts of more than 20,000 men, 34 ships, and 250 land and
sea-based aircraft from Canada, the Netherlands, Norway,
Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom
and the United States. Afterwards, on 10 October 1973, John
F. Kennedy put in to Edinburgh, Scotland, where, the
following day, a fire in a storeroom damaged steam pipe
lagging and electrical wiring for her number three catapult
– with all repairs completed by the ship’s force within 72
hours.
John F. Kennedy had originally
been slated to return home after her three-day visit in
Edinburgh, but another crisis in the Middle East reared its
head when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a surprise
attack on Israel on 6 October 1973 in The Yom Kippur War.
Accordingly, John F. Kennedy sailed from Edinburgh on 13
October in company with guided missile frigate Dale
(DLG-19), guided missile destroyer Richard E. Byrd
(DDG-23), and destroyer Sarsfield (DD-837), supported by
the oiler Caloosahatchee (AO-98). The carrier and her
consorts proceeded to a holding area 100 miles west of
Gibraltar, to assume an alert position to respond to the
crisis in the Middle East.
On 25 October 1973, the day after
the completion of the program to fly A-4 Skyhawks to Israel,
staging them through the Azores and Franklin D. Roosevelt
(on station south of Sicily) John F. Kennedy (which had been
earmarked to support those flights if required), received
orders to rejoin the 6th Fleet, and entered the
Mediterranean. The ship’s entering the Med reflected the
middle-level alert ordered for U.S. forces world-wide after
the Soviet Union reportedly planned a unilateral move of
troops into the Middle East to monitor the shaky cease-fire
that had taken effect in the wake of the most recent
conflict between Israel and her neighbors. John F. Kennedy
prepared contingency weapons loads on 27 October.
As tensions in the region
remained high, the carrier remained at sea into mid-November
1973, operating south of Crete, day and night, with task
groups formed around Independence (CVA-62) and Franklin D.
Roosevelt, and refueled by the fast combat support ship
Seattle (AOE-3) (4 November), and old consort Pawcatuck (9
and 12 November), after which point she put in briefly to
Souda Bay on 15 November, only to get underway once more
before the day was done. The 6th Fleet resumed its normal
alert status on 17 November, however, and the next day, “the
ship, normally busily noisy, fell silent” as Captain Dixon
informed the crew over the 1MC that John F. Kennedy was
finally going home. “With a return date in sight,” her
historian wrote, “the crew looked forward to their
homecoming and reunion with their families, loved ones, and
friends.” The ship, her “second” Med cruise of the
deployment completed, transited the Strait of Gibraltar on
22 November, and moored to the familiar Pier 12 on 1
December.
John F. Kennedy conducted local
operations out of Norfolk to start the year 1974, spending
two short periods in January and February participating in
operations off the Virginia capes. On 1 March, she got
underway from Pier 12 and shifted to the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard; a fortnight later, on 15 March 1974, she shifted
to dry dock no. 8, where she would remain well into June.
Among the major projects
undertaken over the ensuing months to provide the carrier
with ASW capabilities and enable her to conduct combined
air, surface and sub-surface warfare were the installation
of the Tactical Support Center (TSC), designed as a module
of the combat information center (CIC), to provide
pre-flight planning, in-flight support, post-flight
analysis, and mission evaluation for all ASW missions flown
by the new Grumman S-3A Vikings and Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
helicopters; the satellite read-out equipment (SROE), to
provide the tactical commander and his meteorologist “real
time” weather data acquired and transmitted by the defense
meteorological satellite system; and the versatile avionics
shop test (VAST), an enhanced aircraft maintenance
facility. In addition, since each embarked type of jet
presented a unique problem to the ship’s aircraft-handling
capability, the new Grumman F-14 Tomcat’s exhaust being
hotter than that of the other aircraft’s and the S-3A’s
higher than any other embarked plane’s due to the position
of its engines, for example, the jet blast deflectors needed
to be rebuilt to provide a larger protective surface and an
improved cooling capability.
During this overhaul, John F.
Kennedy experienced a turnover of people, too, of
approximately 60 percent. Among those leaving was Captain
Dixon, relieved on 24 May 1974 by Captain William A. Gureck.
John F. Kennedy left dry dock at
the end of June 1974, and remained in yard hands into late
October, at the end of which time she conducted a fast
cruise. On 12 November, she put to sea for her first post
repair trial, and the following day recovered a VF-32 Tomcat
(Modex 204, BuNo 159015) flown by Commander Jerry G. Knutson
and Lieutenant (j.g.) David C. “Davy” Leestma, the first
F-14 to land on board. Upon completion of those trials, John
F. Kennedy returned to the yard and wrapped up her overhaul
on 25 November, one week earlier than scheduled. On 26
November, she returned to Pier 12, Naval Station, Norfolk.
The ship was redesignated from CVA-67 to CV-67 effective 1
December 1974.
John F. Kennedy spent the first
six months of 1975 preparing for a return to the Med. From
6-20 January 1975, she conducted refresher training out of
Guantanamo, punctuating it with a visit to Montego Bay,
Jamaica, before she returned to Norfolk. On 6 February, Rear
Admiral Ronald J. Hays, ComCarGru 4, broke his flag in John
F. Kennedy. The carrier then got underway on 19 February for
the Jacksonville operating area, to qualify her own CVW-1
and Marine Air Group (MAG) 32. On 22 February, John F.
Kennedy recovered an S-3A from Air Anti-Submarine Squadron
(VS) 21 in the first carrier landing of a fleet-assigned
Viking. Returning to Norfolk on 28 February, the ship then
conducted two stints of type training in the Virginia capes
operating area (4-14 March and 18-28 March).
Underway on 7 April 1975, John F.
Kennedy sailed for the Jacksonville operating area for a
third stint of type training, during which, on 9 April,
Commander Melvin E. Taunt, commanding officer of HS-11 (who
had had to make an emergency landing in a farmer’s field in
North Carolina just three days earlier after a massive
transmission oil leak in his SH-3D), made an emergency water
landing when another major oil leak forced him to ditch
about seven miles from the ship, which recovered the downed
Sea King in less than two hours with minimal damage. The
following day, Major General Sayed Javad of the Imperial
Iranian Air Force, came on board to observe F-14 Tomcat
operations.
On 15 April 1975, John F. Kennedy
sailed to participate in Agate Punch, an amphibious exercise
conducted in the vicinity of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
She also hosted a succession of visitors during that time
that included not only flag officers but novelist Herman
Wouk (21 April). John F. Kennedy’s air wing participated in
multi-faceted operations during Agate Punch that ranged from
air defense of the task force, ASW, and supporting a landing
force. The evolution was designed to test the carrier’s
close air support capability, but also provided the ship an
opportunity to test the CV concept, as she operated
continuously for 253 hours in an air, surface and
sub-surface threat environment, recording 961 arrested
landings. Tragically, in the closing phases of the
exercises, on 25 April, a VA-34 Intruder crashed, killing
Lieutenant (jg) Arthur K. Bennett III; Bennett’s
bombardier/navigator, however, ejected and was safely
recovered.
Following a fourth stint of type
training, off Jacksonville, John F. Kennedy departed Mayport
on 10 May 1975 to return to Norfolk; that day, an
unsuccessful catapult launch cost VA-34 a KA-6D. Two Sea
Kings from HS-11, one flown by Lieutenant Jon R. Jensen and
Ensign Mark A. Hansen, with Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare
Operator 3d Class D.S. Thompson as rescue crewman, the other
by Lieutenant Michael L. Hoppus and Ensign Rodney H. Trump,
with Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator 3d Class W.S.
Ewell and Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator Airman
E.L. Lawson embarked, rescued the pilot and
bombardier/navigator.
With only a month left before her
Med deployment, John F. Kennedy then took part in Solid
Shield, a joint exercise designed to prepare Atlantic
Command Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Headquarters
for joint combat/amphibious operations, from 27 May to 6
June 1975. After the exercise concluded, she returned to
Norfolk and remained there until 28 June. During this time,
Rear Admiral Hays hauled down his flag and on 27 June, Rear
Admiral Justin E. Langille III, Commander Cruiser Destroyer
Group (ComCruDesGru) 12, broke his flag on board.
John F. Kennedy departed Norfolk
on the afternoon of 28 June 1975 with CVW-1, consisting of
nine squadrons: two of F-14A Tomcats (VF-14 and VF-32); two
of A-7B Corsairs (VA-46 and VA-72); one of A-6E Intruders
(VA 34); one of EA-6B Prowlers (VAQ -133); one of E-2C
Hawkeyes (VAW-125); one of S-3A Vikings (VS-21); and one of
SH-3D Sea Kings (HS-11), embarked. RVAH-1 was also assigned
to the air wing, but due to deck congestion, was not
embarked, remaining on alert in Key West, Florida, ready to
deploy if needed.
The highlight of John F.
Kennedy’s voyage to Rota occurred on Independence Day, 4
July 1975, when an E-2C Hummer from VAW-125 detected two
Soviet Tu-95 Bear-Ds. They overflew the ship approximately
400 nautical miles west of the coast of Spain. Ironically,
with all of CVW-1’s Tomcats temporarily “down” due to engine
problems, the lot of interception fell to Corsairs, two
A-7Bs from VA-46 and two from VA-72, the latter being flown
by Lieutenant Michael Akin and Lieutenant (j.g.) Terry
Rogers. The next day, the ship began a final cycle of
refresher training prior to joining the 6th Fleet; during
the second day of such work, 6 July, Lieutenant Commander
Ronald T. Mears, of VA-46, had to bail out of his A-7B
Corsair (side number 306) (BuNo 154487) five miles astern of
the ship when his engine flamed out about 50 miles west of
Rota. The Sea King piloted by Lieutenant Commander William
C. Hunter and Lieutenant (j.g.) Trump, with Aviation
Antisubmarine Warfare Operator 1st Class Wilmoth and
Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator Airman R.A. Arkie as
rescue crewmen, had Mears in sight in six minutes, and
recovered him, uininjured, two minutes later.
John F. Kennedy anchored at Rota
on 7 July 1975. There, she relieved Franklin D. Roosevelt
and in-chopped to the 6th Fleet; she began Mediterranean
operations on 14 July, exercising with units of the Spanish
Air Defense and Tactical Air Commands, and USAF units
stationed in Spain. On 19 July, while anchored at Augusta
Bay, Rear Admiral Langille hauled down his flag and Rear
Admiral Eugene J. Carroll, Commander Task Force 60, broke
his flag in John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy got underway from
Augusta Bay on 5 August 1975. That day, an F-14A Tomcat
(Camelot 100) (BuNo 159007) from VF-14 crashed after the
ship’s number four arresting gear damper failed; Lieutenant
Commander Carlton L. Lavinder, Jr., the pilot, and
Lieutenant Bartholomew J. Recame, the NFO, both ejected
safely. An SH-3D piloted by Lieutenant (j.g.) William E.
Hoffman and Lieutenant Commander Marvin E. Hobbs, with
Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator 3d Class R.M. Davis
and Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator Airman S.R.
Northcutt, rescued Lavinder and Recame and returned them to
the ship.
Following her participation in
National Week exercises during the first part of August
1975, during which time contingency forces were maintained
for the potential evacuation of the approximately 100 U.S.
government employees and 1,000 U.S. citizens in Lebanon
during strife in that country, John F. Kennedy visited Bari,
Italy, on 16 August. When high winds and heavy seas resulted
in the cancellation of liberty for three days, the carrier’s
embarked helicopters from HS-11 airlifted the 900-man
liberty party and 12,000 pounds of mail between the fleet
landing and the ship on 20-21 August.
Subsequently, John F. Kennedy
conducted another cycle of operations before putting in to
Naples on 27 August 1975 for a ten-day port visit, after
which she returned to the eastern Med to prepare for Deep
Express, a major NATO exercise that occurred in the Aegean
Sea and on Turkish soil (22-27 September). With tensions in
Lebanon still high, John F. Kennedy arrived at Kithira
Anchorage, Greece, on 28 September on 36-hour alert for
possible evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon. During
that time, the carrier stood ready to provide Marine and
amphibious task group commanders with intelligence support
needed to prepare for such operations that, fortunately, the
situation did not ultimately require.
Following a port call at Catania,
Sicily (1-3 October 1975), John F. Kennedy participated in a
National Week exercise with Italian and other NATO forces
(4-8 October), and then transited to the Strait of Messina
(9-13 October), and, ultimately, reached Naples, out of
which she conducted cyclic operations in the Thyrrenian Sea
during the latter part of October and in mid-November.
During the third such cycle of
operations that began on 19 November 1975, on 22 November,
at 2159 local time, the guided missile cruiser Belknap
(CG-26), while maneuvering to take her station on John F.
Kennedy during the night’s last recovery operations,
collided with her approximately 70 nautical miles east of
Sicily. On board the carrier, a severe fuel fire blazed up
on the port side, and on her flight deck. Flight deck
firefighters contained the fire there inside of 10 minutes,
but a fire in a receiving room burned below for several
hours. At one point, heavy smoke forced the evacuation of
all the carrier’s fire rooms, forcing her to go dead in the
water. Temporarily hors de combat, John F. Kennedy diverted
all flights to Naval Air Facility Sigonella, with the
exception of her embarked SH-3Ds from HS-11 that supported
the unfolding rescue and relief operations.
John F. Kennedy’s overhanging
angled deck, however, had ripped into Belknap’s
superstructure from her bridge aft as the cruiser passed
beneath it. JP-5 fuel from ruptured lines in the port
catwalk sprayed onto severed electrical wiring in her gaping
wound. Flames engulfed the damaged areas of the cruiser, and
within minutes, Belknap’s entire amidships superstructure
was an inferno. Shortly after the fire began, boats from
other vessels operating with John F. Kennedy and Belknap
began to pull alongside the burning ship, often with
complete disregard for their own safety. Ammunition from
Belknap’s three-inch ready storage locker, located
amidships, cooked off, hurling fiery fragments into the air
and splashing around the rescue boats. Undaunted, the
rescuers pulled out the seriously wounded and delivered
fire-fighting supplies to the sailors who refused to
surrender their ship to the conflagration. Guided missile
destroyer Claude V. Ricketts and destroyer Bordelon (DD-881)
moved in on both sides of Belknap, their men directing fire
hoses into the amidships area that the stricken ship’s crew
could not reach. Claude V. Ricketts moved in and secured
alongside Belknap’s port side, and evacuated the injured
while fragments from exploding ammunition showered down upon
her weather decks. Frigate Pharris (FF-1094) closed in the
carrier’s port side to provide fire-fighting assistance.
Among the acts of heroism on
board John F. Kennedy were those that earned recommended
citations to Aviation Structural Mechanic (Structures) 3d
Class Raymond A. Pabon, Aviation Structural Mechanic
(Structures) Airman William L. Snyder, and Aviation
Structural Mechanic (Hydraulics) 3d Class Harold T. Collier
from VF-32. Airman James D. Lunn, of VA-72, having been
issued an oxygen breathing apparatus, grabbed a hose and
climbed up three levels to the source of a fire. Perceiving
a dull red-orange glow of burning tires within the thick
black smoke, Lunn trained his hose upon it until an
explosion blew him backwards through a hatch, depositing him
three decks below in a foot of water. He was taken to
sickbay, where the carrier’s medical people treated his
burned hands and lacerated right ear.
Sadly, John F. Kennedy lost one
man, Yeoman 2d Class David A. Chivalette of CVW-1, to smoke
inhalation; two men from VA-72 (one of whom was the
aforementioned Airman Lunn), suffered injuries. Belknap lost
seven men; 23 suffered serious injuries. HS-11’s Sea Kings
flew over 36 hours of support flights, transferring 88 men,
including 17 litter patients and 60 hurt, but ambulatory,
sailors. Ultimately towed to Philadelphia, Belknap was
decommissioned and rebuilt.
The next day, Rear Admiral Donald
D. Engen, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces,
Europe, embarked to conduct an investigation into the
collision; and on 24 November 1975, having been deemed
“operationally capable,” John F. Kennedy resumed flight
operations in the Tyrrhenian Sea, using catapults one and
two, while repairs proceeded on catapults three and four.
The ship’s Fresnel lens having been destroyed in the
collision with Belknap and the fire that ensued, John F.
Kennedy’s landing signal officers employed a manually
operated visual landing aid system (MOVLAS) rigged on the
starboard side abreast the island. VA-72’s historian noted
that the “boarding rates of all air wing pilots stayed
consistently near 100%.” Admiral Engen convened a formal
investigation on the morning of 25 November.
John F. Kennedy arrived at Naples
the following day, where there was, as VA-72’s scribe put it
quite rightly, “a little relaxation for a deserving crew.”
Three days into that port visit, on 29 November 1975,
Captain John R. C. Mitchell relieved Captain Gureck.
Putting to sea again on 4
December, John F. Kennedy conducted cyclic operations in the
western Med (4-8 and 14 December) that book-ended a visit to
Palma (9-13 December) and preceded a Poop Deck exercise with
Spanish forces (15-16 December) and conducted Corsair strike
and interdiction missions against French targets as well as
CAP missions, and Tomcat interceptions of raiding Mirages
and Jaguars (17-18 December). John F. Kennedy wound up those
operations with CVW-1 conducting Phiblex 6-76, delivering
live ordnance against the Capodanna target peninsula,
simulating close air support for amphibious landings.
John F. Kennedy ultimately
reached Barcelona on 22 December 1975. She spent Christmas
there, and two on 27 December, returned to sea to begin a
cycle of three days of flight operations to maintain pilot
proficiency, after which she returned to Barcelona, where
she remained over New Year’s.
John F. Kennedy resumed
operations on 5 January 1976, and conducted air operations
in the western Med until 11 January, among the evolutions
occurring being those familiarizing French forces with the
F-14A, while receiving the first operational look at the
Dassault Mirage F.1. That day, John F. Kennedy began a
five-day port visit to Malaga before getting underway to
outchop from the Med on 16 January. John F. Kennedy
conducted her turnover with Saratoga off Rota the following
day and then began the voyage back to Norfolk.
During the voyage home, John F.
Kennedy went on alert when a flight of two Bears neared the
ship. Three E-2C’s maintained airborne radar contact and
intercept control while two F-14s flew intercept and escort
missions, providing the Soviet airmen with a demonstration
of the capabilities of the newest naval fighter in the U.S.
Navy’s inventory. The Bears retired and John F. Kennedy
recovered her alert aircraft.
John F. Kennedy returned to
Norfolk on 27 January 1976, and over the ensuing months
received systems upgrades and engaged in intensive training.
She received an interim tactical flag command center (ITFCC)
and compartmented mode processing system (CMPS) equipment,
serving as the test bed for both; her efforts proved
beneficial to the enhancement of carrier operational
systems.
During type training from 23 June
to 2 July 1976, John F. Kennedy operated with the British
aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. During a second period of
such evolutions, John F. Kennedy “entertained” a less
welcome (but not altogether unfamiliar) kind of guest. On 21
July, two separate reconnaissance flights by pairs of Bears
came into contact with the carrier. F-14’s escorted them,
and many of the crewmen topside observed the Bears and their
Tomcat escorts appear on the horizon aft of John F. Kennedy
and fly along the starboard side approximately four nautical
miles away.
On 2 September 1976, John F.
Kennedy got underway for a North Atlantic deployment, with
CVW-1 (VF-14 and VF-32, VA-34, VA-46 and VA-72, VS-32,
VAW-125, VAQ-133, HS-11 and Light Photographic Squadron
(VFP) 63) embarked, to participate in Joint Effort (3-10
September), Teamwork 1976 (10-23 September), and Bonded Item
(8-10 October). These three major fleet exercises, involving
approximately 200 ships from participating NATO countries,
practiced and updated NATO operating procedures and provide
practical applications of established command and control
policies. Visits to a succession of ports: Edinburgh, (25
September – 1 October), Wilhelmshaven, Germany (4-7
October), Portsmouth, England (18-24 October), and Brest,
France (27-29 October), punctuated the periods of operations
at sea.
Bears reflected Soviet interest
in Teamwork 1976, and on 12 September 1976 Lieutenant (j.g.)
William H. “Wally” Baker and Lieutenant Davy Leestma of
VF-32 intercepted the first such overflight 400 nautical
miles west of Ireland. They escorted the Bear as it made one
low pass over the ship and followed it until it was out of
range. A VFP-63 Vought RF-8G Crusader took photographs of
the Bear to commemorate the occasion.
Two days later, on 14 September
1976, VF-32 lost a Tomcat some 60 nautical miles north of
Scotland when an F-14 experienced “runaway engines” and
began to skid across the flight deck. Lieutenant John L.
“Lew” Kosich, the pilot (CVW-1 staff), mindful of the pack
of aircraft spotted forward, alertly steered the Tomcat
toward the deck edge. Just prior to the F-14 going over the
side into 315 fathoms of water, Lieutenant (j.g.) Louis E.
