page_title: USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)
section_title: 1998 to 2008 (Forward Deployed: Yokosuka, Japan)
hierarchical_section_title: USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) / Service history / 1998 to 2008 (Forward Deployed: Yokosuka, Japan)
context_page_description: USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), formerly CVA-63, is a decommissioned United States Navy supercarrier. It was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight. Kitty Hawk was both the first of the three Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carriers to be commissioned and last to be decommissioned.
  Kitty Hawk was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, on 27 December 1956. The ship was launched on 21 May 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Camilla F. McElroy, wife of Defense Secretary Neil H. McElroy. Kitty Hawk was launched by flooding her drydock; the conventional slide down method was ruled out because of her mass and the risk that she might hit the Philadelphia shore on the far side of the Delaware River.
  The ship was commissioned 29 April 1961, at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain William F. Bringle in command.
  With the decommissioning of Independence on 30 September 1998, Kitty Hawk became the United States warship with the second-longest active status, after the sailing ship USS Constitution.
  For 10 years, Kitty Hawk was the forward-deployed carrier at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan.
context_section_description: Kitty Hawk departed San Diego on 6 July 1998, to assume new duties as America's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier from Independence. Kitty Hawk also welcomed aboard Carrier Air Wing 5, operating from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. Kitty Hawk arrived at her new operating location of U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, on 11 August 1998.
  With the decommissioning of Independence on 30 September 1998, Kitty Hawk became the second-oldest active warship in the US Navy and was authorized to fly the First Navy Jack.
  Kitty Hawk set sail for a planned three-month underway period 2 March 1999, which included Exercise Tandem Thrust off Guam. Following the exercise, the Kitty Hawk/CVW-5 team was ordered to the Persian Gulf to enforce the No-Fly Zone over Southern Iraq. CVW-5 pilots flew more than 8,800 sorties in 116 days, including 1,300 combat sorties, dropping more than 20 tons of ordnance. On the return trip to Japan, Kitty Hawk made port visits to Perth, Western Australia, and Pattaya, Thailand. Kitty Hawk returned to Yokosuka 25 August 1999. She was again underway to the Sea of Japan 22 October to participate in Exercises Foal Eagle and AnnualEx 11G.
  On 11 April 2000, Kitty Hawk departed Yokosuka, Japan for routine local area operations and to participate in Exercise Cobra Gold with the navies of Singapore and Thailand. Kitty Hawk participated in Exercise Foal Eagle in Fall 2000, and deployed again in March 2001 for a Spring underway period with a historic stop. On 22 March, Kitty Hawk became the first aircraft carrier to ever moor pier-side in Singapore, as the ship visited the brand new Changi Pier, located at the Republic of Singapore Navy's Changi Naval Base. On 29 April, shortly after a visit to Guam, Kitty Hawk celebrated 40 years of active service as the ship and crew sailed south to participate in Exercise Tandem Thrust 2001 with the Australian and Canadian navies. The ship returned to Yokosuka 11 June 2001.
  On 17 October 2000, and again on 9 November 2000, Kitty Hawk was buzzed by a group of Russian warplanes in the Sea of Japan, which proceeded to take pictures of the reaction on deck. General Anatoly Kornukov, then Russian air force's commander in chief, stated that the Russian warplanes managed to evade Kitty Hawk's antiaircraft defense system and that "In the pictures, you can clearly see the panic on deck."
  In October 2001, Kitty Hawk deployed to the North Arabian Sea for the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. The ship served as an afloat forward staging base for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, with a reduced air wing.
  In April 2002, Kitty Hawk was underway for her scheduled spring training. Along with a Guam port call, the spring underway included port visits to Singapore and Hong Kong, where the crew celebrated Kitty Hawk's 41st birthday. In the fall of 2002, Kitty Hawk was training in the Western Pacific. Kitty Hawk and her battle group combined with U.S. Air Force units and elements of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force to conduct AnnualEx 14G in the waters surrounding Japan. Later, the ship and her crew made a port visit to Hong Kong.
  On 11 September 2002, all US Navy ships were ordered to fly the First Navy Jack.
  The ship once again departed Yokosuka on 23 January 2003 for a routine training mission, but a short time later, orders were received to transit to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to support the Global War on Terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies. Kitty Hawk was soon involved in Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom in the North Persian Gulf. Although the cruise was originally intended to be short, the ship ended up serving 110 continuous days at sea. Kitty Hawk returned to Yokosuka on 6 May 2003, immediately entering an extensive dry-dock period, or dry-docking ship's restricted availability (DSRA), that lasted until October of that year.
  On 3 July 2005, Kitty Hawk pulled in at Sydney, Australia, for shore leave. Later, during the same cruise, Kitty Hawk made a port call in Guam for four days. In November 2005, Kitty 
caption: An F/A-18C on the forward elevator on board Kitty Hawk
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