USS Constellation CV 64

.....In February 1990, Constellation left San Diego, returning to the east coast for a three-year overhaul. The 800-million Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), completed in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in March 1993, added an estimated 15 years to the carrier's operational life. The overhaul saw upgrades to virtually every system on the ship. Constellation departed the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 4 March 1993, the fifth and last carrier to complete SLEP. Back in San Diego, the carrier was visited on 18 August by Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton on his first trip to southern California. Following a similar trip two days earlier to east coast commands, the Secretary also Naval Station San Diego, Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Naval Air Station Miramar, Naval Submarine Base San Diego and other area commands.

.....On 31 July 1994, Lt., Kara Hultgreen made her first qualifying landing in an F-14A on board Constellation, 110 miles southwest of San Diego. She thus became the first fully qualified female Tomcat pilot. Lt., Hultgreen was assigned to VF-213 at NAS Miramar, California. Lt., (j.g.) Carey Dunai, also in an F-14, became the second woman to reach the milestone with her qualifying trap moments later. Lt., Hultgreen was killed at sea 25 October 1994 while approaching USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) for a landing 50 miles off San Diego.

.....Constellation and her battle group deployed again on 10 November 1994, and spent most of December in the western Pacific. On 11 January 1995, the carrier and her seven-ship battle group entered the Arabian Gulf. With Constellation were the guided missile cruisers USS Chosin (CG 65) and USS Lake Erie (CG 70), the destroyer USS Kinkaid (DD 965), the ammunition ship USS Kiska (AE 35), the replenishment oiler USS Cimarron (AO 177), and the attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754). Aircraft from Constellation's air wing, Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW 2), patrolled the U.N. no-fly zone over southern Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch.

.....During this period in the Gulf, when the Constellation's crew learned of it's hometown San Diego Chargers' American Football Conference championship victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it decided to send the Chargers and the fans of San Diego a personal message. On 18 January, about 850 sailors from Connie and air wing assembled on the flight deck in their white uniforms to form the words "Go Chargers" spelled out on the ship's flight deck. Photographers in a helicopter flying above the ship took photos and shot video and sent them back to San Diego. Constellation returned to San Diego in May 1995.

.....Actor and comedian Tim Allen visited Constellation during an at-sea period in early 1996. Mr. Allen, star of ABC's then-top-rated sitcom Home Improvement, along with the show's producers and writers, came aboard 19 January, and were scouting Constellation as a possible setting for a future show. That show, number A553 episode 127/6.01, aired on the ABC television network on 17 September 1996.

.....In February 1997, Constellation was selected by the Navy as one of the test ships for anew working uniform. The test lasted six months. Also, from 10 through 21 February 1997, Constellation, along with her Carrier Battle Group and the USS Boxer (LHD 4) Amphibious Ready Group with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked, took part in Pacific Joint Task Force Exercise (PAC JTFEX) 97-1 off the southern California coast. More than 15,000 military personnel tested their ability to protect combat power ashore during the 3rd Fleet exercise. The exercise included various air strike and support missions, maritime interdiction operations, humanitarian operations, operational testing of weapons systems, logistics support, search and rescue and command and control. The amphibious operations supporting the exercise culminated with an amphibious landing at Camp Pendleton, California involving surface and helicopter assault forces.

.....On 19 April 1997, while Constellation and her nine-ship battle group were on a routine six-month deployment, she was conducting a vertical replenishment with the replenishment ship USNS Niagara Falls (T-AFS 3) when one of the replenishments ship's UH-46E Sea Knight helicopters crashed into the sea. The crash occurred approximately 2,000 miles southwest of Hawaii, and all four crew members were safely rescued. The helicopter crew members from Helicopter Support Squadron Five, home ported in Guam were rescued by the quick reaction of other CH-46 helicopters on-scene at the time of the incident. Assisting in the rescue was motor-whale boat from Niagara Falls, also home ported in Guam. The four crew members, who escaped injury, were transported to Constellation for medical observation and were released to the Niagara Falls the same day.

.....The Constellation Battle Group entered the Arabian Sea 16 May 1997 and conducted high tempo operations that included more than 4,400 sorties during more than 10 weeks in the Arabian Gulf. Operations included exercises with friendly forces in the region. Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, embarked in Constellation, participated in Operation Southern Watch flying 1,460 sorties enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

.....On 14 July 1997, Constellation rescued two Iranian merchant seamen found adrift in international waters of the Arabian Gulf. Lookouts aboard the carrier spotted the two men clinging to floating debris about 70 nautical miles northeast of Bahrain. Constellation crewmen immediately launched a rescue boat to retrieve the stranded seamen from the water. Once on board, the two stated they had been adrift for approximately five days, after their Iranian cargo boat, Ramazan, with eight other crewmen aboard, broke up in rough seas. The two Iranian merchant seamen were later transfer ashore. An unsuccessful search for any other survivors continued using helicopters from Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light (HSL) 37, Detachment 9, embarked aboard USS Lake Erie (CG 70); and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light (HSL) 42, Detachment 5, embarked aboard USS Thorn (DD 988).

.....Constellation and her battle group departed 5th Fleet's Area of Responsibility on 17 August 1997 and began her journey back towards San Diego. The Battle Group included USS Merrill (DD 976), USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), USS Chosin (CG 65), USS Lake Erie (CG 70), USS Cimarron (AO 177), and USS Mount Hood (AE 290).