“Les” Seymour, the NFO, initiated command ejection, and both
men landed on the flight deck with minor injuries. Three
sailors from the flight deck crew suffered injuries in the
mishap with the rampaging Tomcat, but recovered. Intensive
deep-water salvage operations recovered most of the F-14A
and the missile it carried.
That same day at 2336, her old
consort Bordelon reported losing steering control during
night refueling operations while alongside and veered into
John F. Kennedy. None of the men on board the carrier
suffered injuries and the damage to her hull was minimal.
However, Bordelon suffered extensive superstructure damage
and injuries to six men. Fortunately, no fires resulted and
Bordelon continued under her own power. As it had done
during the Belknap incident the previous autumn, HS-11 flew
night medical evacuation missions in support of the relief
efforts in the wake of the collision.
Soviet interest in the NATO
exercises continued, as Bears reconnoitered John F. Kennedy
and her task force on four more occasions. Badgers conducted
surveillance flights on 18 and 21 September 1976, while the
carrier logged the nearby presence of the oceanographic
research vessels Arkhipelag and Pelorus as they carried out
“tattletale operations,” and a Kresta II-class guided
missile cruiser.
On 21 September 1976, John F.
Kennedy, operating in the North Atlantic waters off Norway,
entered the Arctic Sea. To commemorate this auspicious
occasion, Boreas Rex, Ruler of the North Wind, bestowed to
all on board John F. Kennedy the renowned “Order of the Blue
Nose.” To reflect this distinction, the carrier later stood
into Norfolk with her bull nose painted blue.
During Bonded Item, John F.
Kennedy landed several French Vought F-8 Crusaders on board
as part of an exchange program, and on 26 October 1976,
VF-32 flew mock engagements against their Gallic
adversaries. As that squadron’s historian reflected later,
“this type of dissimilar flying provided valuable aircrew
training.”
John F. Kennedy began her return
transit to Norfolk on 30 October 1976 and arrived on 9
November. After her return, she underwent an inspection and
survey from 15-19 November, and then moored alongside Pier
12, where she remained for the rest of 1976.
John F. Kennedy sailed for the
Mediterranean on 15 January 1977, with CVW-1 (the same
squadrons with which she had deployed the previous summer
and autumn) reaching Rota on 26 January and conducting
turnover procedures with Nimitz (CVN-68). The next day, Rear
Admiral Carroll, ComCarGru 2, and Commander, TF 60,
transferred his flag from Nimitz to John F. Kennedy. On 29
January, the carrier changed operational control from 2nd
Fleet to 6th Fleet.
John F. Kennedy then participated
in NATO Exercise Locked Gate 1977 (29 January – 12 February
1977) that involved 40 ships from Canada, France, the
Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, the
United Kingdom, and Spain. The evolution, involving
coordinated air, surface and subsurface operations, and all
aspects of electronic warfare, demonstrated NATO’s resolve
and ability to maintain control of the Strait of Gibraltar
and deny access to the Med to hostile forces as well as
protect allied countries along the rim of the North
Atlantic. During Locked Gate, F-14As from CVW-1 intercepted
a pair of Bear-Ds (“Bear Deltas”) southwest of Gibraltar in
the Gulf of Cadiz on 5 February and escorted them during the
time they were operating within 100 nautical miles of the
ship.
After a stay at Naples (12-28
February 1977), brief operations in the Ionian Sea, and a
return visit to Naples, John F. Kennedy participated in
National Week XXII (22-26 March). John F. Kennedy and her
consorts, representing Blue (friendly) forces, “battled”
Orange (hostile) forces in the form of Franklin D. Roosevelt
and her air wing, Semmes (DDG-18), Claude V. Ricketts,
Basilone (DD-824), and another old consort, Sarsfield. At
the conclusion of the maneuvers, Blue and Orange forces
anchored at Augusta Bay for the post-exercise critique
conducted on board John F. Kennedy. After the conclusion of
National Week XXII, John F. Kennedy became the first U.S.
carrier to call at Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (28 March to 2
April 1977).
John F. Kennedy returned to
Naples on 6 April 1977, and remained there until 19 April to
participate in the joint NATO and Central Treaty
Organization (CENTO) Exercise Shahbaz 1977 involving U.S.
6th Fleet units, the Imperial Iranian Air Force, Pakistani
Air Force, Turkish Air Force, United Kingdom’s Royal Air
Force, U.S. Air Force Europe and NATO’s 6th Allied Tactical
Air Force. Shahbaz 1977 exercised the air defenses of the
CENTO participants and to develop coordination of the CENTO
air defense system with that of NATO.
Following Shahbaz 1977, John F.
Kennedy conducted flight operations in the Aegean until 30
April 1977; she then sailed for Egypt. From 2-6 May, John F.
Kennedy paid a visit to Alexandria. Rear Admiral Robert F.
Schoultz, ComCarGru 2, and Captain Mitchell attended a
wreath laying ceremony at Egypt’s Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier on 2 May. Two days later, John F. Kennedy hosted
Loubna Sadat, daughter of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
John F. Kennedy sailed from
Alexandria on 6 May 1977, and proceeded thence to Augusta
Bay, Sicily, arriving on 8 May to replace her starboard
anchor which had been lost on 26 March during the debriefing
of National Week XXII. From 10-16 May, she participated in
an ASW exercise, Dawn Patrol 1977, that combined ASW,
photographic reconnaissance, and electronic warfare support,
with surface and subsurface search coordination. Punctuating
her participation in these evolutions, an RF-8G (Modex AB
601) from VFP-63, Detachment 2, crashed at sea immediately
after launch on 11 May east of Sicily. Lieutenant Commander
James S. Ozbirn, the pilot, officer in charge of the
detachment, escaped injury and was retrieved by an SH-3D.
Three days later, on 14 May, Captain Jerry O. Tuttle
relieved Captain Mitchell as commanding officer of the ship.
Following Dawn Patrol, John F.
Kennedy anchored in Naples for a port visit (17 May - 1 June
1977), during which time many of the crew’s family members
arrived via charter flights. Many dependents flew over by
chartered jet to enjoy Naples and Italy with their men while
an equal number of sailors returned to the United States for
leave. The charter flight afforded many families the
opportunity to be reunited for a brief time during the six
and a half month deployment.
John F. Kennedy got underway on 1
June 1977 for operations in the western Med. On 2 June,
while refueling alongside oiler Marias, the two ships
conducted an emergency breakaway after the destroyer Hawkins
(DD-873), refueling on the other side of Marias, collided
with the auxiliary. Happily, the carrier managed to avoid
the oiler and damage to Marias and Hawkins proved minimal.
After a port visit at Barcelona
from 6-14 June 1977, operations at Salto Di Quirra Range on
16-17 June, a 36-hour exercise interjected into a 62-hour
ASW operating period, and a 13-day port visit in Palma De
Mallorca starting 23 June, John F. Kennedy began operations
on 5 July in the western Med. After providing close air
support for PhiblEx 7-77 (evaluating E-2C control of assault
helicopters in an amphibious landing), the carrier visited
Malaga (13-19 July).
On 19 July 1977, John F. Kennedy
then proceeded to Rota where, from 19-22 July, she conducted
turnover proceedings with Saratoga. Rear Admiral Schoultz,
ComCarGru 2/CTF 60 broke his flag in Saratoga on 21 July,
telling the crew of his former flagship: “The overall
performance of JFK throughout the deployment has been
outstanding and their accomplishments many. The combat and
material readiness of the ship is higher than ever before
and set a hallmark of excellence for all CVs to obtain.”
Rear Admiral William B. Warwick, ComCarGru 4, broke his flag
in John F. Kennedy later that day and the ship got underway,
transitioning from 6th Fleet to 2nd Fleet operational
control. During the transit home, the carrier was
reconnoitered by a pair of Bear-Ds in the western Atlantic,
intercepted and escorted, as before, by air wing F-14As
while within 100 nautical miles of the ship. On 1 August
1977, John F. Kennedy moored at Pier 12; she remained there
for the remainder of the year.
On 3 January 1978, Vice Admiral
Howard E. Greer, Commander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet,
arrived and awarded John F. Kennedy the Atlantic Fleet
Battle Efficiency “E” for battle readiness. For the rest of
January until 29 June, the ship carried out training and
qualifying programs in local waters, interspersed with
in-port upkeep. On 29 June 1978, with CVW-1 (VF-14 and
VF-32, VA-34, VA-46 and VA-72, VAW-125, VS-32, VAQ-133,
VFP-63, and HS-11) embarked, she began another voyage to the
Med, one day of which (3 July 1978) found her under
surveillance by old comrades, Soviet Bear-D’s, that in turn
found themselves watched by Tomcats.
On 9 July 1978, John F. Kennedy
reached Rota and conducted a turnover with Nimitz. Three
days later, she sailed for Naples, proceeding via the Gulf
of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar, arriving at her
destination on the morning of 17 July. She left Naples on 20
July to participate in three exercises: BuzzardEx 78,
National Week XXV, and ASW Week 8-78, which ran
consecutively until 4 August, after which the ship visited
Trieste, Italy (6-12 August). She then conducted flight
operations in the highly restricted airspace of the
Adriatic. Following a brief stop on 19 August in Souda Bay,
the carrier transited the Strait of Messina on 21 August and
anchored at Naples on the morning of 22 August, commencing a
13-day port call.
John F. Kennedy sailed on 4
September 1978 to conduct an eight-day sea period, during
which time she engaged in missile exercises. On the morning
of 12 September, she anchored at Alexandria, where she
remained until 18 September, when she sailed for a return
visit to Naples. The morning after she arrived, John F.
Kennedy hosted a NATO Day guest cruise, returning to port
the same night.
John F. Kennedy left Naples on
the morning of 27 September 1978 to participate in Display
Determination 1978, a NATO exercise took place on 11 October
and simulated an amphibious landing in northern Greece,
after which time the ship arrived at Taranto, Italy, to
begin a five-day port visit.
Next, the ship anchored briefly
at Souda Bay on 18 October 1978, before she got underway to
conduct missile exercises; she later proceeded on to anchor
on 24 October at Palma. There she commenced a two week port
visit, highlighted by another dependents’ charter flight
which brought many loved ones to Spain from the United
States and vice versa. John F. Kennedy began exercises with
the Spanish Armed Forces on 7 November 1978. Together, they
conducted air strike exercises, air-to-air combat exercises
and anti-submarine warfare exercises. On 22 November, John
F. Kennedy participated in similar exercises with the French
Air Force.
John F. Kennedy arrived at
Barcelona, Spain, on 27 November 1978, where, the following
day, 28 November 1978, Captain Lowell R. Myers relieved
Captain Tuttle. As the carrier’s new commanding officer was
beginning his tour, CVW-1 was conducting dissimilar air
combat training with USAF units from Zaragoza Air Base. From
26 November to 4 December, the Air Force pilots taught the
navy fighter crews lessons in the dynamics of high speed,
multi-plane scenarios with adversaries of similar
performance and expertise.
John F. Kennedy left Barcelona on
4 December 1978. After missile exercises at Salto di Quirra
Range near Sardinia and flight operations off the coast of
Spain, the carrier anchored at Valencia, Spain, on 9
December for a port visit. She left for Naples on 17
December, conducted bombing sorties at Capo Teulada,
Sardinia, evaluated the readiness and effectiveness of air
and surface weapons systems against ex-Thornhill (DE-195)
and returned to Naples on 21 December to celebrate Christmas
and New Year’s Eve there. John F. Kennedy sailors installed
a new roof over an orphanage, donated toys, and hosted a
Christmas party for the children.
John F. Kennedy got underway on 8
January 1979 and arrived at Malaga four days later. En
route, she conducted ASW exercises and refresher flight
training. On the evening of 24 January 1979, John F.
Kennedy weighed anchor and proceeded to Rota, arriving there
the following day. The next day, she conducted exercises
with her relief, Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), and on 28
January, headed for Norfolk, Rear Admiral Robert L. Walters,
Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8, breaking his flag in
the ship for the homeward voyage. She brought her deployment
to a close on 8 February when she moored alongside a
snow-covered Pier 12. Three days after the carrier’s return,
a fire, later determined to have been caused by a leaking
steam line igniting flammable material, broke out aft on the
03 level in a living compartment. It was put out in about an
hour’s time.
John F. Kennedy got underway from
Pier 12 on 6 March 1979 and spent that day offloading her
conventional ordnance. The next day, she hosted about 500
dependents and shipyard workers as she shifted to the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard. John F. Kennedy moved to dry dock
no. 8 on 19 March for her major overhaul. During the
ensuing yard period, the ship’s tactical support center was
redesignated as an anti-submarine warfare module, and an
integrated carrier acoustic prediction system was installed.
NATO Sea Sparrow missile system replaced all three BPDMS
launchers and fire control directors. Ship’s radars were
either updated or changed. Carrier air traffic control was
improved with automatic data readouts, which enhanced
controller efficiency and response time. Even food service,
air conditioning and laundry facilities were bettered.
From early April until mid-July
1979, John F. Kennedy, the normal shipyard routine
progressed uneventfully until an unknown arsonist set a
series of fires on 9 April 1979. John F. Kennedy responded
quickly and minimized the damage to only 38 compartments
during six hours’ work at general quarters, but William L.
Seward, a civilian yard employee, died. Another series of
arson incidents occurred on 5 June, the crew controlling the
blazes within two hours with no reported injuries. John F.
Kennedy doubled security watches to prevent a recurrence. On
14 July, the carrier shifted from drydock to Pier 5 for the
remainder of her yard work.
John F. Kennedy conducted a fast
cruise and held dockside trials on 5 December 1979. Six days
later, the carrier got underway; she spent the remainder of
the year 1979 and the first half of 1980 preparing for her
next deployment. After post-repair trials and refresher
training out of Guantanamo, a seven-day visit to Boston for
OpSail 80 festivities, and a change of command ceremony on
27 June when Captain Diego E. Hernandez relieved Captain
Tuttle, the carrier steamed for the Med on 8 August 1980,
with CVW-1 (with VAW-126 and VAQ-138 having replaced VAW-125
and VAQ-133 in the composition, the other squadrons
remaining the same) on board.
En route, Tomcats from CVW-1
intercepted a Bear-D on 14 August 1980. Three days later,
John F. Kennedy arrived at Malaga to relieve Saratoga. That
same day, John F. Kennedy left Malaga for Toulon. She
arrived on 22 August for a four-day port visit. After her
visit, the carrier set sail for operations in the western
Med en route to Naples. While at sea, the carrier conducted
large-scale strike planning exercises with the French Air
Force.
On the morning of 5 September
1980, John F. Kennedy anchored at Naples for an eight-day
port visit. She got underway on 13 September for three days
of operations and returned to Naples for two days of
anchorage training. She left Naples on 17 September for the
five-day National Week XXIX exercise in the central Med,
exercises that soon assumed a quality of reality when Libyan
Air Force planes engaged in an unprecedented number of
sorties in the vicinity of John F. Kennedy’s Battle Group
over international waters. On 19 September, F-14’s under E-2
control intercepted two Libyan sections, and six and
eighteen sections, respectively, on 20 and 21 September.
After pausing briefly at Augusta
Bay on 23 September 1980, John F. Kennedy headed for
Barcelona. She arrived two days later, completing rigorous
flight operations along the way. After a week’s stay, John
F. Kennedy sailed to the western Med to participate in
Display Determination 80, en route to Alexandria. The
exercise staged joint combined raids in Italy and
engagements with the French carrier Clemenceau.
John F. Kennedy anchored at
Alexandria the morning of 14 October 1980. On 18 October,
the carrier left Alexandria for Haifa, dropping anchor at
that port the following day. Hospitable Israelis hosted some
240 men from the ship in their homes; John F. Kennedy hosted
approximately 1,000 visitors.
John F. Kennedy left that Israeli
port on 24 October 1980, in transit to a 27 October call at
Athens. During the voyage, the carrier conducted open ocean
mining exercises and participated in joint service
operations with Hellenic forces. The warship anchored at
Athens on the morning of 27 October. After a week there, the
carrier departed on 2 November for operations in the central
Med en route Naples, arriving four days later.
John F. Kennedy left Naples on 10
November 1980, bound for Palma, and began participating in
Exercise Poop Deck that day. USAF F-15s and F-4s provided
adversary services for the carrier’s airwing. With Poop Deck
completed, the ship anchored at Palma on 15 November to
begin a two-week port visit, which included a dependents
charter flight.
John F. Kennedy sailed on 2
December 1980 and resumed flight operations en route to
joint service operations in the central Med. She anchored in
Naples on 13 December to plan and prepare for close air
support exercises employing live ordnance at Capo Tuelada.
The carrier returned to Naples on 20 December. Two days
after Christmas, His Eminence Terence Cardinal Cooke, D.D.,
Military Vicar, was flown aboard to celebrate Mass for
approximately 300 officers and enlisted men.
John F. Kennedy departed Naples
on 3 January 1981 en route to the western and central
Mediterranean for carquals and ASW exercises. From 5-11
January, the warship participated in coordinated operations
with fellow battle group units. On 12 January, the carrier
dropped anchor in Augusta Bay to host a briefing for
National Week XXX, upon completion of which the fleet
weighed anchor and sailed for the waters north of the Suez
Canal. National Week XXX exercised battle group anti-air
warfare (AAW) and airborne early warning (AEW) capabilities,
emphasized surface and subsurface search coordination
procedures, electronic support measures and follow-on
war-at-sea strikes. Poor weather and rough seas, however,
hampered the exercise, limiting air operations.
Upon completion of National Week
XXX, John F. Kennedy anchored in Souda Bay for the exercise
debrief on 19-20 January 1981, then visited Athens (21-27
January), whence she sailed for the central Med for flight
operations in support of a combat readiness assessment
exercise west of Crete (28-29 January) that tested the
ship’s weapons department and air wing ordnance teams.
John F. Kennedy conducted flight
operations in the central and western Med during February
1981, punctuating those operations with port visits to
Naples (2-3 February) and Valencia, Spain (14-18 February).
While en route to the latter port, CVW-1 aircraft joined the
French Southern Coastal Defense Forces for Dasix exercises
which simulated strike and air defense warfare.
John F. Kennedy participated in
amphibious exercises off Carbonaras, Spain (21-22 February
1981), her fighters conducting amphibious support and combat
support and combat air patrol (CAP) missions under surface
combatant control while attack crews gained training and
experience in low altitude, high-threat close air support.
From 21-24 February, USAF aircraft engaged the carrier in
dissimilar air combat training work. USAF F-4’s provided the
opportunity to exercise CIC and E-2 (Hawkeye) control of
anti-air warfare (AAW) operators, as well as exercising the
fighters in the air-to-air role. Upon completion of the
evolution, John F. Kennedy sailed for Naples, arriving there
on 26 February.
On 9 March 1981, John F. Kennedy
got underway for Malaga. Once she arrived on 13 March, the
ship embarked approximately 130 male dependents and
relatives, and five days later, on 18 March, ComCarGru 2/
CTF 60 cross-decked from John F. Kennedy to Forrestal. The
Tiger Cruise then set sail from Malaga, coming to a
conclusion at Norfolk on 28 March 1981.
John F. Kennedy spent April 1981
preparing for a restricted availability at Norfolk Naval
Shipyard (30 April-3 August). Before she made the trip to
the yard, she unloaded her ordnance and weapons to the
carriers Nimitz and America and the underway replenishment
oiler Kalamazoo (AOR-6). Completing her yard period on 2
August 1981, she departed the next day for post-repair
trials. She then returned to Pier 12 for upkeep (7-23
August), during which time she hosted the visiting British
carrier HMS Invincible during her port call to Norfolk (8-20
August).
Having completed her final
adjustments, John F. Kennedy departed Norfolk on 24 August
1981 for three weeks of carquals, limited air wing flight
operations and ship/air wing refresher operations in the
Jacksonville/Guantanamo operating areas. During the
qualification periods, on 29 August 1981, Captain D. Bruce
Cargill relieved Captain Hernandez, after which, the carrier
steamed to Guantanamo for refresher training. Concluding her
refresher work on 10 September, John F. Kennedy set course
for Norfolk. The ship moored to Pier 12 on 14 September.
John F. Kennedy’s next departure
came on 6 October 1981 when she left for four days of
carquals, after which she conducted type training from 10-19
October off the Virginia capes. She then returned to
Norfolk, remaining there from 19 to 25 October, before
shifting to Whiskey anchorage, and preparations for the
in-port phase of the operational propulsion plant
examination (26-28 October).
Tragically, during the CVW-3
fly-on operations on 29 October 1981, VAQ-138 suffered the
loss of the three-man crew of one of its EA-6Bs (BuNo
159582). Lieutenant Commander Jack A. Fisher and Lieutenants
James H. Mallory and Alfred J. Dupont perished in the mishap
when the Prowler crashed near NAS Oceana. The ship held a
memorial service for the lost crew two days later.
