Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk man the rails as the aircraft carrier transits San Diego Harbor on he way to a berth at Naval Air Station, North Island, on Aug. 6.Kitty Hawk arrives in U.S. for final timeBy Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 8, 2008 15:58:00 EDT
The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk returned to the U.S. Thursday, after being “forward deployed” for a decade.
Ten years, one month and one day after departing its former home port of nearly 35 years for Japan, the 47-year-old aircraft carrier steamed back into San Diego Harbor to begin her delayed turnover with the carrier George Washington.
The GW is undergoing repairs in Southern California after a May 22 fire damaged more than 80 spaces and prevented the nuclear-powered carrier from meeting Kitty Hawk in Pearl Harbor in early July.
Kitty Hawk is expected to depart San Diego for Bremerton, Wash., and will be decommissioned Jan. 31.
Meeting the Kitty Hawk was a bevy of Japanese journalists concerned not only about the safety of the George Washington, but also about reports that the fast-attack submarine Houston leaked radioactive water in multiple Pacific ports.
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http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/08/navy_kittyhawk_080808w/