Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Naval Cruise Book

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f .,,g1f 1'! ' 11,1 BLVQIQQ.. in xi :?3'3!:'2'l+ . . -50. . ' U 3 1. . 'ii ifsfil iff 4 . . it a 2 L- Y The carrier embarked with Carrier Air Wing 14 CCVW 141 set in San Diego and headed across the Pacific with the other ships from the battle group. What sets this deployment apart from others was the operational debut of next generation Navy technologies. Implementation of these technologies is based on the Chief of Naval Operations' vision, Sea Power 21, which builds on U.S. strengths such as information supe- riority, sea control, fire power and persistence. The deployment represented the largest number of innova- tions in a single battle group in recent history. t Lincoln relieved the George Washington Battle Group in the Persian Gulf on or about September 11, 2002 and conducted operations in support of Southern Watch for nearly three months when it departed the Gulf and transited out of the Region after being relieved by USS Constellation. The ship eamed the Battle E award for 2002, even with turnovers in leadership. Commanding Officer Capt. Kendall Card took command upon entering 5th fleet in November 2002, three months into deployment. The day after taking command, CVW-14 aircraft launched from his new ship to fly strike missions in the southem no-fly zone over Iraq. By mid December 2002 USS Lincoln had been relieved by the USS Constellation and began transiting back to the United States. On December 18 she was in the Indian Ocean headed for Australia. She arrived in Fremantle on December 22 for aportcall where she remained until December 26. ' . 4 . f In late December reports from the Navy 'surfaced f if indicating that aa carrier, either, Lincolnor was 1, new reports to remain 2, 2003, ,was reported to 3, 2003, the that Lincoln wpuld an extended stay for repairs and It would redeploy for the Persian Gulf. ' 'L' I 7 A 7 , I In first 17 days of Operation Enduring Freedom QOEFJ alone, CVW 14 dropped more than 1.3 million pounds of ordances. ' I The Lincoln Strike Group and CVW 14 began heading home for their respective homeports April 9th, following an extended deployment that was the longest for a carrier in three decades. During the deployment Lincoln's Reactor Department worked overtime to continue to produce all the water usedfor galleys, showers, laundry, drinking and catapults. To keep up with the increased tempo of wartime operations, they turned sea water into 80 million gallons of usuable water. Drinking water in conjunction with 47.5 million sodas and 42,3000 gallons of milk, helped wash down 50,6000 lbs. of chicken 27,272 lbs. of steak, 16,000 lbs. of shrimp and 29,000 lbs. over the course of the 003 after nearly 10 Lincoln retumed 6, 2 months on deployment the honor of the first presidential landing carrier by President George W. Bush by the American public by the phrase Accomplished. ,Press in mid-May indicated nearly 10.5 months of main- if from the 2002-2003 the Lincoln available aS sooner than June 2004. of Defense between the Reports from the that Lincoln was tenance and yard time deployment. That an emergency, surge e 'On June would be redeployed to the escalated for a Phased work to be was to