John F. Kennedy then sailed for
Puerto Rico on 30 October 1981 to participate in ReadEx
1-82, an evolution involving more than 30 ships and 200
aircraft of the Atlantic Fleet and Royal Navy, and lasting
through 4 December, designed to improve readiness in
coordinated dual carrier battle group operations for John F.
Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the exercise, the
participants passed beneath the constant watch by their
Soviet comrades, Bears operating between the Soviet Union
and Cuba.
During November 1981, CVW-3
(VF-11 and VF-31, VA-37, VA-75 and VA-105, VS-22, VAW-126,
VAQ-138 and HS-7), which had replaced CVW-1 as the ship’s
embarked air wing, intercepted Tu-95 Bears, took part in
ReadEx 1-82, parrying threats to the battle group, and
planned attacks on selected exercise targets. As ReadEx 1-82
progressed, the entire battle group began to perform as a
coordinated body.
John F. Kennedy then visited St.
Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands from 8-11 November 1981, after
which time she engaged in yet more training, including air
wing day and night strikes against targets on Vieques; CAP
against multiple airborne raids; minefield evasion, multiple
air-to-air missiles exercises; air-to-air gunnery against a
towed banner; multiple war-at-sea strikes; advanced
anti-ship cruise missile exercises during which CVW-3 scored
direct hits on the target, ex-Charles R. Ware (DD-865);
electronic warfare training; anti-submarine torpedo
exercises by both helo and fixed wing aircraft;
refueling/replenishment exercises; and various safety and
navigational exercises.
On 17 November 1981, Dwight D.
Eisenhower departed Barbados and commenced two days of
adversary operations against John F. Kennedy. Afterwards,
both carrier battle groups joined forces. Without benefit of
a coordination and workup period, units of the two carrier
battle groups, British forces, and USAF assets rendezvoused
in a hostile electronic warfare environment and successfully
encountered a complex, sophisticated and numerically
superior exercise adversary, proving the concept of
long-range force defense for protracted periods. The
participants had achieved a major breakthrough in maritime
air superiority through several “firsts” in the Navy’s
experience, including employment of in-flight refueling from
a USAF McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, employing
long-range carrier based CAP, and integrating the largest
joint carrier battle force/ USAF command and control (AWACS)
aircraft.
Following an ORE (1-4 December
1981), John F. Kennedy anchored north of Vieques from 4-5
December to rearm from Butte (AE-27) and finish work on her
propulsion system. Having completed intensive training in
the Caribbean, the carrier moored alongside Pier 12, on the
morning of 11 December, where she remained for the rest of
1981.
John F. Kennedy deployed on 4
January 1982, commencing the voyage with a three-day period
of carquals for her air wing off the Virginia capes. That
having been completed, she began her Atlantic transit with
CVW-3 (VF-11 and VF-31, VA-37, VA-75 and VA-105, VS-22,
VAW-126 and VAQ-138 and HS-7) embarked. She in-chopped the
Mediterranean on 17 January 1982 and began a four-day port
visit to Malaga.
Late on 21 January 1982, John F.
Kennedy got underway, and participated in National Week XXXI
in the Mediterranean. She then transited the Suez Canal on 3
February, making her first passage with numerous Egyptian
and U.S. Embassy staff members embarked. John F. Kennedy
then spent the rest of the month of February in the Indian
Ocean and North Arabian Sea, and crossed the equator for the
first time on 6 March, entering the “Realm of King Neptunus
Rex.” Only ten percent of the crew had crossed the equator
previously and by the end of the day, 4,500 “Pollywogs” had
become “Shellbacks.”
John F. Kennedy then set course
for Australia, en route to Perth. On 11 March 1982, each
man, whether he was ship’s company, air wing, or staff, in a
departure from the “dry” nature of U.S. Navy ships in the
wake of the 1914 general order abolishing other than
medicinal alcohol on board, was authorized two cold beers in
a cookout on the flight deck. The entire crew took the
afternoon off to relax following 45 days of arduous toil.
John F. Kennedy anchored outside
Perth at the port of Fremantle on the morning of 19 March
1982, and received warm hospitality for the duration of the
stay that ultimately came to an end on 25 March.
John F. Kennedy and conducted
routine operations and exercises for the next five weeks,
evolutions punctuated by her first port visit in Africa,
anchoring at Mombasa, Kenya, on 2 May 1982. She left on 7
May and steamed toward the North Arabian Sea, where, the
following day, she hosted the visiting President Mohamed
Siad Barre of the Somali Democratic Republic, who arrived to
full honors, including Marine honor guard and a 21-gun
salute from the guided missile cruiser Josephus Daniels
(CG-27).
On 19 May 1982, Commodore John
Gunning, Commander, Sultan of Oman’s Navy and Captain John
De Winton, Chief of Staff (Designate), Sultan of Oman’s Navy
visited John F. Kennedy. The carrier had been operating
closely with the Sultan of Oman’s air forces, and the visit
was intended to foster closer relations with his military
representatives.
John F. Kennedy transited the
Strait of Bab-El-Mandeb on 1 June 1982 and headed north in
the Red Sea. She arrived at Port Suez that afternoon. After
making the northerly transit of the Suez Canal, the carrier
expected to make a port visit to Haifa from 6-11 June, where
many of the John F. Kennedy’s crew had dependents waiting
for them. However, another crisis in the Middle East would
put those plans on hold, in the wake of Israeli forces
entering Lebanon in Operation Peace for Galilee on 6 June
1982. Israel had attacked Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) fortifications throughout southern Lebanon, and John
F. Kennedy, her anticipated port visit to Haifa cancelled,
received orders to proceed to a position off the Lebanese
coast. On 8 June, the Secretary of Defense ordered the
Marine Amphibious Ready Group at Rota to the eastern Med for
potential evacuation of American citizens from Beirut,
Lebanon. John F. Kennedy’s crew was relieved to hear that
their loved ones were all safe and returning home, as they
prepared to aid in the possible evacuation of U.S. and other
foreign nationals from Beirut. The ship remained on station
until relieved on 17 June by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
John F. Kennedy proceeded to
Toulon, arriving on 21 June 1982. Three days later, she
sailed to take part in Daily Double, an anti-surface warfare
(ASW) and air defense exercise with the French Air Force and
Navy. When Daily Double concluded on 27 June, the carrier
transited to Malaga, arriving the following day and
remaining there until 3 July. John F. Kennedy concluded the
deployment with a Tiger Cruise, ultimately reaching Norfolk
on 14 July.
From 17-27 August 1982, John F.
Kennedy conducted carquals off the Virginia capes, after
which time she lay pierside before undertaking another stint
of carquals off the capes from 21-24 September. On 30
September, she hosted change-of-command ceremonies where
Admiral Wesley L. McDonald relieved Admiral Harry D. Train
II, USN, as Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic; Commander in
Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
John F. Kennedy shifted to the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 15 October 1982 where she
underwent an overhaul and rehabilitation period for all
ship’s spaces and equipment that lasted until 7 February
1983, upon completion of which she got underway for two days
of post-availability sea trials off the Virginia capes. The
carrier returned to Naval Station, Norfolk, on 10 February
and remained there until 24 February in preparation for.
From 24-27 February, the warship conducted carquals off the
capes, and on 28 February sailed for Guantanamo for
refresher training, which then ran from 1-9 March. Released
to proceed to Bridgetown, Barbados, John F. Kennedy remained
there from 12 to 15 March.
John F. Kennedy then engaged in
training in the Caribbean/Puerto Rico operating areas until
5 April 1983, returning to Norfolk on 8 April. Soon
thereafter, on 14 April, Captain Gary F. Wheatley relieved
Commodore Cargill as commanding officer.
John F. Kennedy deployed on 26
April 1983 for Solid Shield 83, conducted through 5 May, an
exercise designed to test multi-phase and joint operations
off the coasts of North and South Carolina and Georgia. The
ship was tasked with utilizing the Joint Interoperability
Tactical Command and Control Systems message format designed
to standardize messages and message procedures among all
branches of the armed services.
After Solid Shield 83, the
remainder of May 1983 saw more carquals, a planned
maintenance system inspection and exercise United Effort,
which took place during John F. Kennedy’s voyage across the
then steamed east towards the Central and Eastern Atlantic
Ocean to participate in Ocean Safari, a NATO exercise held
from 3-17 June 1983 that involved some 90 ships from ten
nations. Ocean Safari simulated air strikes into France,
West Germany, and England, and the involved elements carried
out ASW, anti-carrier warfare and convoy escort exercises
between the Azores and the United Kingdom, concluding with a
port visit to Portsmouth, England, from 18-22 June.
John F. Kennedy began her trip
home on 23 June 1983 and arrived at Norfolk on 1 July. After
a post-deployment respite, the ship conducted carquals off
the Virginia capes commencing on 20 July. Subsequently, the
carrier conducted three days of an Operational Propulsion
Plant Examination (OPPE) off the capes, after which time the
ship remained in port from 30 July through 9 August.
John F. Kennedy, with Washington
Post military correspondent George C. Wilson (whose book,
Supercarrier, would chronicle the deployment that unfolded)
embarked, sailed from Norfolk on 27 September 1983, and
after conducting carquals off the Virginia capes (27
September-2 October) set course, with CVW-3 (VF-11 and
VF-31, VA-75 and VA-85, VS-22, VAW-126 and VAQ-137, and
HS-7) for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a port visit from
13-16 October. During the voyage, over 2,000 “pollywogs”
were initiated into the order of King Neptune’s realm when
the ship crossed the Equator on 8 October. While in Rio,
John F. Kennedy’s crew provided material and manpower aid
for the John F. Kennedy Brazilian Elementary School. They
bid farewell to Rio on 17 October as the ship steamed east
for another deployment to the Med.
On 23 October 1983, while John F.
Kennedy was en route to the Med, a suicide bomber struck the
U.S. Marine Corps Multi-National Forces (MNF) Barracks at
Beirut International Airport, killing 241 Marines. That same
day, another suicide car bomb killed 58 French paratroopers.
Five days after those terrorist acts, John F. Kennedy
entered the Med, one day ahead of schedule. The prevailing
international situation resulted in her scheduled 2-7
November port visit to Marseille, France, being cancelled.
John F. Kennedy’s VF-31, however,
suffered two tragic losses inside of three days. On 8
November 1983, Lieutenant (jg) Cole P. O’Neil and Commander
John C. Scull (RIO), died when their F-14A (Modex AC 205)
inexplicably flew into the sea while on a CAP station near
the coast of Lebanon. Another VF-31 F-14A (AC 212) on 11
November; Lieutenant David P. Jancarski, the pilot, suffered
serious injuries in the egress, Lieutenant Commander Oliver
L. Wright (RIO), emerged from the ordeal unhurt. HS-7 helos
rescued both men, the Sea King flown by Lieutenant Commander
Thomas R. Withers, with Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare
Operator 3d Class John Curran and Aviation Antisubmarine
Warfare Operator Airman Daniel Rockel as rescue crewmen,
picking up Jancarski and the Sea King flown by Lieutenant
Richard A. Strickland, with rescue aircrew Mark Phillips and
Mike Mellema, picking up Wright.
On 24 November 1983, the
carrier’s C-1A Trader, Caroline II, was lost at sea, during
a ferry flight, near Palma. Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2d
Class Fernando Pena perished in the crash.
That same day, 24 November 1983,
John F. Kennedy’s F-14As began flying tactical air
reconnaissance pod system (TARPS) missions over Lebanon,
their crews gathering valuable intelligence to target Syrian
positions for the gunfire support ships offshore. John F.
Kennedy, together with Independence, continued to provide
support for the MNF throughout the rest of 1983, as the
result of which the planned port visit to Alexandria and a
Suez Canal transit were cancelled. Instead, John F. Kennedy
returned to Haifa on the morning of 28 November, remaining
there until 1 December.
John F. Kennedy engaged in combat
for the first time soon thereafter, when she returned to the
waters off Lebanon. On 3 December 1983, two VF-31 F-14As, on
a TARPS mission, the Tomcat flown by Lieutenant Commander
John C. Burch with Lieutenant John W. Miller as RIO, the
escort flown by Lieutenant Gregory G. Streit with Lieutenant
(j.g.) James E. McAloon as RIO, encountered surface-to-air
missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire.
The following morning, 4 December
1983, John F. Kennedy and Independence aircraft (CVW-6)
pounded Syrian anti-aircraft and artillery positions near
Hammana, Lebanon, in a coordinated retaliatory strike. VA-85
flew seven combat sorties and VA-75 three, in addition to
launching two of its KA-6Ds to serve as aerial refuelers for
the strike aircraft; VAQ-137’s EA-6Bs provided electronic
countermeasures/electronic support measures, while VF-11
flew CAP missions with its F-14s and VF-31 flew rescue CAP
and CAP over the force offshore with their Tomcats. SAMs,
however, downed one Independence A-7E and one John F.
Kennedy VA-85 A-6E.
Syrian troops captured Lieutenant
Robert O. Goodman, the Intruder’s bombardier/navigator
(ultimately released on 3 January 1984, he returned to the
United States). Lieutenant Mark A. Lange, Lieutenant
Goodman’s pilot, however, died from injuries received during
the ejection. On 7 December, the Syrians returned Lange’s
body to the American Embassy in Beirut. A Christian Lebanese
fisherman and his son picked up Commander Edward K. Andrews,
the A-7E pilot, CVW-6’s commander, and he soon reached
American hands.
Secretary of Defense Casper W.
Weinberger, issued authorization on 10 December 1983 for
John F. Kennedy’s indefinite stay in the eastern Med. Not
transiting to the Indian Ocean as previously scheduled, John
F. Kennedy thus began 1984 continuing her support of the
MNF. On 20 January, the carrier left the eastern Med; she
visited Naples (23-30 January) before returning to her
station off Lebanon. In response to a resumption of hostile
artillery fire upon U.S. Marine positions, CVW-3’s Intruders
carried out air strikes against the offending guns, taking
no losses in return.
John F. Kennedy, given a brief
respite from MNF support duty to conduct NATO exercises near
Cyprus in conjunction with the British and French navies,
changed station to north of Alexandria on 22 March 1984. On
9 April, she received orders to proceed to Naples, where she
would stay from 12-18 April. While there, Saratoga relieved
John F. Kennedy, releasing her to sail for home.
John F. Kennedy arrived in
Norfolk on 2 May 1984, and before month’s end, was underway
on 30 May for Boston to participate in the “Parade of Sail”
event. The trip home became another Tiger Cruise,
culminating at Norfolk on 8 June. The carrier spent the
balance of June, July and August undergoing trials and
qualifications.
On 2 September 1984, Vice
President George H.W. Bush visited John F. Kennedy. Three
days later, Captain William R. McGowen relieved Commodore
Wheatley as commanding officer, and soon thereafter, the
ship steamed to the Virginia capes for carquals and testing
of the new McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Four days later,
John F. Kennedy entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
The carrier remained in shipyard
hands until 20 September 1985, undergoing a $165 million
overhaul. During that time, she received the installation of
two close-in weapons system (CIWS) mounts, a SPN-46
automatic carrier landing system, the Mk. 23 target
acquisition system, the single audio system (SAS), a flag
tactical command and control (FTCC) system, the URN-25
tactical aid to air navigation, the Raytheon collision
avoidance system (RAYCAS), a SPS-67 and SPS-64 surface
search radar, SPA-25E and SPA-74 air search radar repeaters,
the surface ship torpedo defense (SSTD) and F/A-18
maintenance phase I capability.
John F. Kennedy returned to the
fleet on 20 September 1985, and on 8 October, began carquals
off the Virginia capes to begin trials of her newly
installed or overhauled systems. After calling at Port
Lauderdale, Florida (11-15 October), during which she hosted
some 25,000 visitors, she conducted target of opportunity
exercises with the attack submarine Boston (SSN-703) on 15
October. During those evolutions, the carrier controlled the
guided missile destroyer Richard E. Byrd (DDG-23) and VS-24
planes as they tracked Boston for four hours and “attacked”
her twice.
Returning to Norfolk on 18
October 1985, John F. Kennedy got underway for shakedown
training eleven days later; she tested her newly installed
CIWS and NATO Sea Sparrow mounts, while continuing tests of
weapons elevators and the surface ship torpedo system. She
finished the month (29-31 October) with target of
opportunity exercises with Minneapolis-Saint Paul (SSN-708),
John F. Kennedy aircraft maintaining contact on their
adversary for 16 hours and simulating 14 attacks.
As the month of November 1985
began, the ship assisted five people on board a fishing
vessel in distress on 1 November. A week later, she (8
November), the carrier conducted target of opportunity
exercises with James K. Polk (SSBN-645), John F. Kennedy
aircraft maintaining contact on their adversary for four
hours and simulating four attacks. After visiting Nassau
(9-13 November), she rounded out the month with more
exercises, an ASW evolution (17-20 November) with Bonefish
(SSN-582), during which her aircraft assisted destroyers
John Rodgers (DD-983) and O’Bannon (DD-987) and frigate W.
S. Sims (FF-1059) in generating 51 hours of “contact time”
and making 57 “attacks,” and a target of opportunity
evolution with Honolulu (SSN-718) that saw aircraft from the
carrier maintaining contact for 21 hours and simulating 14
attacks. On 25 November, the day the ship returned to
Norfolk, a John F. Kennedy Hawkeye detected a surprise raid
by Marine All Weather Attack Squadron (VMA(AW)) 533, which
deck-launched interceptors from the ship handled.
Underway again on 9 December 1985
for fleet carquals, John F. Kennedy completed tracking
exercises for her CIWS and Sea Sparrow systems, cross-decked
people from Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, VP-24, and VP-26, and
qualified pilots from VA-42 and VA-174, VMA(AW)-533, and
CVW-3. Beginning two days later, the ship conducted ASW
exercises with L. Mendel Rivers (SSN-686) and Archerfish
(SSN-678) (11-12 December); P-3 Orions from VP-5, VP-24, and
VP-56, assisted by the frigate Bowen (FF-1079) generated 51
hours of contact and 30 simulated attacks. A brief visit (13
December) to Mayport preceded the ship’s completing the
surface ship torpedo defense system (16 December), after
which (19 December), John F. Kennedy returned to Norfolk.
Underway on 15 January 1986 for
refresher training in the western Atlantic, John F. Kennedy
punctuated those evolutions with a call at Mayport (22
January) before resuming that work en route to return to
Norfolk. Underway again on 3 March for independent type
training in the western Atlantic, the carrier visited Port
Everglades (8-12 March) before returning to Norfolk on 17
March, where the actuator on number one catapult was
replaced by one installed in the Nimitz (CVN-68)-class ships
the following day.
During April 1986, John F.
Kennedy conducted carquals (14-16 April) before returning to
port on the 17th. She conducted a dependent’s day cruise on
the 19th, before resuming in-port status for the remainder
of the month, during which time a global positioning system
(GPS) satellite navigation unit was installed on board.
On 1 May 1986, Captain John A.
Moriarty relieved Captain McGowen, and five days later the
ship sailed for the Puerto Rican operating area for advanced
training. The second day out, she conducted a major
(13-hour) underway replenishment from replenishment oiler
Savannah (AOR-4) moving 390 lifts of stores from the
auxiliary to the carrier. After punctuating that training
with a visit to St. Thomas, John F. Kennedy ultimately
returned to Norfolk on 6 June, where remained for most of
the rest of the month.
John F. Kennedy got underway on
26 June 1986, and after completing the certification period
for the AN/SPN-46 automated carrier landing system (ACLS),
continued on for New York City, which she reached on 1
July. On 3 and 4 July, over 8,000 people visited the ship
as she took part in the International Naval Review in honor
of the 100th anniversary of France’s giving the United
States the Statue of Liberty to the United States. President
Ronald Reagan visited the ship on Independence Day.
Following a Tiger Cruise from 6
to 9 July 1986, John F. Kennedy returned to Norfolk for more
local operations and preparation for her next deployment.
Hurricane Gloria struck the eastern seaboard of the United
States with high winds, thunderstorms and flooding on 17
August, compelling John F. Kennedy to prepare for a possible
emergency recall, but the system passed swiftly, and the
next day, the carrier, wearing Rear Admiral Grant A. Sharp’s
flag (ComCruDesGru 2), sailed for the Mediterranean as
scheduled, being the first carrier to deploy with the Mk. 65
Quickstrike mine in her magazines. The seas proved rough
during the entire cruise as a result of Gloria, but the
carrier, with CVW-3 (VF-14 and VF-32, VA-66 and VA-72,
VAQ-140, VAW-126, VMA(AW)-533, VS-22, VQ-2 and HS-7)
embarked, accompanied by her battle group, made Rota on
schedule on 28 August. After her turnover with America, John
F. Kennedy sailed for Benidorm, Spain, for a six-day port
visit.
