USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) is the seventh
Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the
United States Navy, named for
Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi. She was commissioned on 9 December 1995. Her
home port is
Bremerton,
Washington.
Mission and capabilities
The mission of
Stennis and her embarked Air Wing (
CVW-9) is to conduct sustained combat air operations while forward deployed in the global arena. The embarked Air Wing consists of eight to nine squadrons. Attached aircraft are Navy and Marine
F/A-18 Hornet,
EA-6B Prowler, MH-60R, MH-60S, and
E-2C Hawkeye.
The Air Wing can engage enemy aircraft, submarines, and land targets, or lay mines hundreds of miles from the ship.
Stennis's aircraft are used to conduct strikes, support land battles, protect the Battle Group or other friendly shipping, and implement a sea or air blockade. The Air Wing provides a visible presence to demonstrate American power and resolve in a crisis. The ship normally operates as the centerpiece of a
Carrier Battle Group commanded by a
flag officer embarked upon
Stennis and consisting of four to six other ships.
Stennis's two
nuclear reactors give her virtually unlimited range and endurance and a top speed in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h, 34.5 mph). The ship's four catapults and four
arresting gear engines enable her to launch and recover aircraft rapidly and simultaneously. The ship carries approximately three million gallons (11,000 m³) of fuel for her aircraft and escorts, and enough weapons and stores for extended operations without replenishment.
Stennis also has extensive repair capabilities, including a fully equipped Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, a micro-miniature electronics repair shop, and numerous ship repair shops.
For defense, in addition to her Air Wing and accompanying vessels,
Stennis has
NATO RIM-7 Sea Sparrow and
Rolling Air Missile (RAM)
surface-to-air missile systems, the
Phalanx Close-in Weapons System for
cruise missile defense, and the SLQ-32
Electronic Warfare System.
Miscellaneous
- Sponsor: Mrs. Margaret Stennis Womble
- Contract Date: 29 March 1988
- Crew size: 5,617 (including air wing)
- Meals served daily: 16,600
- Number of compartments: 2,700
- Number of anchors: 2 (From )
- Number of screws: 4 (5 blades each)
- Weight of screws: 66,200 lb (30 t) each
- Number of aircraft elevators: 4
- Distillation plant capacity: 400,000 U.S. gallons (1,500 m³) (enough to serve 2000 homes)
- Number of telephones: 2,000
- Tons of structural steel: More than 60,000 short tons (55,000 metric tons)
- Length of cable and wiring: over 900 miles (1,500 km)
- Number of light fixtures: more than 30,000
- Required technical manuals: A stack as high as the Washington Monument at 555 feet (170 m)
- Bed mattresses: If lined up end-to-end, they would stretch more than 9 miles (14 km)
- Cost: $4.5 billion; projected service life: 50 years
- Appears in Disneyland's California Adventure ride "Soarin' Over California"
History
The nuclear-powered USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) was contracted on March 29, 1988, and the keel was laid on March 13, 1991 at
Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Va.
The ship was christened on November 11, 1993, in honor of Senator John Cornelius Stennis (D-Mississippi) of who served in the Senate from 1947 to 1989. The daughter of the ship’s namesake, Mrs. Margaret Stennis-Womble was the ship’s sponsor.
Stennis was commissioned on December 9, 1995 at
Naval Station Norfolk, Va, and she conducted
flight deck certification in January 1996. The first arrested landing was by a
VX-23 F-14B. The ship conducted numerous
Carrier Qualifications and Independent Steaming Exercises off the East Coast throughout the next two years. Included among these events was the first carrier landing of an
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet on January 18, 1997.
1998 - World Cruise
USS
John C. Stennis and the smaller British
Invincible-class on a joint patrol, April 1998.
On 26 February 1998 with
Carrier Air Wing Seven embarked,
Stennis left Norfolk for her
maiden deployment, transiting the
Suez Canal on 7 March and arriving in the
Persian Gulf on 11 March 1998. The ship travelled 8020 nm in 274 hours, an average speed of to relieve
USS George Washington (CVN-73) in conducting
Operation Southern Watch missions.
Stennis departed the Persian Gulf on 19 July 1998 for her new home port of
Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, arriving on 26 August 1998.
In October 1998,
Stennis entered a 6-month Phased Incremental Availability for maintenance and upgrades at North Island, returning to sea in April 1999. During the maintenance period, a
jet blast deflector collapsed, severely injuring two sailors.
On 30 November 1999,
Stennis ran aground in a shallow area adjacent to the turning basin near North Island. Silt clogged the intake pipes to the steam condensing systems for the nuclear reactor plants, causing the carrier’s two nuclear reactors to be shut down (one reactor by crew, the other automatically) for a period of 45 minutes.
Stennis was towed back to her pier for maintenance and observation for the next two days. The cleanup cost was about $2 million.
2000 - Persian Gulf/Pacific Ocean
On January 7, 2000,
Stennis deployed to the Persian Gulf to relieve
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) in Operation Southern Watch. During the deployment, the ship made port visits to South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Australia, before returning to San Diego on 3 July 2000.
Following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,
Stennis conducted
Noble Eagle missions off the U.S. West Coast.
2001 - Persian Gulf
On November 12, 2001, two months earlier than scheduled, the ship left on her third deployment to the
U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, returning to San Diego on May 28, 2002. From June 2002 to January 2003,
JCS underwent a seven-month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA).