.....Beginning 28 August 1997, Constellation participated in Fleet Battle Experiment Bravo (FBE-B) with deployed naval forces in the eastern and western Pacific to test war fighting concepts and capabilities for the 21st century. The experiment had two main parts. The first experiment ran from 4 through 7 September, and involved the Ring of Fire concept, a naval fire support "Battle LAN" that was tested during Third Fleet's Battle Experiment Alfa (FBE-A) in March 1997. The second part of the experiment, called Silent Fury, began 2 September and lasted until the 23rd. During this phase, Third Fleet, in conjunction with Naval Strike Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada examined the targeting process and the challenges inherent in the employment of new types of guided munitions soon to be in the Navy's weapons inventory. Other units participating were the USS Peleliu (LHA 5) Amphibious Ready Group with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked, USS Russel (DDG 59), and USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

.....After completing one of the most successful work-up schedules in Navy history, Constellation departed San Diego on 18 June 1999, beginning her 19th overseas deployment. She immediately put her war fighting skills to the test by conducting a Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX). This marked the first time ever that a carrier has conducted JTFEX at the beginning of a deployment. With increased tensions between North and South Korea, Constellation then headed for the Korean theatre to closely monitor the situation and provide a calming influence. After port calls in Pusan, Republic of Korea; Yokosuka, Japan; Singapore; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Constellation entered the Arabian Gulf on 28 August, relieving USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). She then began flying combat air patrols over the Iraqi no-fly zones in support of Operation Southern Watch. During her 10-week stay in the 5th Fleet Theater, Constellation and CVW-2 flew 1,256 sorties and expended nearly 44 tons of ordnance during nine combat engagements against Iraqi ground and air targets. She left the Arabian Gulf for some well-earned rest with port visits in Fremantle/Perth and Sydney, Australia. Constellation recorded a rare deployment milestone of 10,000 aircraft "traps" just before returning to San Diego for a memorable holiday homecoming on 17 December 1999. For their extraordinary efforts during the Navy's last deployment of the 20th century, the crew of Constellation was awarded the 1999 Battle "E" as the Pacific Fleet's best carrier.

.....On 19 May 2000, more than 1,700 educators, school administrators, students and community leaders from California, Nevada, and Arizona joined the crew of Constellation at Naval Air Station North Island for a day of life at sea. The ship set sail at 7 a.m., and cruised the waters off San Diego, returning at about 4 p.m.

.....On 16 March 2001, Constellation stood out from San Diego for its 20th deployment in its 40-year history. Nearly 12,000 Sailors and Marines began the scheduled six-month deployment as part of the Constellation Carrier Battle Group and USS Boxer (LHD 4) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). In addition to Constellation and the embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, other deploying units included USS Chosin (CG 65), USS Benfold (DDG 65), USS Kinkaid (DD 965), USS Thach (FFG 43), the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipet (FFH 338), USS Rainier (AOE 7), and the attack submarines USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) and USS Columbia (SSN 771). Constellation returned from this deployment on 15 September 2001 to a different United States. The events of four days earlier on 11 September 2001, a date, like that of the attack on Pearl Harbor, that will "live in infamy", had changed the country. Terrorists had crashed three commercial airliners into New York 's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.

.....Constellation hosted more than 270 former "Connie" Sailors at a reception in the ship's hanger bay on 27 October 2001 to celebrate the ship's 40th anniversary. "My Thoughts today do not so much concern Constellation herself, mighty as she is, as the men who in the future will write her story; whose actions aboard her will tell all", said Cmdr., C.K. Ruiz, Constellation's first executive officer on the day of the ship's commissioning at the New York Naval Shipyard, 27 October 1961. Retried Capt., Stanley W. Vejtasa, Constellation's second commanding officer, was the guest speaker for the event. More than 150 "plank owners", or members of the original commissioning crew, were in attendance.

.....The Constellation battle group was underway again off the coast of southern California on 19 October 2002 for Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX), a final battle group exercise prior to their upcoming deployment, when a sailor from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, was blown overboard by jet blast at five minutes past midnight as he walked behind an EA-6B Prowler on the carrier's flight deck. He had been performing routine duties during normal night flight operations at the time of the incident. Because his shipmates saw him go over the side, rescue efforts began immediately. Constellation executed a 180-degree turn to position itself in the vicinity of the sailor. Helicopters and Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) from Constellation, USS Valley Forge (CG 50), USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), and USS Kinkaid (DD 965) assisted. At approximately 7:20 a.m., Bunker Hill's Helicopter detachment spotted the sailor in the water. Constellation's helicopter squadron recovered the sailor and returned him to the ship where he was in stable condition following medical treatment. Constellation returned to port 29 October.

.....Constellation's 21st deployment began on 2 November 2002 when the carrier and her battle group deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battle group consisted of guided-missile cruisers USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and USS Valley Forge (CG 50); guided-missile destroyers USS Higgins (DDG 76) and USS Milius (DDG 69), and guided-missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43). Other units include the fast attack submarine USS Columbia (SSN 771), based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the fast combat support ship USS Rainier (AOE 7), based in Bremerton, Washington.

.....The crew of Constellation quickly responded to a main machinery room fire 8 November, preventing any serious injuries or degradation to the ship's ability to continue its deployment. The fire, which broke out in one of Constellation's four main machinery rooms, was caused by a fuel oil leak. The affected space was immediately evacuated and installed fire fighting equipment contained the fire until the ship's fire parties and damage control teams extinguished it. Constellation arrived in the Arabian Gulf on 14 December, its second deployment to the area in 15 months.

.....While on station in Arabian Gulf, Constellation was visited by Rep., Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), serving her third term representing California's 10th Congressional District, San Francisco's East Bay suburbs. The carrier was also visited by Chief of Naval Operations Adm., Vern Clark, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott and Chief of Chaplains Rear Adm., Barry Black. On the hangar deck, the CNO told the crew "Remember, the American people are watching you. Be ready to go write some history. Hit fast, hit hard, hit with precision".