Proceeding thence for four days
at sea, John F. Kennedy then anchored at Toulon, for a
five-day port visit and planning meetings for Display
Determination 86, a large-scale multi-national three-part
exercise that included Forrestal and her battle group, and
the French carrier Foch (R.99). The evolution ran from 19
September to 13 October 1986, extending from the eastern
Mediterranean into the Aegean Sea; upon its completion, John
F. Kennedy exercised with Forrestal and then anchored in
Haifa on 16 October.
After leaving that Israeli port
on 19 October 1986, John F. Kennedy engaged in a “sinkex” in
which her aircraft and guided missile cruiser Belknap,
utilizing Harpoon, among other weapons, sank the former
Italian frigate ex-Cigno. The ship then headed into the
Adriatic; sadly, in a four-day span during the Haifa-Trieste
transit, CVW-3 lost men and planes; an S-3 (side number 702)
with its crew on 21 October, and, during the search for the
lost Viking three days later, Captains Russell Schindelheim
and Timothy Morrison, USMC, of VMA(AW)-533 died when their
A-6E Intruder (side number 552) (BuNo 159897) crashed on 24
October, a Honduran-flag (Marisal Lines) bulk carrier, El
Sol, witnessing the mishap and assisting in salvage efforts.
After successive port visits to
Trieste (27 October-3 November 1986) and Naples (she arrived
on 5 November), John F. Kennedy steamed into the western
Mediterranean, for a Poopdeck exercise (11-12 November 1986)
before she exercised with Moroccan and USAF units in African
Eagle, evolutions that tested the battle group in AAW,
overland strikes, CV attack and low-level flying. Concluding
African Eagle on 22 November, the ship reached Cannes on
that date, and celebrated Thanksgiving there before she
sailed to resume operations on 3 December. She then
participated in a Dasix exercise with French air forces,
involving low level attacks defended by French Mirages.
After that period of work, John F. Kennedy began a ten-day
port visit in Naples on 10 December; while there, she
underwent the largest work package ever conducted on a
forward-deployed carrier.
On 14 December 1986, his eminence
Corado Cardinal Ursi, the Cardinal Archbishop of Naples,
visited John F. Kennedy and celebrated Mass and held a
confirmation ceremony in the hangar bay. Five days before
Christmas, the carrier sailed for Palma, arriving three days
later; there she celebrated Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
The ship brought her visit to Palma to a close on 2 January
1987.
During flight operations in the
central Med the next day, 3 January 1987, a VF-14 F-14A
(Modex AC-106, BuNo 159431), attempting a night landing,
“bolted” and drifted right, striking an A-6 at about 1854.
The collision sheared off a portion of the F-14’s right wing
and severed an external fuel tank from the wing of the A-6.
The crew of the F-14A ejected, and although 14 to 20-foot
seas and 35-knot winds hampered the efforts, were recovered,
with an HS-7 helo, Dusty Dog 610, recovering the Tomcat’s
pilot and destroyer John Rodgers rescuing Lieutenant Michael
J. Valen, the NFO, as well as Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare
Operator 1st Class Timothy Broderick, the rescue swimmer
from HS-7. John F. Kennedy’s flight deck crews extinguished
the flames that issued from the Intruder’s ruptured fuel
tank within minutes of the accident, preventing damage to
the flight deck or surrounding planes, and the ship stood
down from the fire emergency at 1926.
On 6 January 1987, John F.
Kennedy commenced her Cannes port visit. After a pleasant
ten-day visit, the ship got underway for National Week,
conducted in the western Med. John F. Kennedy’s battle group
conducted exercises with Nimitz’s in Augusta Bay. At the
conclusion of the exercise, the ship anchored at Malaga on
29 January for a four-day port visit, scheduled to be her
last before turnover in Rota. Growing unrest in the Middle
East, however, shortened liberty, as the carrier received an
indefinite extension with orders to commence a high-speed
transit to the eastern Med where John F. Kennedy would join
Nimitz off the coast of Lebanon.
John F. Kennedy arrived at her
destination on 2 February 1987 and commenced dual carrier
battle group operations with Nimitz. After four days of
operations, John F. Kennedy anchored at Haifa for a six-day
port visit. The ship’s indefinite extension, however, proved
short-lived. Returning to dual carrier battle group
operations on 12 February, she engaged in them for five days
until 17 February, when she received orders ending her
indefinite extension. On the morning of 21 February, the
ship anchored off Rota and later that night, finished a
one-day out-chop, weighed anchor and headed for Norfolk,
arriving on 2 March.
Following a month-long leave and
upkeep period, John F. Kennedy focused her attention on the
upcoming carquals and a restricted availability that would
follow. The latter commenced on 1 May 1987 at Norfolk Naval
Shipyard, and the carrier remained there until completion of
the yard period on 17 August. Two days later, she carried
out sea trials off the Virginia capes. After catapult
certification trials on 28 August, John F. Kennedy set
course for Boston, mooring there on 3 September, where she
hosted over 130,000 visitors in two and a half days of
visiting, and Rear Admiral John R. McNamara. (ChC) Chief of
Chaplains, conducted a John F. Kennedy Memorial Mass. The
carrier sailed on 9 September for Portland, Maine, arriving
there the next day. On 15 September, she weighed anchor and
proceeded home to Norfolk on another two-day Tiger Cruise.
John F. Kennedy then commenced an
upkeep period that lasted until November 1987, during which
time American Broadcasting Company (ABC) film crews came on
board to film the motion picture “Supercarrier.” John F.
Kennedy departed for the Virginia capes and conducted an ISE
on 16 November, after which she conducted refresher training
and a week of underway filming, then returned to Norfolk on
24 November, just in time for Thanksgiving.
On 4 December 1987, John F.
Kennedy returned to sea for refresher training. She returned
to Norfolk on 17 December, remaining there to close out
1987. While there, she underwent a technical availability
that concluded on 11 January 1988. After a brief carrier
qualification period (21-25 January), she held a change of
command ceremony on 29 January, when Captain Hugh D. Wisely
relieved Captain Moriarty.
John F. Kennedy spent February
through March of 1988 preparing for the upcoming Med
deployment. During carquals off the Virginia capes on 25
March, Gypsy 203, a VF-32 F-14 (BuNo 159441) crashed at 2135
after failing to gain proper airspeed off the catapult.
Dusty Dog 614, flown by Lieutenant Andrew T. Macyko and
Lieutenant (j.g.) Rodger T. “Rusty” Shepko, with Aviation
Antisubmarine Warfare Operators 2d Class Roger Anderson as
first crewman and Fred Setzer as rescue swimmer, located
Lieutenant Nicholas A. Filippone, and petty officer Setzer
went into the water to assist him; the HS-7 helo hoisted the
NFO on board at 2154. The Sea King then illuminated
Lieutenant Michael J. Nichols’s position as it headed for
the ship (landing at 2156), enabling the carrier’s starboard
motor whaleboat to pick up the pilot at 2158 and bring him
on board at 2207. Both Nichols and Filippone received
treatment for hypothermia, and were listed as “conscious,
alert, and stable” by the end of the first watch.
From 19 April through 19 May
1988, John F. Kennedy conducted advance phase training off
the Virginia capes. During those evolutions, on 24 April,
the submarine Bonefish, while “pursuing” the carrier and her
battle group in exercises about 160 miles east of Cape
Canaveral, Florida, suffered a major fire and a series of
explosions that ripped through the boat, killing three
Sailors and forcing the men to abandon ship. The guided
missile frigate Carr (FFG-52), sensing danger in a routine
transmission from the sub, sped to the scene. John F.
Kennedy learned of the catastrophe via radio when 42
nautical miles away at 1718, and immediately began
assembling medical teams on the flight deck to be
transported to Carr. John F. Kennedy launched the first
SH-3H at 1740, two at 1744, and a fourth at 1827, and began
recovering the first helicopter transporting Bonefish
Sailors at 1844; she launched the fifth helo ten minutes
later. She continued flight operations with her helicopters
into the second dog watch, and began bringing on board the
first casualties at 2205. She began heading for Mayport
early in the mid watch on 25 April, flying the survivors
ashore to NAS Mayport by helo, retaining only Lieutenant
(j.g.) William B. Swift, one of the submarine’s injured
officers, for further treatment.
Carr’s providential preparation
for rescue work had enabled her to be ready to act as
on-scene commander as soon as she arrived. Over the ensuing
hours, as smoke issued from the hatches of the stricken
Bonefish, Carr coordinated the work of the quintet of Sea
Kings from HS-7 that “blanketed the…area all working as a
cohesive team” to remove people from the burning submarine,
in addition to a fixed-wing jet and her own motor whaleboat
in the rescue of the 89 surviving crewmen, HS-7 helicopters
employing rescue swimmers to attach rescue slings and calm
anxious survivors. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron
(Light) (HSL) 44, Detachment 4, in Carr, utilizing their
SH-60B Seahawk, evacuated ten men and pulled two from the
water.
John F. Kennedy assisted with the
rescue and embarked many Bonefish crewmen; 23 Sailors
suffering from respiratory injuries received care in the
ship’s inpatient ward. The carrier returned to the scene the
following day to conduct further SAR operations as Bonefish
was ultimately taken in tow and returned to her homeport of
Charleston, South Carolina. “This complex evolution,” an
HS-7 chronicler declared later, “was a textbook rescue
because of the professionalism and ‘can do’ attitude
exhibited by the team” of John F. Kennedy, Carr, and HS-7.
Following the Bonefish incident,
John F. Kennedy enjoyed a three-day port visit to Port
Everglades, Florida. Following battle group training off the
Virginia capes and the Bahamas starting 8 June 1988, the
carrier returned home on 25 June.
On 2 August 1988, John F. Kennedy
departed Norfolk, bound for the Med; she recovered CVW-3
(VF-14 and VF-32, VA-75, VS-22, VMA-533, VAQ-130, VAW-126,
and HS-7) between 2 and 4 August. She transited the Strait
of Gibraltar as she began the mid watch on 14 August, and
ultimately, on 16 August, relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower just
west of Corsica.
After transiting the Strait of
Messina, and then participating in National Week ’88, the
carrier visited Naples (21-25 August 1988), where John F.
Kennedy’s crewmen pooled their resources to repair a home
for unwed mothers. On 25 August, the carrier returned to sea
for four days, and then paused with a port visit to
Alexandria.
From 4-8 September 1988, John F.
Kennedy conducted Sea Wind off the coast of Alexandria, as
efforts to further cooperation between the Egyptian and U.S.
governments saw 6th Fleet elements exercising with the
Egyptian Navy and Air Force. During the evolution, both
forces conducted simulated low-level strikes into Wadi
Natrun, ASW training with Egyptian Romeo-class submarines,
dissimilar air combat training with Egyptian F-16, Mirages,
and Fishbeds, electronic warfare training with Egyptian
EW/GCI sites, and cross-training Egyptian/U.S. E-2C aircrew.
Following Sea Wind, the carrier
visited Toulon, beginning on 13 September 1988, then sailed
to participate in Display Determination ’88 (22 September-10
October), maneuvers that involved war-at-sea exercises,
overland low-level simulated strikes, and air-to-air
engagements. Following Display Determination ’88, John F.
Kennedy visited Antalya, Turkey (10-17 October) and Tunis,
Tunisia (21-24 October). From 24-26 October, she
participated in exercises off the Tunisian coast, operating
with naval and air elements of the Tunisian armed forces
conducting war-at-sea strikes, simulated overland strikes at
the Ras Engelah range, and defensive air combat training
with Tunisian Northrop F-5’s. That training having been
accomplished, John F. Kennedy visited Palma (28 October-4
November).
John F. Kennedy re-visited Naples
(14-18 November 1988) before she returned to a slate of
active operations that included exercises, on 22 November,
with the French carrier Foch. The joint French and U.S. Navy
exercise consisted of long-range targeting scenarios,
followed by a war-at-sea strike. The two carriers’ air wings
also conducted dissimilar air combat training concurrent
with the war-at-sea strike. The next day, John F. Kennedy
anchored at Marseille, celebrating Thanksgiving there;
families back home, meanwhile, viewed the premier of a cable
video production “Young Peacekeepers,” a documentary that
focused on the young men working on John F. Kennedy’s flight
deck.
John F. Kennedy departed
Marseille on 27 November 1988, and from 1 to 10 December,
participated in African Eagle ’88, a combined USN, USAF and
Moroccan exercise off the north Moroccan coast that featured
simulated low-level strikes against several inland targets,
war-at-sea strikes against Moroccan patrol boats, and
dissimilar air combat training against USAF F-16 and
Moroccan Mirages. Following African Eagle ’88, John F.
Kennedy anchored at Palma on 15 December. On 20 December,
she headed for Cannes, arriving on the morning of 23
December; she celebrated Christmas and New Year’s Eve there.
On New Year’s Day 1989, John F.
Kennedy sailed from Cannes, bound for Haifa. Three days
later, on 4 January 1989, during the second of three cycles
of scheduled operations that day, her airborne Hawkeyes and
the ship’s F-14 CAP detected, at about 78 nautical miles,
two Libyan MiG-23B Floggers from Al Bumbah. Other Libyan
aircraft had been observed and monitored earlier, but had
not behaved aggressively, inevitably returning to their
base. These two MiGs continued to close at high speed,
however, accelerating first from 430 to 450, and then from
450 to 500, knots. The Tomcats, from VF-32, embarked on a
series of pre-planned, non-provocative maneuvers, changing
course and altitude in order to establish offset. The
Floggers, however, countered the F-14s’ maneuvers with their
own, re-establishing “head-on forward quarter weapons
release” situations. As the Libyan planes closed at high
speed within range to release their own weapons, the
Tomcats, one flown by Lieutenant Herman C. Cook, Jr., with
Lieutenant Commander Steven P. Collins as NFO, the other by
Lieutenant Commander Joseph B. Connelly and Commander Leo F.
Enwright, Jr., engaged the MiGs, firing in self-defense, and
splashed the two Floggers with AIM-7 and AIM-9 missiles in
the central Med north of Tobruk in international waters. As
a CVW-3 chronicler laconically summed it up: “USN – 2, Libya
– 0.”
John F. Kennedy reached Haifa on
6 January 1989 to what her chronicler called a “heroes
welcome,” news coverage of the MiG kills having proved
extremely heavy, necessitating additional 6th Fleet public
affairs people to handle the sharply increased media
interest. The carrier sailed on 9 January to conduct
Exercise Juniper Hawk with Israeli forces for two days, then
headed back to the central Med.
John F. Kennedy transited the
Strait of Messina o 14 January 1989 to facilitate a turnover
with Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-74) in the Tyrrhenian Sea, as
the latter began her maiden Med deployment. Following that
evolution, John F. Kennedy outchopped from the Middle Sea on
22 January, and reached Norfolk on 1 February, where
Secretary of the Navy William L. Ball III, flew out to the
carrier to congratulate the crew and to pass along a note of
thanks for a “job well done” from the newly elected
President (and former naval aviator) George H.W. Bush.
During the month of February
1989, John F. Kennedy enjoyed a 30-day post-deployment
stand-down period with their families. The beginning of
March proved similarly uneventful as harsh weather and over
20 inches of snow prevented the ship from being moved to
Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a three-month industrial period.
On 11 March, the weather finally broke and the carrier
transited to the shipyard in balmy, spring-like conditions;
subsequently, on 27 May 1989, Captain Herbert A. Browne, Jr.
relieved Captain Wisely as commanding officer in a ceremony
held in Trophy Park, on the grounds of the shipyard, guest
access being severely restricted due to the security
regulations in the industrial area. John F. Kennedy
completed her yard work early and returned to Norfolk Naval
Station on 14 June.
John F. Kennedy spent the
remainder of June 1989 testing shipboard systems in port and
at sea. Following a festive Fourth of July celebration in
her homeport, she then sailed on 7 July 1989 to serve as a
ready deck for Training Command carquals in the Gulf of
Mexico. On 11 July, Rear Admiral Jeremy D. Taylor, Chief of
Naval Training, flew out to John F. Kennedy to observe
training carquals. Having completed her training, the
carrier returned to Norfolk on 22 July after successfully
completing over 1,200 traps.
On 23 July 1989, John F. Kennedy
hosted Vice Admiral Jerome L. Johnson, Commander, 2nd Fleet,
as he, in turn, hosted Vice Admiral Igor Vladimirovich
Kasatonov, First Deputy Commander in Chief, Northern Fleet,
and an entourage that included the commanding officers of
Soviet warships Marshal Ustinov, Otlichny, and Gasanov. They
dined in John F. Kennedy’s flag mess, and then enjoyed a
sunset parade in the hangar bay.
John F. Kennedy left Norfolk in
her wake on 10 August 1989 to return to the Gulf of Mexico
for more training and carquals, upon completion of which, on
21 August, she moored along the Inland Waterway at Port
Everglades. The next day, during general visiting, several
visitors received minor injuries when they were startled by
the lifting of a pressure relief valve on the ship’s number
two elevator hydraulic system. Although several visitors
fell to the non-skid surface of the elevator in the panic,
only two people required transportation to local hospitals
for treatment. John F. Kennedy completed her otherwise
uneventful visit on 24 July.
More training and carquals
followed, after which John F. Kennedy did not return to
Norfolk until 1 September 1989. At month’s end, on 30
September, she hosted Coral Sea (CV-43), on the homecoming
that accompanied her last deployment (Coral Sea would be
decommissioned on 26 April 1990 and would be sold for scrap
three years later).
John F. Kennedy stood out on 3
October 1989 to conduct exercises, among which were VS-22
ASW operations against the attack submarine Key West
(SSN-722) on 4 and 5 October. On 6 and 7 October, however,
while en route from Norfolk to Portland, CVW-3 lost two
aircraft in separate mishaps. In the first, during the first
watch on 6 October, during night flight operations, a VF-32
Tomcat (Modex AC 200) impacted the port jet blast
deflector. Lieutenants Russell C. Walker, the pilot, and
Robert S. Schrader, the NFO, both ejected safely from the
F-14 and were recovered unhurt by an HS-7 helo. The second
mishap ended less happily: on 7 October, an S-3B Viking
(Modex AC 710) (BuNo 159759) from VS-22 crashed soon after
launching from number one catapult late in the afternoon
watch, with all four crewmen ejecting. Rescuers picked up
Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Operator 2d Class Tracy S.
Mann in stable condition, but Lieutenant Douglas G. Gray and
Lieutenant (j.g.) David S. Jennings, USNR, perished; their
bodies were recovered. Searchers never found Lieutenant John
T. Hartman, USNR.
John F. Kennedy then visited
Portland (13-16 October 1989) after which she carried out a
Tiger Cruise that concluded at Norfolk on 18 October, from
which she operated locally for the remainder of the year,
interspersing operational periods with in-port upkeep. On 11
December, the carrier lay moored at Naval Station Norfolk
where she made preparations for a possible role in President
Bush’s recently declared “War against Drugs.” Throughout the
holiday season, John F. Kennedy loaded supplies and prepared
for deployment to the Caribbean, expecting to engage in
counter-narcotic operations off Colombia immediately
following the turn of the New Year.
John F. Kennedy began operations
for the new year on 4 January 1990, but she had not been
underway for more than a week when her deployment plans
changed, Caribbean anti-drug detection and monitoring
operations being postponed indefinitely because of what
HS-7’s historian termed “international and regional
sensitivities.” She conducted advanced phase exercises
under CarGru 4. On 16 January, the carrier moored at
Mayport, and there hosted the change of command ceremony in
which Rear Admiral Richard C. Macke relieved Rear Admiral
William A. Dougherty, Jr., as ComCarGru 4 and Commander,
Carrier Striking Force.
John F. Kennedy left Mayport on
23 January 1990 for more advance phase training and on 31
January joined FleetEx (Fleet Exercise) 1-90. She operated
in those evolutions that spanned the waters from the middle
of the Caribbean to those north of Puerto Rico, and then
joined forces with Dwight D. Eisenhower to conduct
‘round-the-clock flight operations against a simulated
“fjord.”
The exercise concluded on 5
February 1990 and John F. Kennedy headed back to Norfolk.
Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, however, she encountered
heavy seas that removed the dome of CIWS Mt. 22 and battered
some of the bow catwalks enough to require their replacement
upon arrival at her homeport.
Reaching Norfolk on 9 February
1990, John F. Kennedy then underwent repairs and tests into
the spring. During that time, she received the installation
of the TFCC Information Management System (TIMS) that
brought a greater command and control capability to the
ship. In events of a ceremonial nature, the ship hosted
Enterprise (CVN-65) as the world’s first nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier shifted her homeport to Norfolk on 16
March.
On 27 April 1990, John F. Kennedy
headed to sea for exercises off the Virginia capes and
Jacksonville. On 6 May, after arriving in Puerto Rican
operating areas, John F. Kennedy began a war-at-sea exercise
with the French carrier Foch. The exercise concluded on 8
May and the warship steamed for Norfolk, arriving 11 May.