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2000 a prepared ' In April 1 Pacific and Singapore OIT Gulf, Lincoln lent supportto in reponse to renewed Iraqi Inilitary ipqsturing, -The 9 Lincoln Battle Groupalsoparticipatedl in Operation Vigilant Sentinel. Upon returning from deployment, I 1 i A Lincoln left Alameda, Calif., for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. There the ship underwent a one-year comprehensive overhaul including a period in dry dockg Following completion of the project, the ship moved to its current homeport of Everett, Wash., January 8, 1997. n In June 1998, Abraham commenced her fourth deploy- ment, spending three months in the Arabian Gulf during the hottest summer on record. Apparent temperatures on the flight deck at midday sometimes reached 150 degrees Fahrenheit! Port visits enroute to the Gulf included Hong Kong and Singapore. After several visits to Jebel Ali, UAE, between Operation Southem Watch missions, Abe headed home by way of Perth, Australia, Hobart, Tasmania and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, arriving in Everett before the Christmas Holiday. ,. 4 ? v f v . f .., '93 ' 'i - 5El23,?!5 f51:?17 .,.,D- Y , -3 Z 'f:vf2 V M?-f 5, if ' ' , By - 9954 LJ like . 4 , -L+-we A -. N- X A . Following a break, the ship visited Santa Barbara, Calif., then commenced a six-month Planned Incremental Availability CPIAJ in Bremerton, Wash., in April 1999. A After completion of the PIA in September 1999, Abe par- ticipated in Fleet Week '99 in San Francisco, Calif. The crew then began nine-month Inter-DeploymentTraining me CIDTCD during' w ' . ' . i t A hich the ship revisited if f ' QQ.-fi,,.,-dw 1 ily August 17, 2000, for a scheduled six-month Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf deployment. The carrier was joined the following week off the coast of Southem California by Carrier Air Wing 14 CCVW 1 l4j. The carrier and nine squadrons spent the majority rf of the deployment in the Arabian Gulf supporting Operation Southern Watch which included the enforce- ment of the no fly zone over South Iraq. The Lincoln Battle Group, under the command of , Rear Adm. Phillip Balisle, was comprised of the , carrier, which served as the command ship for the r battle group, and eight other vessels. I 1 On February 10, 2001, Lincoln brought their six- Vt month deployment to an end as the carrier arrived in its homeport of Everett, Wash. During the initial transit phase, port visits to Hong 1 1 Kong, Singapore, and Thailand were scheduled. Weather diverts, causing the delay of numerous flying days, resulted in the cancellation of stops in Hong Kong and Singapore, National Command Authority tasking to relieve the on-station carrier battle group in p the Arabian Gulf resulted in the by-passing of I Thailand. Relieving the USS GeorgeWashington Battle Group ahead of schedule, Lincoln assumed the duties as the tip of the spear carrier, read 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 Gulf. The primary r factor for this was the terrorist attack on USS Cole and the subsequent elevation in threat condition in the region. Meanwhile, Sailors concetrated on providing the services necessary to fly nearly 1,500 sorties over Iraq. Following 100 days in the Arabian Gulf, the 1 carrier headed for some much needed liberty in Aus- tralia. After taking in the sights down under the carrieribegan its transit across .the Pacific.. ' In April of 2001, the ship,mOVCd t Puget Soun i i for ai scheduled d. n 9 Barbara and

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A , .. . '15 'K 472 .- 5. . AL , Jig -I 3,4 X ii- Q X 1 tx! .xx vessel readiness. Lincoln Carrier Strike Group arrived in San Diego October 16, 2004, before deploying on October 19, 2004, to support Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet operations and theatre security cooperation initiatives. The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group deployed with the following San Diego based ships: the cruiser USS Shiloh CCG 671, com- manded by Capt. Joe Harris, and the destroyer USS Benfold QDDG 65j, commanded by Cmdr. Don Hombeck. Other ships deployed with the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group including the destroyer USS Shoup CDDG 861 led by Cmdr. Alexander T. Casimesg the Pearl Harbor based attack submarine USS Louisville QSSN 7241 Lincoln Carrier Strike Group was dispatched to provide Asian Tsunami support to humanitarian relief operations following the devastation caused by the December 26, 2004. Lincoln's surgical wards, engineer- ing and construction capabilities, in addition to water purification equipment and helicopters were expected to provide much-needed assistance in relief operations, but also search and rescue missions as well as ferrying of supplies to disaster areas. After several months of registricted availability in its homeport of Everett, Wash., Lincoln began its inter- deployment work-up and surge sustainment training during the summer of 2005. Following a successful Bureau of Inspection and Survey QINSURVJ evaluation in January 2006, Lincoln deployed February 27, 2006 to the Westem Pacific Ocean to conduct training and exer- cises in support of the United States' commitment to fos- tering good relations with Rim ofthe Pacific nations, exercising joint operability, and ensuring freedom of navigation in the Pacific. In March of 2008 Lincoln Deployed to the 5th Fleet area of operations for participation in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lincoln spent time in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman flying missions over Iraq and Afghanistan sup- porting ground troops. Lincoln also aided in Maritime Security Operations. During Lincoln's travels Sailors were afforded the privilege to stop in Singapore, Dubai, Thailand and Hawaii for liberty. After Lincoln's successful 7-month deployment it arrived at homeport Everett on October 12 2008 and began fixing the wear and tear that deployment had on the ship. Lincoln will be heading to Bremerton for a Planned Incremental Availability in May of 2009 and then will be back out to sea projecting power around the world.