2004 - Pacific Ocean
From May 24 to November 1, 2004,
Stennis conducted her fourth major overseas deployment, participating in Exercise Northern Edge 2004 in the Gulf of Alaska, Rim of the Pacific (RimPac) Exercise off Hawaii, exercises with
Kitty Hawk off Japan and goodwill visits to Japan, Malaysia and Western Australia. Shortly after returning from deployment to San Diego,
JCS changed her home port to
Naval Station Bremerton, Washington on19 January 2005. Once at Bremerton,
Stennis underwent an 11 month Docking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA), the first time she had been dry-docked since commissioning. Upgrades included a new mast.
2007 - Persian Gulf
USS John C. Stennis arrives in Bremerton on 31 August 2007.
On 20 January 2007,
Stennis set sail for the Persian Gulf as part of an increase in US military presence within the
Middle East.
Stennis arrived in the area on 19 February 2007, joining in the
United States Fifth Fleet area of operations.
This marked the first time since 2003 that there were two
aircraft carrier battle groups in the region simultaneously.
On 23 May 2007
Stennis, along with eight other warships including the aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ship , passed through the
Strait of Hormuz. US Navy officials said it was the largest such move since 2003.
On 31 August 2007
Stennis returned to Bremerton.
2009 - Western Pacific
Stennis departed Bremerton for a 6-month deployment to the Western Pacific on January 13, 2009. On April 24, the ship arrived in
Singapore. That same day, one of the ship's sailors was crushed and killed while working from a small harbor boat to secure a drain that discharges oily water from
Stennis’ aircraft catapults.
On April 29, the ship's executive officer, Commander David L. Burnham, was relieved by Rear Admiral Mark A. Vance over unspecified personal conduct. Burnham was reassigned to a base in San Diego, pending an investigation.
After participating in operations in the Persian Gulf, exercises with
Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the
Republic of Korea, as well as joint exercise Northern Edge 2009, USS
Stennis returned from deployment in early July 2009. Carrier Air Wing 9 debarked on July 6 at NAS North Island,
prior to the ship's arrival at her homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on July 10.
John C. Stennis Carrier Battle Group
The JCS battlegroup (or
Carrier Strike Group 3, CSG-3) is equipped and trained to work as a forward deployed force providing a deterrent force as well as serving to protect U.S. interests abroad.
The
Stennis is the flagship of the battlegroup, and commands the group's air wing
Carrier Air Wing 9. The
Stennis is also home to the commander of
Destroyer Squadron 21 (DESRON 21).
Ships of DESRON 21
Other elements of JCS Battle Group
Squadrons of CVW-9
Aircraft parked on the flight deck of USS John C. Stennis.
- Strike Fighter Squadron 154 (VFA-154) "Black Knights"
- Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA-323) "Death Rattlers"
- Strike Fighter Squadron 146 (VFA-146)"Blue Diamonds"
- Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147) "Argonauts"
- Electronic Attack Squadron 138 (VAQ-138) "Yellow Jackets"
- Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8 (HSC-8) "Eight-Ballers"
- Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 71 HSM-71 "Raptors"
- Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 Detachment 4 (VRC-30)"Providers"
Ship's seal
USS John C. Stennis in Rich Passage heading home to Bremerton, Washington
's Seal was produced from the combined efforts of several crewmembers with historical help from Stennis Center for Public Service,
John C. Stennis Space Center and United States Senate Historian. The Seal implies peace through strength, just as Senator
John C. Stennis was referred to as an "unwavering advocate of peace through strength" by
President Ronald Reagan, when the ship's name was announced in June 1988.
The circular shape signifies the
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier's unique capability to circle the world without refueling while providing a forward presence from the sea. The predominant colors are red, white, blue and gold, the same as those of the United States and its navy. The outer border, taken from one version of a
U.S. Senate crest, represents the strength through unity of the ship's crew. The four gold bands and eight ties denote John C. Stennis' four decades (41 years) in the Senate and the eight presidents he served with, from President
Truman to President Reagan. The seven stars in the blue border represent his seven terms in the Senate and characterize
John C. Stennis as the seventh
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The red and white stripes inside the blue border represent the American flag and the American people
John C. Stennis serves. They also honor the courage and sacrifice of the United States' armed forces.
The eagle and shield is a representation of the gilt eagle and shield overlooking the Old Senate Chamber. The shield represents the United States of America. The twenty stars represent the US's twentieth state,
Mississippi, the home of John C. Stennis. The three arrows in the eagle's talons symbolize the Ship and Air Wing's ability to project power. The burst of light emanating from the shield, representative of the emergence of a new nation in the United States Senate Seal, portrays the birth of over 25 major
Naval Aviation programs under Senator Stennis' leadership, including all aircraft carriers from
Forrestal to
Harry S. Truman, and aircraft from the
F-4 Phantom to the
F/A-18 Hornet. The eagle is representative of John C. Stennis' stature in the Senate, where he was respected and admired as a "soaring eagle" by some of his colleagues.
The ship itself is pictured in the seal. On the edges of the flight deck are the words "Honor, Courage, Commitment" which are the United States Navy's Core Values.
The Seal, after selection by the ship's crew, was submitted to Mrs. Margaret Stennis Womble, the ship's Sponsor and daughter of Senator Stennis, and to Mrs. John Hampton Stennis, the Matron of Honor and wife of Senator Stennis' son, for their approval. In February 1995 they approved the design.
See also