Six days later, on 17 May 1990, the ship hosted the change
of command ceremony at which Admiral Leon A. Edney relieved
Admiral Frank B. Kelso as Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic
Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. John F.
Kennedy remained moored for the remainder of May.
John F. Kennedy headed for the
Virginia capes on 1 June 1990 for more exercises, then
proceeded to the Puerto Rico operating area, where she acted
as Orange (adversary) forces for the Saratoga battle group.
At the conclusion of the exercise on 18 June, she set a
course for New York City, arriving there on 21 June. Nearly
50,000 visitors toured the ship during Fleet Week ’90, after
which time she put to sea on the 26th to conduct a week of
operations off the North Atlantic coast, during which time
she embarked Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) producer
Alan Goldberg and Mitch Weitzner and a crew who filmed a “48
Hours” feature, that would air on 26 July 1990. The piece
documented the ship’s operations, told the story of life on
board a “super carrier,” and reviewed pro and con arguments
for large-deck carriers. The CBS crew left on 29 June.
John F. Kennedy reached Boston on
2 July 1990. While Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and
Mayor Raymond Flynn welcomed her, a small group of
Greenpeace protesters in Zodiac boats proved less
hospitable, attempting to “escort” her into port. Navy
supporters, however, interposed their craft between the
environmentalists and the carrier, and she moored at the
Subaru Piers about one mile from the center of the city.
Over 130,000 visitors from the region visited the carrier as
Boston hosted the Coast Guard’s Bicentennial and the
historic frigate Constitution’s turn-around ceremony of the
Fourth of July. On 9 July, John F. Kennedy embarked about
600 Tigers for the return trip to Norfolk, arriving two days
later.
Events in the Persian Gulf,
however, dashed John F. Kennedy’s hopes for uneventful,
routine, operations that were to be capped by an overhaul
scheduled to begin in January of the following year, when,
on 2 August 1990, 0200 local time, 100,000 Iraqi troops
massed on the border of Kuwait. Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s
leader, seething over Kuwait’s insistence on compensation
for Iraq’s unpaid war debt from the Iran-Iraq war
(1980-1988), it’s overproduction of oil, and claiming
evidence that the Kuwaitis were slant drilling into the
Rumaila oil field, ordered them to invade. Iraq deposed
Sheik Jabir Ahmed Sabah and established a puppet government.
That same day, President Bush
joined world leaders in condemning the invasion. A massive
diplomatic effort to force Iraq to withdraw her troops
ensued, as U.N. Security Council Resolution 660 called for
the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces.
The next day, the United States and Soviet Union jointly
denounced Iraq’s invasion of her neighbor. On 6 August, Iraq
cut off its oil shipments through one of Turkey’s pipelines,
shifting the focus of the crisis to Saudi Arabia, the major
remaining outlet for Iraq’s petroleum production. That same
day, U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney met with Saudi
King Fahd to discuss the deployment of U.S. troops to Saudi
Arabia. Also on 6 August, the Pentagon gave President Bush a
proposal for a multinational naval force, which included
Soviet ships, to enforce the U.N. trade embargo against Iraq
made earlier that day if diplomatic efforts failed. Dwight
D. Eisenhower proceeded from the eastern Mediterranean
through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea; Independence began
maneuvers in the North Arabian Sea. The following day, 7
August, President Bush ordered U.S. military aircraft and
troops to Saudi Arabia after King Fahd approved the
deployment of a multinational force to defend his country
against a possible Iraqi invasion from the Saudi border with
Kuwait. Saratoga and the battleship Wisconsin (BB-64) sailed
that day for a previously scheduled deployment to the
eastern Med. Operation Desert Shield had begun.
On 10 August 1990, John F.
Kennedy received “short-fused” orders to “load up and get
underway.” She commenced her “loadout” for her Desert Shield
deployment and began the loadout of CVW-3 the next day; on
13 August, she embarked Rear Admiral Riley D. Mixson,
ComCarGru 2. Two days later, she recovered the aircraft of
CVW-3 (VF-14 and VF-32, VA-46, VA-72, and VA-75, VS-22,
VAQ-130, VAW-126 and HS-7) and got underway, standing out
for local operations off the Virginia capes. After
conducting war-at-sea defensive evolutions with the 2nd
Fleet, being joined by her battle group (guided missile
cruisers Thomas S. Gates (CG-51), San Jacinto (CG-56), and
Mississippi (CGN-40), destroyer Moosbrugger (DD-980),
frigate Thomas C. Hart (FF-1092), guided missile frigate
Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), fast combat support ship
Seattle, and combat stores ship Sylvania (AFS-2)) the ship
hosted a post-exercise conference on 22 August before
beginning the voyage to the Med.
John F. Kennedy, accompanied by
Mississippi, sprinted ahead of the rest of the battle group
and passed into the Mediterranean on 30 August 1990 where
Commander, 6th Fleet, briefers met the ship to provide the
battle group deployment schedule, although, as the carrier’s
chronicler later noted wryly, the schedule changed before
the briefers even left the ship! Consequently, John F.
Kennedy anchored in Augusta Bay on 1 September, for turnover
with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Rear Admiral Mixson, ComCarGru 2,
assumed command of TF 60, and John F. Kennedy stood into the
central Med to join Dwight D. Eisenhower for National Week
’90 exercises.
On 4 September 1990, John F.
Kennedy took over as the Mediterranean carrier. Six days
later, she anchored off Alexandria; the visit lasted for
only three days, however, due to Iraqi overtures. The
warship soon sailed once more; she transited the Suez Canal
on 14 September and stood into the Red Sea. The next day,
she joined Saratoga. The two carriers operated together for
the next two days before John F. Kennedy assumed the watch
in the Red Sea while Saratoga moved to the Med.
Two weeks passed without any
major happenings on the carrier. Then, on 26 September 1990,
an SH-3H Sea King from HS-7 (side number 610) splashed
several miles from the ship after it lost power in one
engine. The crew and passengers were rescued without injury
by helo and motor whaleboat crews.
Throughout the rest of September
and October, the carrier continued to exercise at general
quarters. Aircraft launched nearly every day and conducted
training sorties over Saudi Arabia. On 27 October, John F.
Kennedy held a turnover with Saratoga and headed back to the
Suez Canal. On 30 October, the carrier conducted a night
transit to Gaeta, anchoring on 1 November.
While anchored in Gaeta, John F.
Kennedy hosted the 6th Fleet change of command ceremony with
Secretary of the Navy Lawrence Garrett III, as the guest
speaker. Immediately following the ceremony and reception,
the carrier weighed anchor and steamed south. Due to the
situation in the Persian Gulf, the cancellation of her
scheduled call at Naples, and the requirement for her to be
within 72 hours steaming time of the Red Sea, John F.
Kennedy visited Gezelbache, Turkey (7-14 November 1990),
then got underway for Antalya, Turkey. En route, a National
Broadcasting Company (NBC) news team recorded interviews for
“The Today Show.” The ship arrived at Antalya on 19
November, just in time for Thanksgiving.
John F. Kennedy sailed from
Antalya on 28 November 1990; the following day, 29 November,
the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 678
authorizing “member states cooperating with the Government
of Kuwait to use all necessary means to uphold and implement
the Security Council Resolution 660,” calling for an
immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Kuwait, “and all
subsequent relevant Resolutions and to restore international
peace and security in the area.” The deadline for Iraq would
be 15 January 1991.
On 30 November 1990, John F.
Kennedy sailed for the Suez Canal. On 2 December, just after
midnight, the warship made her third transit of the waterway
during that deployment. She entered the Red Sea on 3
December and began turnover duties with Saratoga. The two
carriers operated together and conducted simulated strikes
on targets in western Saudi Arabia. Royal Air Force Vice
Marshall William J. Wratten and Wing Commander Mick
Richardson visited John F. Kennedy on 4 December from Tobuk,
Saudi Arabia, to discuss the conduct of an air war with
Iraq.
Captain John P. Gay relieved
Captain Browne as commanding officer of John F. Kennedy on 7
December 1990. Rear Admiral Mixson, Commander, TG 150.5, on
hand for the ceremony, presented Captain Browne with the
Legion of Merit. This change of command ceremony proved
unique in John F. Kennedy’s history as it was held while the
ship was underway in the Red Sea. This was the first change
of command ceremony conducted in the khaki working uniform
with ball caps.
Media representatives from the
Joint Information Bureau in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, flew out
to John F. Kennedy on 13 December 1990 to discuss morale and
holiday plans with the Sailors. Representatives from BBC-TV,
the Associated Press, United Press International, WBZ
(Boston) Radio, Independent Radio News, U.S. News and World
Report, and Reuters stayed on board for two days.
After conducting several
small-scale exercises, John F. Kennedy entered port in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the morning of 29 December 1990,
thus becoming the first U.S. aircraft carrier to visit Saudi
Arabia. The Saudis hospitably set up a bank of 100
telephones in a warehouse across the pier from where the
carrier lay moored, from which the men could call their
loved ones.
On New Year’s Day 1991, Vice
President Dan Quayle paid a four-hour visit to John F.
Kennedy, to demonstrate national solidarity with the forces
deployed in Desert Shield and spoke to the sailors in the
hangar bay of the ship. The next day, the carrier got
underway from Jeddah to return to the Red Sea operating area
and conducted a passing-at-sea exercise named Camelot with
the Royal Saudi Arabian Navy and Air Force. Together, they
trained in surface, sub-surface, and air warfare, in
addition to underway replenishment, live firing, and
shipping interdiction.
John F. Kennedy braced herself
for the prospects of war. The training and practice runs
became more intense when on 13 January 1991, word reached
the ship that hostilities with Iraq were perceived as
inevitable with pre-emptive strikes from Iraq probable. In
response to this alert, John F. Kennedy increased her level
of preparedness and set material condition zebra main deck
and below.
Two days later, on 15 January
1991, the dialogue between the future combatants took an
ominous tone. White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater warned
that military action “could occur at any point after
midnight 15 January Eastern Standard Time… Any moment after
the 15th is borrowed time.” French Prime Minister Michel
Rochard lamented “there is a fatal moment when one must act.
This moment has, alas, arrived.” Iraqi Information Minister
Latif Nassif Jassim, responding to pleas to withdraw Iraqi
forces from Kuwait, dashed hopes for a peaceful resolution
to the crisis. “Leave Kuwait?” he asked. “Kuwait is a
province of Iraq and beyond discussion.” That same day, on
board John F. Kennedy, the crew continued working up for
strikes against Iraqi forces in the Red Sea, waiting for
Iraq’s answer to the 15 January 1991 deadline.
Saddam Hussein’s forces did not
budge. On 16 January 1991, 1650 Eastern Standard Time, a
squadron of F-15E fighter-bombers took off from their base
in central Saudi Arabia, and began hitting their targets in
Kuwait and Iraq before 1900 Eastern Standard Time. At 2100
Eastern Standard Time, President Bush addressed the nation.
Desert Shield was over and the liberation of Kuwait,
Operation Desert Storm, had begun.
Before her first strikes were
launched, Rear Admiral Mixson, Commander Red Sea Force,
announced over John F. Kennedy’s 1MC the launch schedule
that would commence the following day in less than ten
hours. He congratulated the ship for being able to carry out
the President’s orders and participate in air strikes on
Iraq, strikes that John F. Kennedy had trained for. “You
have trained hard. You are ready,” Rear Admiral Mixson
concluded, “Now let’s execute. For the aircrews, we are all
very, very proud of you. I wish you good hunting and God
speed.”
On 17 January 1991, 0120 local
time, (1720 Eastern Standard Time, 16 January) John F.
Kennedy launched her first strikes on Iraq, a half-hour
after the initial wave by USAF planes. CVW-3 launched two
major strikes of 80 sorties. The mood of the ship had begun
with jubilation, then became somber and then anxious as the
ship waited for all of her aircraft to return safely. All
aircraft were recovered unharmed, the returning aircrew
reporting heavy, but ineffective, antiaircraft fire over
Baghdad. The strikes had proved successful, prompting one
pilot to describe the action thus: “Imagine the Disney World
light show, then magnify it 100 times… that’s what it looked
like from the sky last night… it was incredible!”
Starting on that first day of
strikes, John F. Kennedy settled into a routine that lasted
through the end of the conflict, engaging in a steady but
fast-paced regimen of preparing aircraft, launching them,
recovering them, repeating the process. All the while, they
kept a mixture of hope and faith in the success of their
aircrews, and a suspended disbelief in the lack of
casualties. John F. Kennedy’s Intruders launched the first
Standoff Land Attack Missiles in combat on 19 January.
The three carrier battle group
operations in the Red Sea, commanded by Rear Admiral Mixson,
also settled into a routine. John F. Kennedy, Saratoga, and
America formed the nucleus of the three groups. Standard
procedure called for six-day rotations. Two carriers would
launch strike aircraft while the third would operate in an
area known as “Gasoline Alley” for two days to replenish
munitions, stores, and fuel. Each carrier would be “on the
line” for four days conducting either a night or daytime
flight operations schedule, then “off duty” for two days.
While in “Gasoline Alley,” the carrier under replenishment
would also be responsible for AAW, AEW and CTTG alerts.
Detached from the Red Sea Battle
Force on 7 February 1991, America proceeded to the Persian
Gulf. John F. Kennedy and Saratoga changed their procedure
to six days on line and two days off duty. In addition to
launching strikes, the on-cycle carrier flew combat air
patrol aircraft and stood CTTG, while the off-cycle carrier
stood AAW, AEW, CTTG, and ASUW alerts when both carriers
were on the line. When one of the two carriers was under
replenishment, the other carrier would assume responsibility
for all alerts. The carrier’s duty cycles of morning (A.M.)
or evening (P.M.) were specified as 0000-1500 or 1200-0300
to accommodate returning strike recovery times. Each carrier
launched two large strikes with times on target around nine
hours apart to allow for deck respot and weapons loading.
CAP cycle times were A.M. or P.M. for 12-hour periods.
The P.M. carrier was also
responsible for S-3 pickup of the next day’s air tasking
order from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They also had to relay the
message to the A.M. carrier. The air tasking order was
retrieved in hard copy form because of the incompatibility
between U.S. Air Force and Navy communications systems. The
Air Force housed the theater air warfare commander, so the
Navy had to play by their rules. While the P.M. carrier’s
S-3 picked up the daily orders, the A.M. carrier’s S-3
delivered Scud missile TARPS to Riyadh by 0700 local time.
The war had not reached as quick
a conclusion as John F. Kennedy’s crew would have liked. The
carrier was scheduled to return-from-deployment on 15
February 1991 That same day, Saddam Hussein issued a
statement concerning Iraq’s stated intention to withdraw
from Kuwait, prompting cheer and jubilation from the
Sailors. Their euphoria quickly dissipated once the
conditions of Iraq’s withdrawal became evident. John F.
Kennedy’s return-from-deployment date was cancelled. The
general tone of the crew, one observer wrote later, was one
of a desire to “hurry up and get it over with.” The carrier
continued to launch air strikes right throughout the week
that led up to the 24 February launch of the ground assault
on Kuwait. When the crew learned that Desert Storm combat
operations had ceased on 28 February, they were quite
subdued. John F. Kennedy had launched a total of 114 strikes
during the 42 days of conflict. 2895 combat sorties were
flown for a total of 11,263.4 flight hours. The men were too
tired to celebrate. They simply wanted to go home.
Many of John F. Kennedy’s men
felt understandably dismayed when they learned that they
would be making one more stop before heading home. Before
embarking on her passage, the carrier set material condition
Yoke on the main decks and below, instead of Zebra, for the
first time since 13 January 1991. On 4 March, John F.
Kennedy became the first-ever American warship to conduct a
port visit at Hurghada, Egypt, but, as her chronicler wrote
later: “The crew’s impatience to get home,” one observer in
the ship later wrote, “was not helped by the necessity for
canceling boating at Hurghada because of high winds and
seas” from 5 to 7 March.
John F. Kennedy weighed anchor
off Hurghada at midnight on 10 March 1991 and dropped anchor
late in the afternoon of the following day at Port Suez to
prepare for the Canal transit. The carrier got underway at
0545, 12 March, for her long journey home.
At 1430 on 28 March 1991, John F.
Kennedy moored at Pier 12, greeted by a throng bearing
balloons, banners, and flags. 30,000 family members and
supporters showed up to welcome Big John home in a
celebration that rivaled those at the end of World War II in
magnitude and enthusiasm. John F. Kennedy’s principal return
banner bared the same initials of her proud namesake:
“Justice For Kuwait.” Her battle group and Saratoga’s were
the first such units to return to the continental United
States.
John F. Kennedy immediately
commenced a post-deployment stand down. Approximately half
of the crew went on leave for one of the two-week leave
periods through the end of April 1991. Simultaneously, she
entered a selected restricted availability period and
commenced maintenance, repairs, and upgrade at Norfolk Naval
Station until 28 May, when she shifted to the Norfolk Naval
Shipyard for more extensive work.
Now that John F. Kennedy was in
port, the SRA of the summer of 1991 planned to accomplish
several major upgrades and overhauls: reconfiguration of the
aircraft maintenance spaces to handle the F/A-18 Hornet,
installation of the NTCS-A command and control system,
replacement of the non-skid surface on the flight deck and
hangar bay deck, and extensive repairs to boilers, piping,
electrical generators, and air conditioning equipment. There
was also extensive replacement of galley and laundry
equipment and installation of the Uniform Micro-Computer
Information Data System program, which allowed much quicker
disbursing for the benefit of the crew.
John F. Kennedy remained at
Norfolk Naval Shipyard until 1 October 1991, after suffering
two false starts on 25 and 28 September. On 1 October, she
steamed for the Virginia capes where she conducted sea
trials and recertification for flight deck operations. She
commenced carquals on 3 October. The carrier then steamed
south and late afternoon on 10 October, moored at Port
Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was in town for a
good will visit to celebrate the Navy’s birthday in
connection with Broward Navy Days. The local citizens and
merchants of Fort Lauderdale extended great hospitality to
John F. Kennedy, and they reciprocated by opening up for
special tours and general visiting on 11-14 October.
Aircraft from CVW-3 were on the flight deck for static
display throughout the port visit.
John F. Kennedy conducted another
Tiger Cruise back to Norfolk on 15 October 1991. The carrier
and 300 dependents were scheduled to be pier side on 17
October, but winds of 50 knots made it prudent for the ship
to delay proceeding into port until the next day, when she
moored alongside Pier 12. The remainder of October and most
of November saw more guests, and repairs and upkeep,
particularly concentrated on the flight deck and flight deck
equipment and engineering equipment and systems in
preparation for the December underway period.
John F. Kennedy planned to get
underway for carquals on 2 December 1991, but heavy fog and
rain prohibited the ship from departing Norfolk until the
morning of the following day. That set of qualifications saw
the first carrier landings and takeoffs by the Navy’s new
trainer, the T-45 Goshawk. Also, John F. Kennedy took on the
new role of conducting training command carquals for pilots
flying the North American T-2 Buckeye and Douglas TA-4
Skyhawk on 8 December. The ship returned to Norfolk on 17
December and began a holiday leave period that concluded 6
January 1992.
John F. Kennedy would not be
underway again until 15 January 1992, when she stood out to
proceed to the waters off Jacksonville and Key West for
carquals for the replacement and fleet squadrons and begin
the training cycle leading to deployment. That same day, the
ship embarked a four-man video production crew from the
Discovery Channel who sought to describe military use of
satellites for a special feature program “Space Age.” The
footage shot on board John F. Kennedy formed a portion of
the hour-long military focus segment of the program.
John F. Kennedy returned to
Norfolk on 31 January 1992, and did not get underway again
until 26 February, when she sailed, with Captain Timothy R.
Beard, prospective commanding officer, on board for
orientation, to conduct fleet carquals off the Virginia
capes and northern Jacksonville operating areas. Following
those evolutions, Captain Beard relieved Captain Gay on 6
March.
Refresher training preparations
began on 9 March 1992 and ran until 3 April, evolutions that
would determine how ready the ship and air wing were and
would certify them both as ready to begin unrestricted
training in the pre-deployment work-up training cycle. Those
preparations included multiple self-inspections of the
material readiness of all ship’s spaces and damage control
equipment, as well as frequent early morning general
quarters drills. The carrier got underway on 1 April and
commenced the exercises on 4 April with a series of drills
at general quarters and with evaluated combat systems,
seamanship, and flight deck exercises.
