Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN CVN 72 m the story behind the legend... USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) is America ' s fifth Nimitz-class carrier. The ship was named in honor of our nation ' s 16th president and is the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear his name. The ballistic missile submarine Abraham Lincoln (SSBN 602) was in service 1961-81. ABRAHAM LINCOLN ' S keel was laid Nov. 3, 1984 at Newport News, Va. Four years later the ship was christened and began a series of perfor- mance thals leading up to commissioning Nov. 11 , 1989 at Norfolk, Va. After completing shakedown and acceptance trials, ABRAHAM LINCOLN departed Norfolk in September 1990 for an interfleet transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The ship completed a tran- ABRAHAM LINCOLN led a 23-ship armada that sealifted 20,000 evacuees. The armada moved nearly 45,000 people from the Subic Bay Naval Station to the Visayas Province port of Cebu. With Operation Fiery Vigil completed, the ship took up station in the Arabian Gulf in support of allied and U.S. troops remaining in the region for Operation Desert Storm. Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW 11) the embarked Air Wing, provided combat air patrol, reconnaissance and support operations over Kuwait and Iraq. Abraham Lin- coln remained in the Gulf for more than three months. The ship spent early 1992 in a Selected Re- stricted Availability (SRA) at Naval Air Station Al- ameda. It deployed again June 15, 1993 for the Western Pacific. After a brief port visit to Hong Kong, it returned to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, the U.N. sanctioned enforcement of a no-fly-zone over Southern Iraq. In October 1993, ABRAHAM LINCOLN was ordered to the coast of Somalia to assist U.N. hu- Brazil, Argentina and Chile. and surrounding areas, backing American eration Desert Shield Desert Storm. While enroute to the Indian Ocean, the ship was divert- ed to support evacuation operations following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on Luzan Island, Repub- lic of the Philippines. Operation Fiery Vigil became the largest peacetime evacuation of active duty military personnel and family members months in SRA and prepared for the next deploy ment.

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1 ;k 1 i - ' ' - ' •: II ' ■-■■ ' W! ft - j ; — nr ' - ■■ - ' - ij ' 1 1 1 ' «1 ™- on its third Western Pacific deployment. The ship made visits to Hong Kong and Singapore on the The ABRAHAM LINCOLN Battle Group, under the command of Rear Adm. Phillip Balisle, was comprised of the carrier, which served as the command ship for the battle group, and eight other vessels. On February 10, 2001, USS ABRAHAM LIN- aTTaiWTaI at B I AT Jl H FVVaaTATal ■ a BA 1 ment to an end as the carrier arrived in its home- transit phase, port visits to Hong Kong, Singa Iill[«lVillI«M »]|ll ]HIWiM8j Ship moved to its current homeport of Everett, Washington January 8, 1997. In June 1998, ABRAHAM LINCOLN com- to fight and maintain vigilance over the air space in the no-fly zone over Iraq. Only two port visits were made while the carrier was in the Arabian the flight deck at midday sometimes reached 150 home by way of Perth, Australia, Hobart, Tasma- nia and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving in Everett before the Christmas Holiday. Following a break, the ship visited Santa Bar- bara, California, then commenced a six-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) in Bremer- ton, Washington in April 1999. After completion of the PIA in September 1 999, Abe participated in Fleet Week ' 99 in San Francisco, California. The crew then began a nine-month Inter-Deployment Training Cycle (IDTC) during which the ship re- visited Santa Barbara and Victoria before partici- pating in RIMPAC 2000, a multinational exercise conducted off the Hawaiian Islands. RIMPAC completed the IDTC and prepared the ship for WESTPAC 2000, a major deployment to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf. The USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) left port August 17, 2000 for a scheduled six-month Western Pacific (WESTPAC) and Arabian Gulf deployment. The carrier was joined the following week off the coast of Southern California by Car- rier Air Wing 14 (CVW 14). The carrier and nine- squadron air wing spent the majority of the de- ployment in the Arabian Gulf supporting Opera- tion Southern Watch which included the enforce- ment of the no fly zone over Southern Iraq. necessary to fly nearly 1 ,, carrier began its transit across the Pacific. In April of 2001, the ship moved to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a scheduled six-month Planned Increment al Availability. After complet- ing PIA in October, ABRAHAM LINCOLN began workup exercises for its next deployment. Sailors and Officers headed to the Arabian Gulf in sup- port of Operation Enduring Freedom in late July 2002.