BREMERTON (NNS) — The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) arrived at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton Jan. 10 to begin a major maintenance period.
During the temporary administrative homeport change to Bremerton, Reagan will conduct a year-long Dock Planned Incremental Availability at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. The ship will undergo repairs and modernization following completion of her fifth deployment in the last six years.
The Reagan was launched March 4, 2001 and commissioned July 12, 2003. It has a ship’s company of 3,200 personnel and air wing of 2,480 personnel. It is homeported at NAS North Island, San Diego, Calif.
Reagan returned to San Diego Sept. 9, 2011, after spending more than seven months at sea in support of fleet commanders, including participation in Operations Tomodachi, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.
Most notably, Reagan was the first U.S. ship to respond off the coast of Japan following the March 11, 2011, 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated the coast of Japan. While on station, Reagan and Carrier Air Wing 14 flew more than 300 sorties and delivered more than 350,000 pounds of supplies to isolated areas of the damaged coast.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility — or PSNS & IMF — is the only government dry dock capable of accommodating a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier on the West Coast. The Navy expects to accomplish more than 490,000 man-days of work during the Dock Planned Incremental Availability. Total man days contributed to the availability will be divided between government workers at PSNS & IMF and the Reagan crew.
Reagan’s Dock Planned Incremental Availability is scheduled to be conducted over the next year.
While en route Jan. 10 to Bremerton, the Coast Guard medevaced a 22-year-old sailor off the Reagan near Port Townsend.
Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles launched an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew at 7:30 a.m., arriving on scene at approximately 8:10 a.m.
The sailor was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, arriving at 8:39 a.m., and reported to be in stable condition. The cause of the sailor’s hospitalization was not reported.
“It is an honor to be in the position to help our partners and it’s especially rewarding to be there for our Navy shipmates,” said Capt. Tony Hahn, commanding officer of Group Air Station Port Angeles. “The medevac case this morning is a great example of our interoperability and how we complement each other’s tremendous capabilities.”