John F. Kennedy’s refresher
training proved far from “smooth sailing.” Initially, the
ship’s success at setting material conditions yoke and zebra
was not good, particularly because of the amount of time and
effort spent correcting discrepancies from the previous
drills. In response to these shortcomings, 9 April 1992
became a stand-down day for correcting discrepancies and
refocusing damage control efforts. The ship achieved
satisfactory results on setting material conditions the next
day, however, the scores received for yoke and zebra were
75.1% and 65.04% respectively. 62.5% was considered a
passing score. Thereafter, drills were completely productive
and culminated with a major conflagration exercise beginning
at 0400 on 14 April.
On 11 April 1992, at the request
of the Naval War College, a news team from WJAR-TV, an
NBC-affiliated station in Providence, Rhode Island, embarked
to produce a TV story to better acquaint the citizens of
Rhode Island with the mission and operation of the fleet. On
14 April, another reporter from WTKR-TV, the CBS affiliate
in Norfolk, arrived to film a segment called “Captains and
Their Ships” while the carrier was in the Tidewater area.
The remainder of April 1992 and
the early part of May focused on preparations for an
operational exercise and Fleet Week ‘92 in New York City. On
11 May, John F. Kennedy conducted limited operations for
CVW-3, then continued carquals in the Virginia capes
operating areas, before she moved north to facilitate a 19
May embarkation, for an overnight visit of 50 New Yorkers,
preceding the ship’s arrival. Also visiting the ship were
the late President Kennedy’s two children: Mrs. Carolyn
[Kennedy] Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy’s sponsor, and John
F. Kennedy, Jr., accompanied by eleven senior police
officials from the city of New York. The carrier moored at
the Manhattan Passenger Ship Terminal on the Hudson River on
20 May.
John F. Kennedy’s arrival in New
York kicked off Fleet Week ’92. Rear Admiral James A. Lair
acted as senior officer present afloat (SOPA) for the
various ships in New York for the events, which included the
submarine tender L.Y. Spear (AS-36), guided missile frigate
Clifton Sprague (FFG-16), frigate Donald B. Beary (FF-1085),
amphibious assault ship Guadalcanal (LPH-7), Coast Guard
cutter Tahoma (WMEC-908) and the French destroyer Aconit.
Fleet Week ‘92 drew to a close on
26 May 1992, and by sunset John F. Kennedy had cleared the
harbor and coastal areas. The next day, she launched CVW-3’s
squadrons to return to their home bases while a combat
systems readiness review team embarked to conduct tests,
inspections, and review readiness of the ship’s combat
systems. She moored at Norfolk on 29 May.
The combat systems readiness
review team finished its work on board John F. Kennedy on 5
June 1992, and an operational propulsion plant examination
conducted on 15 June certified the ship for two years’
steaming. She then spent the remainder of that month and the
early part of the next preparing for composite training unit
exercises (CompTUEx). On 10 July, Rear Admiral Frederick L.
Lewis, ComCarGru 4, broke his flag in John F. Kennedy as the
training carrier group commander. The ship got underway on
13 July for carquals and CompTUEx in Puerto Rican waters.
On 22 July 1992, John F. Kennedy
hosted retired Major General Mary E. Clarke, USA, retired
Brigadier General Samuel E. Cockerham, USA, writer and
former DACOWITS member Elaine Donnelly, and reserve USAF
Master Sergeant Sarah White, of the Presidential Commission
on Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces as they visited
the ship for an orientation into life at sea and carrier
aviation. The four commission members observed the crew’s
working and living conditions and interviewed various
members of the ship’s company and aircrews, gathering their
thoughts, opinions, perceptions and expectations on serving
with women. The Commission’s report of their visit would be
enclosed with their report to the President on 15 November
for his subsequent report to Congress a month later.
Tragedy struck the carrier’s air
wing during her operations in Puerto Rican waters on 24 July
1992. Commander Robert K. Christensen, Strike Fighter
Squadron (VFA) 37’s commanding officer, apparently lost
orientation and flew his F/A-18C (AC 302) into the sea
during a training night attack mission over Vieques.
The next day, 25 July 1992, John
F. Kennedy anchored off St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for
a scheduled four-day port visit, a memorial service being
held for Commander Christensen being held as soon as the
ship dropped anchor. However, late that same day, the ship
received orders to get underway as soon as possible. An
emergency recall of the crew was ordered and the ship was
underway the following day, joining Carrier Task Force (CTF)
24.1, bound for the Med in response to Iraq’s recalcitrance
in abiding by the cease-fire agreement imposed by the United
Nations. CTF 24.1, under Rear Admiral James A. Lair, also
included guided missile cruisers Gettysburg (CG-64), Leyte
Gulf (CG-55), and Wainwright (CG-28), guided missile
frigates Halyburton (FFG-40) and McInerney (FFG-8), frigate
Capodanno (FF-1093), and underway replenishment oiler
Kalamazoo (AOR-6). On 28 July, however, the sortie toward
the Med was cancelled and the ships ordered to return to
scheduled training in the North Puerto Rican operating area.
Once John F. Kennedy returned to
Puerto Rican waters, the CompTUEx continued with Rear
Admiral Lewis resuming command of the battle group to
continue the exercises. Tragedy struck the air wing again,
however, when on 31 July 1992 an E-2C from VAW-126 reported
experiencing difficulties and the cockpit filling with
smoke. The plane crashed into the sea approximately four
miles from the ship and 60 miles north of Puerto Rico.
Lieutenant Commander Alan M. McLachlen, Lieutenants Michael
F. Horowitz and Tristram E. Farmer, and Lieutenant (j.g.)s
Richard Siter, Jr., and Thomas D. Plautz, perished in the
mishap; only one body was recovered, the others entombed
with the Hawkeye in over 20,000 feet of water. A memorial
service honored the lost VAW-126 crew, as well as for
Commander Christensen, VFA-137’s commanding officer who had
died a week earlier, was held on 1 August.
Once the ship and air wing were
certified for deployment, the ship chopped to Commander 2nd
Fleet on 6 August 1992, and returned to Norfolk on 10
August. She spent the remainder of August and beginning of
September in preparation for fleet exercises and her
subsequent deployment. On 21 August, that deployment date
was announced as 7 October 1992.
After conducting two days of
carquals off the Virginia capes (9-11 September 1992) John
F. Kennedy remained in those waters and participated in
fleet exercises with a battle group that consisted of the
ships from the earlier constituted CTF 24.1 in addition to
the command ship Mount Whitney (LCC-20) and destroyer Caron
(DD-970). Various media representatives covered the
exercises, pursuing the story of the Navy’s role and its
response to various missions. The training concluded on 17
September and John F. Kennedy returned to Norfolk the
following day.
The crew initiated a pre-overseas
movement (POM) stand down to allow half the crew to take
leave until 27 September 1992 and the other half to take
leave from 27 September to 5 October. The ship continued to
load out and complete maintenance required for deployment
through the stand down period. John F. Kennedy got underway
for deployment on 7 October. She conducted two days of
refresher carquals for the air wing and then began the
Atlantic transit on 9 October 1992 accompanied by her old
consorts Gettysburg, Leyte Gulf, Wainwright, Caron,
Halyburton, McInerney, Capodanno, and the attack submarines
Seahorse (SSN-669) and Albuquerque (SSN-706), supported by
ammunition ship Santa Barbara (AE-28) and Kalamazoo. A
two-plane C-2 detachment from Fleet Logistics Support
Squadron (VRC) 40 also deployed with the carrier, a new
support concept during the deployment. An intense focus on
ensuring chemical warfare defense readiness, cleanliness,
and safety training, marked the trans-Atlantic voyage. On 18
October, the warship transited the Strait of Gibraltar and
three days later, the Strait of Messina. She anchored off
Brindisi, Italy, on 22 October to conduct turnover with
Saratoga.
John F. Kennedy then set her
course up the Adriatic. On 23 October 1992, Secretary of
Defense Dick Cheney visited the ship to demonstrate national
support for the battle group and promote morale among the
crew. She continued to conduct air operations in the
Adriatic without incident until 30 October, when she
anchored at Naples for a port visit. Once underway again,
from 4-6 November, she hosted a group of USAF officers from
Headquarters USAFE for orientation, including carrier
aircraft flights. The following day, 15 officers from the
Belgian Air Force, including instructors and students from
the Fighter Weapons Instructor Training course on 7
November.
On 13 November 1992, John F.
Kennedy anchored off Alexandria to conduct training and
planning for Operation Seawind with the Egyptian Navy and
Air Force. The evolution began on 15 November. As the
exercise proceeded, however, during the first watch on 18
November, in waters about 50 miles north of the Egyptian
coast, Capodanno, one of the ships in John F. Kennedy’s
battle group, sighted two flares fired from a Russian
Vishnaya-class intelligence collection ship, SSV-175, while
the frigate’s embarked SH-2F from HSL-32, Detachment 5,
received a medical distress call on an international
distress radio frequency. The urgent message, relayed to
John F. Kennedy, soon resulted in Capodanno’s Seasprite
landing on board the carrier and embarking Lieutenant Eric
T. Hanson, MC, a flight surgeon, and Hospitalman 3d Class
Depietro. Chief Radioman Terrance J. George, a translator,
accompanied them. Flown to the frigate, the emergency
medical team then embarked in her motor whaleboat to be
transported to the Russian ship, where they found that
resuscitation efforts had been on-going for about three
hours on a man who had fallen overboard. Sadly, the object
of the strenuous life-saving efforts had suffered a head
injury incident to his falling over the side and had not
responded to treatment, and had, in fact, expired by the
time the team arrived. Ultimately, Lieutenant Hanson
pronounced the man dead, and the Americans returned to
Capodanno, reporting that the Russians had been
“overwhelmingly grateful” for their attempts to revive their
shipmate.
On 19 November 1992, John F.
Kennedy embarked twelve senior Egyptian Navy and Air Force
officers, including Vice Admiral Ahmed Ali Fadel, Commander
of Naval Operations of the Egyptian Navy, for a debrief on
Operation Seawind. Four days later, TV reporter Joe
Flannagan and his film crew from Norfolk TV station WVEC,
embarked in John F. Kennedy for extensive coverage to be
used on a Christmas Eve telecast. After the debrief for
Seawind and a weapons on-load, the ship anchored in Trieste
on 25 November. She the sailed at 0740 on 30 November to
participate in African Eagle with Moroccan forces. The
carrier welcomed another reporter, Terry Zahn from channel
10, WAVY, Norfolk, from 2-4 December, to film a Christmas
special.
African Eagle began on 6 December
1992 with an amphibious landing. During the exercise, an
F-14 from VF-14 apparently struck a cable during a low-level
flight over Morocco, but the ship recovered the Tomcat
without incident and with minor damage to its port wing
slat. With the exercise completed, John F. Kennedy began a
slow transit to Marseille, conducting flight operations en
route. On 19 December, a group of senior French naval
officers and their wives visited the carrier for
orientation, prior to the ship’s port visit. She moored in
Marseille the morning of 21 December.
John F. Kennedy’s visit reflected
the same type of atmosphere as had prevailed during Fleet
Week in New York, due to the interest of the French people.
Many social activities ensued due to the cooperation of the
Marseille Navy League, the Association France-Etats Unis,
the American Consulate and the French Navy. Five days after
Christmas of 1992, however, holiday cheer was temporarily
muted when John F. Kennedy was earmarked to proceed on
underway operations at a 12-hour notice, in response to
potential U.S. resolve to intervene in the situation in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Fortunately, the carrier remained in
Marseille and departed as previously scheduled.
John F. Kennedy weighed anchor on
4 January 1993 and sailed for the Ionian Sea. During the
passage, she conducted flight operations and exercises. On
14 January, the warship transited the Strait of Messina, and
the next day moored at Naples, where representatives from
the Combat Camera Unit, CinCUSNavEur, embarked to take
photos and shoot video footage of John F. Kennedy and her
air wing for contingency coverage.
On 17 January 1993, after just
two-and-a-half days in port, however, John F. Kennedy
received orders to get underway for contingency operations
while U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile attacks were in progress
in Iraq. Accordingly, she sailed that evening and cruised
towards the Strait of Messina. After clearing that body of
water, she commenced a high-speed run eastward; while en
route, the crew conducted chemical warfare defense training.
On 20 January, John F. Kennedy conducted operations with
Gettysburg and Leyte Gulf.
John F. Kennedy began conducting
flight operations in the eastern Med on 21 January 1993.
Those continued until 28 January, when the carrier turned
around and began transit out of the region. On 1 February,
she welcomed Vice Admiral Lefebvre of the French Navy.
One week later, on 8 February
1993, John F. Kennedy anchored at Trieste along with
Wainwright. The two ships departed on 15 February and headed
to the Adriatic to conduct flight operations. On 20
February, the carrier conducted flight operations in the
Ionian Sea. On 25 February, John F. Kennedy began monitoring
airdrops over Bosnia-Herzegovina in conjunction with
Operation Provide Promise. She continued that duty until 25
March when she conducted turnover with Theodore Roosevelt.
With the end of her deployment
drawing near, John F. Kennedy began heading westward. In
preparation for her homeward voyage, she embarked family
service support people by aircraft; the carrier transited
the Strait of Gibraltar on 28 March 1993 and conducted a
missile exercise two days later. While transiting the
Atlantic Ocean, the carrier conducted flight operations.
Inspectors flew on board and began a shipwide material
condition inspection that continued until the return to
Norfolk. On 4 April, John F. Kennedy anchored off Bermuda.
On 6 April, CVW-3’s squadrons flew off to return to their
respective bases. The next day, 7 April, John F. Kennedy
moored alongside Norfolk Naval Station’s Pier 11, welcomed
by throngs of friends and family.
John F. Kennedy continued her
stand down period for the first week of May 1993. Prior to
getting underway on the morning of 10 May, members of the
Senate Armed Services Committee came aboard to tour living
spaces on the ship studying berthing requirements. The
carrier sailed later that morning and conducted flight
operations in the afternoon. Those operations continued
until 19 May. On 16 May, a group of Tuskegee Airmen embarked
for a general aircraft carrier orientation.
On 18 May 1993, the Chief and
Associate Judges from the United States Court of Military
Appeals, Flag Legal Officers, distinguished legal visitors
and several legal officers paid a visit to John F. Kennedy.
The purpose of their visit was twofold: to educate the crew
on the purpose and workings of the Court of Military Appeals
and to provide a Fleet orientation to senior civilian and
military personnel in the Department of Defense legal
system.
After completing her carquals,
John F. Kennedy moored to Pier 12 on 21 May 1993. On 24 May,
she got underway for New York City, and moored at pier 88
North upon her arrival for Fleet Week. Two days after she
had arrived, “Good Morning America” broadcast live from the
flight deck; “CBS This Morning” broadcast from the carrier
on 31 May. The following day, John F. Kennedy got underway
at 1400 for a Tiger Cruise. Arriving in Norfolk on 3 June,
the ship disembarked her passengers and got underway that
same day at 1711 for carquals.
On 24 June 1993, Captain Joseph
R. Hutchison relieved Captain Beard as commanding officer. A
little less than a month later, on 20 July, John F. Kennedy
departed Norfolk for carquals. On 31 July, the ship held her
Dependent’s Day Cruise and returned to Norfolk.
Not scheduled for any operations
during August 1993, John F. Kennedy continued to prepare for
her upcoming yard period, work interrupted as the month drew
to a close with the approach of Hurricane Emily. John F.
Kennedy sortied on 30 August, but within hours of clearing
Norfolk, experienced a fire in the number four main
machinery room that took five minutes to extinguish and
caused neither casualties nor permanent damage. John F.
Kennedy returned to Norfolk on 2 September, after Emily’s
departure.
Three days later, on 5 September
1993, John F. Kennedy hosted a gala to commemorate her
Silver Anniversary, attended by her sponsor, Mrs. Caroline
[Kennedy] Schlossberg. “Growing up it always meant so much
to my brother and me to know that this ship, and all of you,
were bringing my father’s name and memory around the world,”
she told the crew. “We were so proud whenever we would read
of ‘Big John’ in the newspapers being in the Mediterranean,
in Desert Storm, in the Adriatic or in New York Harbor. We
would always say a special prayer for this ship and her
crew.”
On 13 September 1993, John F.
Kennedy sailed for Philadelphia, embarking guests who
welcomed the ship to the city that would be her home for two
years. The following day, she went into drydock at the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to begin a $491,000,000
comprehensive overhaul. Mayor Ed Rendell, U.S. Senator
Harris Wofford, and Congressman Rob Andrews embarked via
helicopter to welcome John F. Kennedy to the city, Mayor
Rendell bringing along 3,000 soft pretzels for the crew.
Some immediate projects included
the removal of asbestos, completed on 15 October, and the
removal of organotin, completed on 5 November. On 18
November, the first of her propellers was removed, and with
it, any doubts that John F. Kennedy could be dispatched in
any sort of emergency. The carrier completed her first
Quarterly Progress Review on 8 December. The next day, the
bow anchor and chain were removed. Four days before
Christmas, John F. Kennedy hosted Robert J. “B.J.” McHugh
Jr., an eight-year-old bone cancer patient, who received a
tour of the ship with his family, as a guest of Captain
Hutchison, and lunched with the Chief Petty Officers.
Acting Secretary of the Navy
Richard Danzig addressed John F. Kennedy’s future on 5
August 1994. “On 1 October 1995,” he announced, John F.
Kennedy would be “designated an operational reserve carrier
and reserve force ship assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.”
Following an initial deployment, the carrier would be
available to deploy with either an active or reserve air
wing when mobilized in support of urgent operational
requirements. John F. Kennedy’s new primary function during
contingency operations would be to provide a surge
capability, and in peacetime, to support training
requirements. She would participate regularly in routine
fleet exercises, carquals and battle group training.
Undocked and moved to Pier Six on
15 November 1994, John F. Kennedy began 1995 with a change
of command ceremony in January, Captain Gerald L. Hoewing
relieving Captain Hutchison. Eight months later, John F.
Kennedy got underway for the first time in over two years,
her underway period prolonged briefly by the presence of
Hurricane Felix.
On 3 September 1995, John F.
Kennedy completed her overhaul and sailed for Mayport.
During the underway period, the carrier completed her first
carquals in over two years. The ship received a warm welcome
from Mayport upon her arrival on 22 September.
The year 1995 closed with John F.
Kennedy’s role ever changing. The ship conducted a ten-day
fast cruise to provide extensive training for the crew and
to ensure more sailors met damage control, engineering
casualty control and general shipboard readiness standards.
Hangar Bays One and Two were resurfaced during the month of
December. John F. Kennedy held a shipboard holiday party on
Christmas.
In June and July of 1996, John F.
Kennedy made a North Atlantic deployment. From 2 to 25 July,
the carrier exercised off the coast of Ireland. From 2
through 7 July, she made a port visit to Dublin, Ireland,
where she hosted receptions for the public. Her air wing
provided static displays at Dublin and Shannon International
Airports. They also completed both day and night refresher
carquals. Later that year, the carrier and CVW-8 developed
F-14 and F/A-18 mixed tactics. VFA-15 flew opposed strikes
with VF-41 to central Florida, Key West and North Carolina.
The secretaries of the Navy, Air
Force and Army embarked for an overnight stay and conference
on 4 October 1996. Each dignitary arrived in a different
aircraft: Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton in an F-14
Tomcat, Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall in an
F/A-18 Hornet, and Secretary of the Army Togo West in an
Army H-60 Blackhawk. All three toured areas of the ship
specialized for operations involving two or more of the
services; their meeting focused on command and control,
communications, computers and intelligence.
John F. Kennedy and her air wing,
CVW-8, began 1997 with composite training unit exercises
(4-12 February), followed by Joint Task Force Exercise ’97-2
(7-23 March), both of which took place in the Puerto Rico
operating area, evolutions that tested the ship and her air
wing in simulating threats and challenges facing a battle
group during deployment and in forward-deployed joint
operations. Joining the John F. Kennedy Battle Group were
the Kearsarge (LHD-3) Amphibious Ready Group; elements from
the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and the 22nd Marine
Expeditionary Unit; elements of the Army’s 18th Airborne
Corps, 18th Aviation Brigade, and the 82nd Airborne
Division; the USAF Air Combat and Air Mobility Commands;
Special Operations Command; U.S. Space Command; the U.S.
Coast Guard and Canadian Maritime Forces.
Sadly, during the Joint Task
Force Exercise ’97-2, HS-3 lost one of its Seahawks
(Troubleshooter 615) that crashed, with the loss of its
entire crew, while attempting a landing on board the guided
missile frigate Taylor (FFG-50) on 13 March 1997.
The training sharpened the skills
of the crew as they prepared to take their station to
support U.S. foreign policy in Bosnia and Iraq. John F.
Kennedy, with CVW-8 (VF-14 and VF-41, VFA-15 and VFA-87,
VAW-124, VAQ-141, Sea Control Squadron (VS) 24 and HS-3)
embarked began her movement toward the Med with carquals
(29-30 April), and then in-chopped to the 6th Fleet on 12-13
May 1997, relieving Theodore Roosevelt. John F. Kennedy’s
consorts included destroyers Spruance (DD-963) and John
Hancock (DD-981), guided missile cruisers Hue City (CG-66),
Vicksburg (CG-69) and Thomas S. Gates (CG-51) and guided
missile frigate Taylor.
