The commander of the USS Kitty Hawk says the ship will be undergoing intensive maintenance over the summer. Getting ready for North Korea, no doubt.
Just weeks after a major combat deployment, the crew of this aging aircraft carrier is about to face the "most aggressive maintenance period ever for a forward-deployed carrier," its commanding officer said Saturday. In an interview as the Kitty Hawk steamed for a Tuesday homecoming, Capt. Thomas Parker commended his crew for the job just completed and said the near future holds a summer-long dry-dock period for the ship.
"It was time to give us a good, long time to work on all of that stuff," Parker said, ticking off a list of major projects for the ship’s steam plant, hull and air-maintenance department. The payback is that you have a carrier up here forward-deployed which is able to respond to these events like we had in the Persian Gulf."
The Navy is also helping prepare everyone for the transition phase back home after forward duty.
In the final days before the USS Kitty Hawk and its air wing and escort ships - some 6,000 people - return, Fleet and Family Support centers at the Yokosuka and Atsugi Navy bases have been holding workshops to help families prepare for the homecoming. Return and Reunion programs remind servicemembers and spouses that there might be some readjustment in store after the welcome-home kisses.
"Even for the most seasoned spouse, it helps to refresh the idea: We all need to be patient with each other a little while and communicate really well," said Kim Ottmers-Orman, who heads the Return and Reunion committee at Atsugi Naval Air Facility.
Posted by Alan at May 4, 2003 12:23 PM