Soon after John F. Kennedy
reached the Mediterranean, she participated in the French
invitational exercise, Iles D’Or 97 (20-29 May 1997). The
carrier, along with Hue City, Vicksburg, and French Navy
units, practiced tactical maneuvers and deterrence
operations. Liaison officers from the battle group served in
French ships during the exercise and gained insights and
perspectives of the complexities of coalition operations.
John F. Kennedy then participated
in Operation Deliberate Guard (19-22 June 1997), operating
in the Adriatic, CVW-8 flying “real world” missions over
Bosnia-Herzegovina. HS-3, during that time, sent one of its
SH-60Fs to operate to guided missile cruiser Vicksburg, to
support an ASW exercise, Sharem-121. These peacekeeping and
presence missions over Bosnia, meanwhile, took place in an
unpredictable threat environment. CVW-8 improved their night
operations capabilities, real-time reconnaissance
information gathering, and air-to-ground ordnance delivery
during that period. The ship then visited Koper, Slovenia
(23-25 June) where over 11,000 Slovenians visited her, her
visit coinciding with their country’s independence day. Soon
thereafter, John F. Kennedy participated in the U.S.-led
exercise that involved ships from Italy, Spain, the
Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Turkey, Greece, Germany and
the United Kingdom.
After visiting Haifa (8-14 August
1997), John F. Kennedy operated in the eastern Med, then
headed for Suez, transiting the canal on 17 August and
setting course for the Arabian Gulf. Transiting the Strait
of Hormuz on 29 August, she proceeded into the Gulf, and
began supporting Operation Southern Watch. CVW-8 patrolled
the “No Fly Zone” while on John F. Kennedy’s flight deck,
crews toiled in wilting, enervating, heat, with an index of
140 degrees daily. Shortly after the carrier’s Persian Gulf
stint (1-6 September), she visited Bahrain (7-9 September),
before getting underway to participate in Exercise Beacon
Flash (13-17 September) that pitted CVW-8 against the Omani
Air Force and their Hawk and Jaguar aircraft.
After transiting the Suez Canal
(25 September 1997), John F. Kennedy resumed operations in
the Med, taking part in another exercise, Dynamic Mix (1-5
October) that involved forces from Italy, Germany, Spain,
Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. After
visiting Tarragona, Spain (8-13 October), John F. Kennedy,
relieved by George Washington (CVN-73) on 16 October 1997,
headed for Mayport, carrying out a Tiger Cruise (25-28
October) that concluded with the ship’s arrival at Mayport
to wind up the deployment.
In 1998, John F. Kennedy served
as the flagship for ComCarGru2 during Fleet Week ’98. More
than 14 ships from three navies participated in the event.
Distinguished visitors included the Chairman, Joint Chiefs
of Staff, General Henry Shelton, Secretary of the Navy
Dalton, and the Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City. In
mid-July, the carrier steamed from her homeport in Mayport,
Florida, to the Puerto Rican operations area for training
and carquals.
From 11 to 19 November 1998, John
F. Kennedy participated in Exercise Fuertes Defensas 98/99
at Dam Neck, Virginia in a simulated battle space. The
evolution provided an opportunity for the ship to sharpen
her skills in the areas of maritime interceptions, mine
countermeasures, naval coastal warfare, strike warfare, and
support joint and combined forces ashore. It demonstrated
the challenges to establishing and operating a Joint Task
Force, and the importance of joint doctrine and cooperative
command relationships.
After upkeep in Mayport, which
lasted until 22 January 1999, John F. Kennedy resumed work
in the Jacksonville operating area from 25 January until 1
February, after which she returned to Mayport for more
upkeep that lasted until 3 March. John F. Kennedy prepared
for her upcoming tailored ship’s training availability
through 12 March and then lay pierside at Mayport (12
March-5 April). From 6-30 April, CVW-1 embarked in John F.
Kennedy for tailored ship’s training availability. During
this period, the carrier participated in Exercise El Morro
Castle, which involved several U.S. allies, including
elements of the British, Canadian and Spanish Navies, upon
completion of which she returned to Mayport. On 9 June, the
carrier participated in another phase of a tailored ship’s
training availability, a CompTUEx during which the wing’s
aircraft scored multiple hits on it’s target, the
decommissioned destroyer ex-William C. Lawe (DD-768), and a
joint task force exercise, after which the ship and her air
wing were deemed “battle ready” for their upcoming
deployment.
John F. Kennedy underwent
tailored ship’s training availability training from 11-20
June 1999 and another CompTUEx from 21-30 June. John F.
Kennedy then enjoyed a six-day port visit at St. Maartin
before hoisting anchor and participating in another CompTUEx
from 7-17 July. From 20-29 July, the carrier participated in
a joint task force exercise. She returned to Mayport the
next day, where, on 6 August, Captain Michael H. Miller
relieved Captain Robin Y. Weber.
John F. Kennedy conducted a
Family Day cruise on 29 August 1999, and then settled into
for an upkeep slated to last until 16 September. Hurricane
Floyd, however, compelled a change of plans as what was
considered to be the worst hurricane to hit the eastern
seaboard since Andrew (1992), arrived. The carrier put to
sea on 13 September to ride out the storm.
Two days later, John F. Kennedy
received a message from the Coast Guard telling of a
distress call from Gulf Majesty, a 150-foot ocean-going tug
that had been towing a 669-by-103-foot container barge. Her
eight-man crew reported that they were unable to save the
boat, and after grabbing their emergency position indicator
beacon, abandoned their craft in a life raft in the 30-foot
seas and 50-knot winds. As the nearest ship to the
foundering tug, John F. Kennedy launched two of HS-11’s
HH-60H Seahawks, flown by Lieutenant Commander Edward J.
D’Angelo and Lieutenants Ruben Ramos, Christopher I. Pesile,
and David H. Rios, with Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 3d
Class Timothy F. Lemmerman, Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare
Operators 3d Class Sean P. Whitfield, Michael P. Tungett,
Shad D. Hernandez, William A. Beasley and Aviation
Antisubmarine Warfare Operator 2d Class David R. Matthews as
rescue aircrewmen, to respond. One of the helicopters found
three members of the crew in the water clutching their
distress beacon and picked them up. A Coast Guard Lockheed
HC-130 Hercules from Clearwater, Florida, flew to the scene
and located the remaining crewmen who were found and rescued
by HS-11, too. Not only did they rescue Gulf Majesty’s crew,
however, but they also carried out a medical evacuation
flight for a paralyzed merchant mariner who had suffered a
back injury on board his ship during the hurricane. The
Seahawk crews had flown 13.3 hours in hurricane conditions
to carry out their missions of mercy.
John F. Kennedy returned to
Mayport on 16 September 1999 to embark the rest of her air
wing for deployment, and sailed for the Mediterranean and
Arabian Gulf on 17 September, accompanied by destroyers
Spruance and John Hancock, guided missile cruiser Monterey
(CG-61), and guided missile frigates Underwood (FFG-36), and
Taylor. On 29 September 1999, John F. Kennedy conducted
turnover with Constellation (CV-64), transited the Strait of
Gibraltar on 3 October, and immediately began conducting
Freedom of Navigation operations off the coast of Libya.
John F. Kennedy arrived at Malta on 6 October.
Detachments from CVW-1
participated in Frisian Flag ’99 (27 September-8 October
1999) at Leeuwarden Royal Netherlands Air Force Base in the
province of Frisland, Holland. The exercise offered John F.
Kennedy’s pilots an opportunity to practice multiple threat
combat operations with other Allies in an integrated sea,
land, and air environment, as well as familiarizing
themselves with U.S. Navy operations and procedures in
Northern Europe with its varied weather and geography.
Frisian Flag ’99 featured CVW-1, the Royal Netherlands Air
Force, Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe, German Navy, USAF, and
NATO E-3 AWACS aircraft, as well as the Dutch army and
several warships of the Dutch and German navies. Naval, air
and ground forces were integrated and the NATO pilots
planned, briefed, and executed large-scale operations which
typically consisted of attacks on land, sea and air targets,
usually against high AAA and SAM threats, as well as
opposing aircraft. The operating airspace stretched all the
way from the English to the Dutch and German coasts.
From 15-30 October 1999, John F.
Kennedy participated in Bright Star 1999, an exercise that
enabled CVW-1 to train with Egyptian Air and Special
Operations forces and involved the deployment of 705 fixed
and rotary wing aircraft from seven nations. The CVW-1
pilots dropped live laser-guided and inert bombs in Egypt
and on the nearby target island of Avgo Nisi.
John F. Kennedy transited the
Suez Canal on 31 October 1999, to support Operation Southern
Watch and UN sanctions against Iraq. The next day, having
just arrived on station, CVW-1 commenced flight operations.
During the deployment, John F. Kennedy became the first
aircraft carrier ever to make a part call on Al Aqabah,
Jordan, arriving on 1 November for a three-day port visit.
On 4 November, she hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II, an
accomplished Blackhawk pilot, who flew the Seahawk sent to
retrieve him from Al Aqabah to the carrier, 120 miles away.
King Abdullah later joined Commander Mark P. Molidor,
VF-102’s commanding officer, in his Tomcat for a launch and
recovery in the Red Sea. That same day, the carrier also
began participating in exercise Black Shark, which ran from
4-6 November.
John F. Kennedy began operating
on 10 November 1999 in support of Southern Watch with daily
missions over southern Iraq. Four days after she commenced
those operations, tragedy struck when an S-3B (BuNo 158864)
from VS-32 suddenly rolled left during take-off on 14
November. The Viking crashed into the Arabian Gulf
immediately following the catapult shot, and sank, carrying
Lieutenants Matthew Moneymaker and Mike Meschke down with
it. During the memorial service conducted on the carrier’s
flight deck the next day, Rear Admiral John Johnson,
ComCarGru 6, John F. Kennedy’s Captain Miller, Captain
Patrick M. Walsh, Commander, CVW-1, Commander William H.
Valentine, commanding officer of VS-32, all eulogized the
lost aviators.
John F. Kennedy flew missions in
support of Southern Watch for another week, until 21
November 1999, followed by another stint from 27-30
November, 9-22 December, and 28 December-11 January 2000,
punctuating those operational periods with visits to Bahrain
(23-27 November), during which time (26 November) Admiral
Jay L. Johnson, the Chief of Naval Operations, presented the
pilots and aircrew from the two HS-11 helicopters that were
involved in the Hurricane Floyd rescues, with awards for
their actions, and Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates (22-28
December). CVW-1’s planes flew interdiction missions,
suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), tactical
reconnaissance escort, and DCA flights. During these
operations, VFA-86 combat tested a SLAM-ER (standoff land
attack missile, expanded response) for the first time. Also,
VFA-82 recorded the Navy’s first operations use of the joint
direct attack munition (JDAM) in combat during a strike
against Iraqi air defenses. The carrier’s pilots destroyed
radar sites, anti-aircraft artillery and SAM sites.
John F. Kennedy, conducting
missions in support of Southern Watch at the time, became
the “Carrier of the New Millennium” on 1 January 2000 by
virtue of her being the only carrier underway when 2000
arrived. January 2000 also saw two more port visits to
Dubai, the first from 12-14 January and the second from 29
January through 3 February. On 22 February, John F. Kennedy
finished her last mission in support of Southern Watch and
the next day turned over to John C. Stennis (CVN-74) and
departed the Persian Gulf via the Red Sea. The carrier
transited the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean on 2
March. After a brief port visit to Tarragona, Spain, from
6-8 March, the ship entered the Atlantic Ocean. On 16 March,
she embarked family members at Bermuda for a Tiger Cruise
for the final leg of the voyage home that came to a
conclusion on 18 March when John F. Kennedy returned to
Mayport.
John F. Kennedy remained at her
homeport until 26 April 2000, when she proceeded to the
Jacksonville Operating Area to complete her ammunition
offload. The carrier returned to Mayport on 1 May for ten
more days of upkeep. On 12 May, she began two weeks of
carquals, followed by another upkeep period in Mayport,
lasting from 26 May- 24 June.
On 25 June to 22 July 2000, John
F. Kennedy took part in OpSail 2000 then steamed north to
New York City, where she participated in Fleet Week 2000
from 2-8 July. After Fleet Week, the carrier sailed to
Boston, where she enjoyed a six-day stay from 10-15 July. On
16 July, she began her trip back home, but stopped briefly
in Norfolk on 18 July, and arrived at Mayport on 20 July,
where she remained until 13 August for upkeep.
On 14 August 2000, John F.
Kennedy began operations in the Jacksonville area that
lasted, punctuated by in-port periods for upkeep, until 2
December. From 3-6 December, the carrier conducted sea
trials, returning to Mayport on the latter date for upkeep
before she got underway to return to the Jacksonville
operating area. On 18 December, she returned to Mayport,
where she remained for the rest of the year.
John F. Kennedy remained in
upkeep status at Mayport until 5 February 2001. The next
day, wearing Rear Admiral Lewis W. Crenshaw, Jr.’s flag as
ComCarGru 6, and with CVW-7 embarked, she sailed for
carquals and to begin technical evaluations of the
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). Phase One was
conducted in the Puerto Rican operating area, and ended with
a port visit for all participating units: including the
guided missile cruisers Anzio (CG-68), Hue City (CG-66),
Cape St. George (CG-71), and Vicksburg (CG-69), the
destroyers Carney (DDG-64) and The Sullivans (DDG-68), and
the amphibious assault ship Wasp (LHD-1). Following port
visits in the Dutch Antilles, the Bahamas, Miami, and Port
Canaveral by individual ships in the battle group, phase II
CEC training began in the Virginia capes operating area.
John F. Kennedy’s Battle Group
contained five Aegis-equipped ships with CEC systems: Hue
City and Vicksburg, the guided missile destroyers Carney,
The Sullivans, and Roosevelt (DDG-80). CVW-7 would take the
CEC system through extensive testing to aid the Navy in
making its purchasing decision, providing realistic dynamic
flight profiles and tactical scenarios. Now, armed with CEC
components, John F. Kennedy and her air wing, and her
consorts, could share sensor data and provide a single,
integrated picture. The carrier could also see and respond,
with fire-control accuracy, to air contacts further from the
ship than was previously possible.
After visiting St. Martin (20-24
February 2001) John F. Kennedy sailed for the capes, and
ultimately returned to Mayport on 5 March for upkeep that
lasted until 12 March. The next day, the ship left to begin
operating in the waters off Jacksonville. On 16 March, the
ship returned to Mayport.
John F. Kennedy began her transit
to Jacksonville operating area on 17 March 2001 for
carquals. From 21 April to 2 May, the carrier conducted
further CEC-related work. The ship lay in Mayport for upkeep
from 3-4 May, and then conducted an operational evaluation
from 5-13 May. The carrier returned to Mayport for more
upkeep from 14-20 May.
John F. Kennedy returned to New
York City from 21-31 May 2001 to participate in Fleet Week,
where she once again served as ambassador to the people of
New York and provided them with a greater understanding of
carrier operations and the role of the aircraft carrier in
global politics. The carrier returned to Mayport on 6 June
for upkeep. On 7 June, the ship began three days of tailored
ships training availability (TSTA), upon completion of
which, the carrier returned to Mayport for upkeep that
lasted until 9 July 2001.
John F. Kennedy conducted TSTA
(phases I and II) from 10-25 July 2001 before returning to
Mayport on 27 July for upkeep that extended until 22 August.
During that time, on 30 July 2001, Rear Admiral Steven J.
Tomaszeski (who had been the carrier’s exec at one point in
his career) relieved Rear Admiral Crenshaw as ComCarGru
6/Commander John F. Kennedy Battle Group. On 23 August, the
carrier began a week of TSTA, phase III. She returned to
Mayport on 31 August for an extended upkeep period. From 6
to 8 August, John F. Kennedy Battle Group units participated
in Solid Curtain, an Atlantic Fleet exercise that extended
along the entire east coast, an evolution designed to test
and improve the battle group’s ability to recognize and
defend against terrorist attacks while in-port. Tragic
events transpired soon thereafter that rendered such
concerns justified.
On 11 September 2001, terrorists
flew two Boeing 767 commercial airliners, American Airlines
Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the World
Trade Center towers in New York City. The twin structures
eventually collapsed, one after the other, due to the
infernal heat generated from burning aviation fuel.
Terrorists also mercilessly hijacked two Boeing 757
airliners: American Flight 77 crashed the Pentagon. United
Flight 93, however, did not reach its intended target,
believed to have been either the White House or the Capital,
when passengers, apprised of their perilous plight by
personal cellular phones, apparently gained the upper hand
over the hijackers and forced the 757 down near Somerset,
Pennsylvania, bravely giving their lives to save countless
others. All told, the terrorist attacks slew over 3,000
people.
As those events unfolded, John F.
Kennedy and her battle group were slated to get underway for
CompTUEx 01-2; ordered to support Operation Noble Eagle
instead, set in motion in the wake of the brutal terrorist
assault, the carrier and her consorts quickly established
air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, including
under its umbrella Washington, D.C., “to help calm a fearful
and shocked nation.” Simultaneously, George Washington and
her battle group operated in proximity of New York. “While
John F. Kennedy Battle Group’s services were needed for only
a brief time,” wrote one ComCarGru 6 observer later, “every
member of the Battle Group was proud of their role in
Operation Noble Eagle providing security along the eastern
seaboard of the United States.”
Released from Noble Eagle on 14
September 2001, John F. Kennedy steamed for the Puerto Rican
operating areas to conduct intermediate level CompTUEx along
with ten other U.S. warships, including the guided missile
cruisers Hue City and Vicksburg, the guided missile
destroyers Carney, The Sullivans, and Roosevelt, the
destroyer Spruance, the guided missile frigates Underwood
and Taylor, the fast combat support ship Seattle, and the
attack submarines Toledo (SSN-769) and Boise (SSN-764). The
exercise included naval surface fire support, ship-to-ship
gunnery training, traditional surface warfare and underwater
training, and air-to-ground bombing using inert ordnance.
John F. Kennedy and her air wing, CVW-7, qualified for blue
water or open-ocean certification and the battle group
became the first to employ the Navy’s new Cooperative
Engagement Capability during CompTUEx, completing the
exercise on 13 October. On 16 October, the group
participated in a SinkEx that involved ex-Guam (LPH-9) off
the Cherry Point Operating Area, the coup de grace being
administered by ballistic missile submarine Maryland
(SSBN-738), which was operating under the tactical command
of Commander, John F. Kennedy Battle Group, for the
exercise.
John F. Kennedy returned to
Mayport on 20 October, for upkeep that lasted until 26
November 2001. On 27 November, John F. Kennedy steamed to
the waters off Jacksonville for three days of independent
ship exercises. From 1-2 December, the ship underwent upkeep
in Mayport, then spent three days undergoing inspection and
survey; soon thereafter, on 13 December 2001, Captain
Maurice S. Joyce was relieved of command by Commander James
Gregorski, the executive officer, contemporary media reports
citing the ship’s having failed “a critical ship
inspection.” Captain Johnny L. “Turk” Greene became the
carrier’s new commanding officer soon thereafter, faced with
the formidable task of correcting the discrepancies revealed
in the preceding inspection and survey period.
John F. Kennedy began operations
in 2002 when she conducted Joint Task Force Exercise 02-01,
Phase 1, from 19-25 January, followed by sea trials on 26-27
January. The ship returned to Mayport on 28 January for
three days of upkeep. John F. Kennedy began two days of sea
trials on 3 February. That day, while conducting trials of
her engineering plant and other operational equipment, John
F. Kennedy lost steering control during an underway
replenishment with the oiler Leroy Grumman (T-AO-195). She
implemented an emergency breakaway procedure and regained
steering, allowing the ships to maintain a safe distance.
Neither ship reported any damaged equipment, but eight
sailors in John F. Kennedy sustained minor injuries.
John F. Kennedy, wearing Rear
Admiral Tomaszeski’s flag as ComCarGru 6, and with CVW-7
embarked, deployed to the Persian Gulf, on 7 February 2002,
two months ahead of schedule, in a battle group that
included guided missile cruisers Vicksburg and Hue City,
guided missile destroyer Roosevelt, destroyer Spruance, and
guided missile frigates Underwood and Taylor. From 7 to 15
February, John F. Kennedy and her consorts completed phase
II of Joint Task Force Exercise 02-01, in the midst of
which, on 12 February 2002, Captain Ronald H. Henderson,
Jr., relieved Captain Greene, who had presided over the
ship’s successful preparations for her deployment, as
commanding officer. On 16 February, John F. Kennedy and her
battle group began their “Trans-Atlantic Journey.”
John F. Kennedy chopped into the
6th Fleet on 21 February 2002 to deploy in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. On 23 February, she transited
the Strait of Gibraltar, Rear Admiral Tomaszeski becoming
Commander TG 60.3, and after pausing briefly at Souda Bay,
pointed her bow toward the North Arabian Sea Operating Area
on 1 March.
While John F. Kennedy was
conducting flight-training operations on 2 March 2002,
approximately 50 nautical miles south of Crete, Lieutenant
Commander Christopher M. Blaschum of VF-143 encountered nose
gear problems during launch. Both he and Lieutenant (j.g.)
Rafe Wysham, his RIO, exited the aircraft. “[Two] Souls in
water,” noted the ship’s log soon thereafter; SH-60 Sea
Hawks from HS-5 and rigid inflatable boats from The
Sullivans, the latter employed when the carrier’s whaleboat
went dead in the water as the rescue efforts unfolded,
retrieved Wysham, but Lieutenant Commander Blaschum, married
and the father of two boys, died of injuries suffered in the
ejection.
John F. Kennedy transited the
Suez Canal on 4 March 2002, one day after the commencement
of Operation Anaconda, unleashed by U.S. ground forces in
Afghanistan to trap al Qaeda terrorists and their Taliban
supporters known to be holed-up in the Shah-e-Kot Valley,
south of Gardez in southeastern Afghanistan. On 6 March, her
battle group relieved Theodore Roosevelt’s in the northern
Arabian Sea, joining forces with John C. Stennis and her
consorts, and the next day, transited the Strait of Bab El
Mandeb.
Captain Henderson, on the eve of
the ship’s launching her first strikes in support of
Enduring Freedom, addressed his crew on 10 March 2002: “We
are currently proceeding, at best speed, to our launch
strike for tonight’s strikes, off the coast of Pakistan,
nearly 700 miles south of our targets in Afghanistan. At
midnight, CVW-7 will launch into the dark night and strike
their first blows of Operation Enduring Freedom, the war on
terrorism. For us this is a culminating point in space, a
culminating point in time, and a culminating point in
history.”
“Our enemy is a group of
religious fanatics,” he continued, “who pervert the peace of
Islam and twist its meaning to justify the murder of
thousands of innocents at the Twin Towers of New York, at
the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania. They hate us
and attack us because they oppose all that is good about
America. They hate us because we are prosperous. They hate
us because we are tolerant. They hate us because we are
happy. Mostly, they hate us because we are free,” he
continued, and harkened to the words of the man for whom the
ship was named, “and because we will ‘pay any price, bear
any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose
any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.’ Make
no mistake,” Henderson concluded gravely, “this is a fight
for Western Civilization. If these monsters are not
destroyed they will destroy us, and our children and
children’s children will live in fear forever…”
“America is the only nation that
can stop them and destroy them,” he went on, referring to
the strength of the country and its resources “to hunt these
fanatics down anywhere in the world.” After noting America’s
leadership role in the global community, Henderson declared
that “Our Naval power has been the principal weapon of our
resolve,” and mentioned “great ships and great crews” that
had gone before them. “It is now our turn,” he said, “to
strike for justice and we will strike hard.”
”Millions of Americans wish they
could be with us here tonight,” he continued, “They saw the
Twin Towers fall, and watched helplessly, wanting to do
something to defend America and our way of life. For us
tonight, that wait and that helplessness are over. We have
reached the point where we are all part of something so much
greater than ourselves. For the rest of our lives, no matter
whether we stay in the Navy or move on to civilian life, no
matter what we do or where we go, we will remember that on
10 March 2002, we came together and struck a blow for
freedom.”
After noting the “volunteer”
nature of the service, the captain noted the opportunity
given them, the “chance to truly make a difference in the
world,” and the diversity of the country they served: “We
represent America in all its power and diversity. We are men
and women, rich and poor, black and white, and all colors of
the human rainbow. We are Christian, Jew, and yes, Muslim.
WE ARE AMERICA.”
“This war will not be short,
pleasant or easy. It has already required the sacrifice of
our firefighters, our policemen, our soldiers, our Sailors,
our airmen, and our Marines. More sacrifices will be made.
In the end we will win, precisely because we are those
things that the terrorists hate: prosperous, happy,
tolerant, and most of all, free.”
Paying tribute to the nation’s
unity of purpose, their families’ backing them, Henderson
promised: “We will not let them down. We are, and will be,
men and women of honor, courage, and commitment.” After
quoting Abraham Lincoln’s declaration that “America is the
last, best hope for the world,” he declared,” Tonight we
hold a shining beacon of that hope. We shall keep it burning
brightly.”
”Stay sharp,” he urged his crew.
“Stay focused. Stay safe. Use the training that has made you
the best Sailors in the world, the best Sailors in the
history of the world. Trust in your faith, and in your
shipmates. God bless us all, and God bless America.”
Soon thereafter, John F. Kennedy
began launching her first strikes in support of operations
Anaconda and Enduring Freedom. During a night mission over
Afghanistan on 12 March, Commander John C. Aquilino, VF-11’s
commanding officer, and Lieutenant Commander Kevin Protzman
made the first combat strike of the Mk. 84 2,000-pound JDAM
(a guided air-to-surface weapon utilizing a tail control
system and the Global Positioning System for guidance) from
their F-14B Tomcat.
While underway, John F. Kennedy’s
combat system’s CS-4 division replaced one of the motors on
the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) antenna.
With the equipment restored, the crew enjoyed better access
to telephones, e-mail and the Internet. DSCS provided 40% of
the bandwidth for shipboard communications and after CS-4’s
work, there was less e-mail backlog and the Internet
rendered more accessible.
John F. Kennedy welcomed
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his partner Bertram
van Munster, in April 2002 to begin 30 days of filming on
board the carrier. Their project, Profiles from the Front
Line, had access to John F. Kennedy, other ships operating
with her, and military forces on the ground in Afghanistan.
The guided missile cruisers Lake Champlain (CG-57) and Hue
City also hosted film crews.
John F. Kennedy assumed sole
responsibility for carrier operations supporting Enduring
Freedom on 17 April 2002 when Rear Admiral Tomaszeski became
CTF-50, marking the transition from multi-carrier battle
group operations to single.
After a port visit to Jebel Ali,
United Arab Emirates (14-17 May 2002), John F. Kennedy
returned to active operations. On 5 June 2002, however, F-14
Tomcats Navy-wide were grounded due to complications with
the nose landing gear, an order that bore directly upon John
F. Kennedy’s Enduring Freedom requirements. While VF-11 and
VF-143 began repairs of its F-14s in earnest, VFA-131 and
VFA-136, both equipped with newer F/A-18 Hornets, flew
additional sorties to maintain the carrier’s air requirement
for Enduring Freedom. John F. Kennedy’s air department,
meanwhile, in a job estimated to take up to two weeks to
accomplish, tackled the task and completed inspections and
repairs on all the F-14s in just five days. On 14 June, the
Tomcats were back in the fight.
Two days later, on 16 June 2002,
off the coast of Oman, elements of John F. Kennedy’s Battle
Group transitioned from warriors to good Samaritans. Guided
missile cruiser Vicksburg, guided to the scene by an S-3B
from VS-31 sent off from the carrier, launched an SH-60B
from HSL-42, Detachment 7, to assist Stolt Spray, a tanker
in the vicinity that had stood by to assist the foundering
motor vessel al Murthada. When monsoon conditions rendered
it impossible for Stolt Spray to provide waterborne
assistance, Vicksburg’s helo transferred al Murthada’s
distressed mariners, who had been adrift for eight days,
bereft of power, potable water, and food, to the tanker, for
further transportation.
The George Washington (CVN-73)
Battle Group relieved John F. Kennedy and her consorts of
their Enduring Freedom responsibilities on 19 July 2002. All
told, John F. Kennedy had spent 129 days in theatre,
conducting 97 Enduring Freedom fly days. CVW-7 averaged 76
sorties per day from 11 March through 17 July. They also
dropped 62,113,994 pounds of ordnance on Taliban and al
Qaeda targets and supported U.S. and Coalition forces on the
ground with close air support, on occasion working with
Special Forces units.
The crews of both ships
transferred ordnance and CVW-7 aircrews debriefed their
George Washington counterparts from CVW-17 on procedures for
conducting Enduring Freedom missions. The two carriers also
completed turnover, which actually began several weeks
earlier via the Internet. John F. Kennedy had been the only
U.S. carrier supporting Enduring Freedom from April until
her relief.
Returning home, John F. Kennedy
transited the Strait of Bab El Mandeb on 20 July and the
Suez Canal on 24 July. She anchored in Marmaris, Turkey, for
a four-day port visit on 26 July and began a port visit to
Tarragona, Spain, on 3 August. On 8 August, the carrier
transited the Strait of Gibraltar, and returned to Mayport
on 17 August 2002.
Five days later, John F. Kennedy
began the first of three carqual stints before she underwent
extended selective restricted availability (ESRA) that
concluded on 4 October 2002. The second qualifications
period began on 28 October and ended on 5 November. The
third and final carquals period began on 3 December and
lasted for ten days. While engaged in the last
qualifications period, the crew began the ESRA a month ahead
of the 6 January 2003 scheduled launch date.
After sitting in Mayport for
almost a year and undergoing the $300 million extended
selected restricted availability, John F. Kennedy was
finally underway again on 11 November 2003. During this
underway period, she conducted five days of sea trials with
a green crew, nearly half of them had never been underway in
the ship.
Captain Henderson turned over
command to Captain Stephen G. Squires on 8 April 2004. A
little less than two months later, on 2 June 2004, the Navy
announced the simultaneous deployment of seven carrier
strike groups (CSGs) to demonstrate the Navy’s ability to
provide credible combat power across the globe by operating
in five theaters with other U.S., allied and coalition
military forces. Dubbed Summer Pulse ’04, this exercise was
the first of the Navy’s new Fleet Response Plan (FRP) slated
to result in increased force readiness and the ability to
provide combat power in response to a crisis. Along with
John F. Kennedy, the other carriers involved were George
Washington, John C. Stennis, Kitty Hawk (CV-63), Harry S.
Truman (CVN-75), Enterprise (CVN-65), and Ronald Reagan
(CVN-76).
John F. Kennedy, operating as
part of Summer Pulse ’04, completed Combined Joint Task
Force Exercise (CJTFEX) 04-2, or Operation Blinding Storm,
in June. The exercise marked the first Joint National
Training Capability (JNTC) integration event, during which
training focused on functional coalition component commands.
All elements of the U.S. services were involved, as was the
British carrier HMS Invincible. The carrier, with CVW-17
(VF-103, VFA-34, VFA-81 and VFA-83, VAQ-132, VS-30, VAW-125
and HS-15) embarked, got underway, accompanied by Vicksburg,
Spruance, Roosevelt, Toledo, and Seattle and steamed east in
support of the Global War on Terror.
After a port visit to Malta
(26-30 June 2004), John F. Kennedy transited the Suez Canal
(2-3 July) and on 10 July, launched her first aircraft in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing critical
overhead support for Multi-National Corps-Iraq and Iraqi
forces. On 20 July, CVW-17, John F. Kennedy’s air wing,
destroyed two anti-Iraqi positions. This was the strike
group’s first active engagement of anti-Iraqi targets in
support of Multinational Corps-Iraq and Iraqi forces. An
F-14 Tomcat dropped GBU-12 and an F/A-18C Hornet GBU-32
guided bombs on the enemy positions.
On 22 July 2004, while conducting
night flight operations in international waters during the
first watch, John F. Kennedy collided with, and sank, a
dhow. The carrier and HMS Somerset immediately launched
helicopters and small boats to search for survivors. U.S.
Navy P-3 Orions assisted in the unsuccessful search and
rescue operations.
John F. Kennedy’s second
encounter with one of the ubiquitous wood and sail craft
that ply the waters of the region, however, ended more
happily. On 14 August 2004, guided missile cruiser Mobile
Bay (CG-53) received a distress signal from the Iranian
cargo dhow Naji, in the North Arabian Gulf, six souls on
board, and relayed it to John F. Kennedy, which dispatched
two of HS-15’s Seahawks to the scene. Meanwhile, a P-3C
Orion from VP-9 monitored the craft and coordinated the
rescue efforts.
“We thought we were dead,”
Mortada G. Asfendeary told his rescuers through Aviation
Structural Mechanic Airman Moataz Ghonem of HS-15, who
translated his remarks, “We made smoke so people would see
us. Three boats passed us before the helicopter came to get
us.” “Thank you,” said Naser Afendeary, another member of
Naji’s crew, “Thank you, America.” As Captain Squires summed
it up: “It was about Sailors helping Sailors.” After
spending eight hours on board the carrier receiving medical
attention, showers, and a hot meal (“They drank lots of
tea,” recounted Captain Thomas E. Hatley, MC, the carrier’s
senior medical officer), the six Iranian mariners, bearing
toiletries, JFK T-shirts, boots, coveralls, and tea for the
trip back home, were transferred to Vicksburg for
repatriation to an Iranian civil authorities boat.
On 5 October 2004, Captain Dennis
E. Fitzpatrick relieved Captain Squires in command, and four
days later, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld,
accompanied by the defense ministers of 18 countries
assisting the United States in the Global War on Terror,
flew out from Bahrain to visit the ship. A former naval
aviator, Rumsfeld noted that the first time he ever trod the
decks of a U.S. naval vessel was when his father, hangar
deck officer in the escort carrier Hollandia (CVE-97), took
him to visit his ship. “It is indeed a personal privilege,”
Rumsfeld told the crew, “for this son of a Navy man and an
old broken down naval aviator himself, to be with you here
on this great day.”
“I cannot think of a better
place,” Rumsfeld declared, “for my fellow ministers of
defense to witness America’s finest demonstration of what
great patriots they are…” Rumsfeld also re-enlisted 80
Sailors, and presented 17 with their warfare designations,
thanking those who had re-enlisted “for your dedication to
stay in the service of our nation, to keep our military
forces strong with your experience and your professionalism.
I certainly want to say you make us all proud.”
The war in Iraq, meanwhile,
continued, often with unbridled ferocity. Operation Phantom
Fury, later redesignated al Fajr, Arabic for “dawn,” began
on 7–8 November 2004, to wrest control of al Fallujah,
approximately 30 miles west of Baghdad, from several
thousand insurgents and terrorists, in preparation for the
Iraqi national elections slated for on 30 January 2005. Well
dug into strongholds, command posts and bunker complexes,
lavishly equipped and stiffened by religious zealots,
jihadis (Muslim volunteers, many from madrassas, religious
schools, whipped into a frenzy by their mullahs and by
drugs), the enemy determined to resist to the last with
fanaticism rivaling that displayed by foes encountered in
the Pacific in World War II and in Vietnam.
Marines from the I Marine
Expeditionary Force (MEF), supported by the Army’s 1st Hell
for Leather Cavalry Division and Iraqi security forces,
found themselves quickly embroiled in some of the fiercest
house-to-house fighting since 1968 at Hué, in the Vietnam
War. While flying preliminary missions on 6 November,
aircraft of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, pounded seven
separate Iraqi weapons caches in just eight hours. Weather
played a key role in the battle, the low ceiling forcing
fixed-wing aircraft to fly lower than normal standards and
for more involvement by helos, the enemy taking advantage of
the opportunities afforded by firing SAMs, anti-aircraft
artillery, small arms, and even rocket-propelled grenades
(RPGs) at aircraft. More ominously, the terrorists
repeatedly violated international laws, fighting from 26
mosques, including the Khulafah Al Rashid, one of Fallujah’s
most revered centers of Islamic worship, and from three
hospitals, including the Ar Ramadi General Hospital and
Medical College. Marines also discovered terrorist
“slaughterhouses” where hostages had been tortured and
murdered, showing the merciless nature of the adversaries
faced in Iraq.
In Fallujah’s crowded streets,
avoiding collateral damage to civilians rendered crucial the
employment of precision-guided munitions. Al Fajr marked the
combat debut of GBU-38 500-pound JDAMs, guidance kits
converting unguided bombs into precision-guided “smart”
munitions, utilizing global positioning system (GPS)
navigation, when F/A-18C Hornets of VFA-34, flying from John
F. Kennedy, dropped two against insurgents in Fallujah.
Dealing a serious blow to the terrorists and insurgents, the
liberation of the city proved instrumental in paving the way
for the successful elections. CVW-17 aircraft flew an
average of 38 missions a day in support of Marines and
soldiers on the ground. “Our success at Fallujah as an air
wing,” Captain Mark Guadagnini, the air wing commander,
later declared, “is a testament to the Sailors that work on
the ships and on the flight deck. We couldn’t afford to
fail. The international community and the Iraqi nation were
depending upon us.”
Ultimately, following a vertical
ammunition replenishment and turnover ceremonies, the Harry
S. Truman (CVN-75) Battle Group relieved John F. Kennedy;s
on 20 November 2004 in the Arabian Gulf. The veteran carrier
and her air wing transited the Suez Canal, homeward-bound,
on 26 November, and visited Tarragona, Spain, as the last
port call of the deployment (29 November-4 December).
Transiting the Strait of Gibraltar on 5 December, John F.
Kennedy flew off CVW-17 on 12 December, then returned to
Mayport the following day (13 December 2004). A little over
a fortnight later, however, on 30 December, the Navy
announced the intention to decommission the ship.
Word of her pending inactivation
notwithstanding, John F. Kennedy spent the first quarter of
2005 "focused on maintaining 'Surge deployment' readiness
under the Fleet Response Plan." The ship logged 818 arrested
landings by the end of January 2005, and the following month
participated in a pierside Multi-Battle Group
Inport Exercise (MBGIE) that involved ships and staffs out
of Norfolk , Mayport, as well as the United Kingdom (7-11
February). During the Surge Sustainment underway period
(15-24 February), John F. Kennedy conducted carrier
qualifications for CVW-17 pilots, logging 392 day and 262
night traps. Upon conclusion of that training period, the
ship hosted 4,000 "friends and family" guests (25 February).
John F. Kennedy completed her
Surge sustainment on 11 March, beginning an ammunition
offload of conventional ordnance with Theodore Roosevelt and
the Military Sealift Command ammunition ship USNS Mount
Baker (T-AE-34) on that date. Released from her Surge
readiness requirements on 12 March, the ship received word
over a fortnight later of the cancellation of her scheduled
15-month complex overhaul at Norfolk on 1 April. Her crew
decreased from 2,870 to 2,215 for the remainder of 2005, the
manning deemed necessary to carry out carrier qualifications
and, if the occasion demanded, hurricane evacuation. Despite
the down-sizing of her crew, John F. Kennedy's people
carried out the "concentrated, continuous maintenance
periods" that punctuated her underway operations, performing
more than 90% of the work usually handled by contractors.
Later that spring, the signing of the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act on 11 May 2005 ended speculation about an
imminent decommissioning, requiring the Navy to maintain 12
operational carriers until six months after the publishing
of the Quadrennial Defense Review projected for February of
the following year.
Underway from Mayport on 16 May
2005, John F. Kennedy, with CVW-17 and 500 Marines from the
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), recently returned from
a combat deployment in Iraq, embarked, visited Boston,
hosting 65,000 visitors (19-23 May). She then visited New
York City during Fleet Week 2005 (25 May-1 June), playing
host to an additional 10,000 visitors daily during that
period. Disembarking Commander Carrier Strike Group 8 and
his staff on 30 May, John F. Kennedy sailed for Norfolk on 1
June. Disembarking the 24th MEU at Norfolk the following
day. Underway for Mayport on 7 June, the ship reached her
home port on 8 June.
John F. Kennedy conducted
Training Command (TraCom) carrier qualifications at the end
of July (26-31 July 2005), then returned to Mayport on 1
August. A little over a month later, on 8 September, the
ship got underway for Norfolk as Hurricane Ophelia
threatened northern Florida, proceeding to sea as Commander
Task Group 183.2 (Hurricane Sortie Commander); during the
evolution, the carrier's engineering force lit-off the
boilers and permitted the ship to get underway within ten
hours of the order. After remaining in-port at Norfolk
(10-16 September) as Ophelia "slowly and erratically moved
up the east coast," John F. Kennedy conducted TraCom carrier
qualifications en route back to Mayport (1,189 day and 230
night traps), ultimately returning to her home port on 28
September. She conducted more TraCom carquals the following
month (25-29 October), then participated in a Multi-ship
Inport Training Exercise (14-18 November), and then carried
out one more stint of TraCom qualifications between 9 and 14
December, logging her 20,000th arrested landing since her
2003 ESRA the first day out.
Before decommissioning she made a
number of port calls to allow the public to "say farewell"
to her, including a stop at her "homeport" Boston Harbor.
John F. Kennedy also took part in the 2005 New York City
Fleet Week festivities at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
She was decommissioned in Mayport, Florida on 23 March 2007.
source: US Naval History &
Heritage Command |
