By George F.Lee, Star-Bulletin
An F/A-18 Hornet (bottom) and F-14 Tomcat (middle) wait
for their turn to launch during operations yesterday
aboard the Independence.

A Farewell to Arms

'It's really a sad day'
as the historic carrier
Independence nears its
decommissioning

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The nation's oldest aircraft carrier -- the USS Independence -- is a step closer to retirement today.

Yesterday, the last remaining aircraft of its air wing were transferred from its flight deck about 125 miles north of Oahu to the USS Kitty Hawk, one of four remaining oil-fueled carriers in the Navy's arsenal.

"It's really a sad day," said Capt. Mark R. Milliken, skipper of the 80,450-ton carrier since Aug. 12, 1997, from his bridge eight stories above the flight deck.

"It's like a death in the family," said Milliken, who first served on the Independence in 1976 as an E-2C Hawkeye pilot.

By George F.Lee, Star-Bulletin
Another successful launch from the deck of the USS Independence.

The official turnover ceremony will take place tomorrow at Pearl Harbor when the flag of the battle group belonging to Rear Adm. Timothy J. Keating is transferred from the Independence to the USS Kitty Hawk.

When the Kitty Hawk leaves Pearl Harbor July 24, it will replace the Independence as the only carrier based outside the United States. It will be at Yokosuka Naval Base, 28 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The Kitty Hawk underwent a $52.5 million overhaul earlier this year, and except for the need to refuel more frequently than nuclear-powered carriers, Keating said there is very little difference between the two. Both the Nimitz-class nuclear carriers and the diesel-driven Kitty Hawk carry 85 war birds.

By George F.Lee, Star-Bulletin
Crewmen exchange handshakes on deck.

"The Kitty Hawk came out of the yard with enhanced communication and computer capabilities," Keating said. "It will improve our war-fighting capabilities."

One-third of the Independence's crew will transfer to the

blrb The carrier will be taken out of active service Sept. 30 in San Diego. Kitty Hawk.

The 1,070-foot Independence has participated in every significant military action since it was commissioned in 1959, including the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam War, Lebanon, Grenada, the Persian Gulf war and the Taiwan-China missile confrontation in 1996. After arriving in Yokosuka in September 1991, replacing the USS Midway, the Independence made three trips to the Persian Gulf.

By George F.Lee, Star-Bulletin
Crew members of the Independence line up to catapult an
F/A-18 Hornet. During an operation about 125 miles north
of Oahu yesterday, the Independence's fighters were flown to
another carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk. One-third of the
Independence's crew will also transfer to the Kitty Hawk.

"She's touched everything," Milliken said, "every contingency. Everything you read about in history, she's been involved."

Keating said "fiscal realities" are the driving force in decommissioning the 39-year-old warship. "We do not have the money to afford the 470,000-member Navy we had six years ago."

With Congress dictating that the Navy only field 12 aircraft carriers and with the nuclear carrier USS Harry Truman scheduled to be commissioned July 25, Milliken said it was time to retire the Independence.

When the Independence leaves here July 24, it will be taken out of active service Sept. 30 after returning to San Diego. It is destined to either be placed in mothballs for possible future deployment, scrapped or used as a floating military museum. It will be berthed in Bremerton, Wash.

By George F.Lee, Star-Bulletin
Capt. Mark R. Milliken, top, sits in his chair on the
bridge eight stories above the flight deck.

"I would be gratified if Philadelphia would buy it," said Milliken of the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Independence and which wears the Liberty Bell on its crest.

There are only four diesel-powered carriers in the U.S. Navy -- Kitty Hawk, Constellation, Independence and Kennedy. Japan maintains a policy of not allowing nuclear-powered vessels to be permanently stationed there.

Once the Independence is decommissioned, the Kitty Hawk will become the Navy's oldest carrier. It is expected to serve 10 years in Japan.

Master Chief Wilfred Cotto, who was part of the crew that took the Independence to Japan in 1991, said, "It's a good feeling to be returning to the USA with her."

But after 39 years, Milliken said, it's time to retire the ship.

"It's tired. It's old. There's not that many cars which were built then and which are still around today."

Island Images

America's flattops PACIFIC FLEET USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70): Bremerton, Wash. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72): Everett, Wash. USS John Stennis (CVN 74): San Diego USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63): San Diego USS Constellation (CV 64): San Diego USS Independence (CV 62): To be decommissioned Sept. 30 ATLANTIC FLEET USS Nimitz (CVN 68): Newport News, Va. USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN 69): Norfolk, Va. USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71): Norfolk, Va. USS George Washington (CVN 73): Norfolk, Va. USS Enterprise (CVN 65): Norfolk, Va. USS John Kennedy (CV 67): Mayport, Fla. UNDER CONSTRUCTION USS Harry Truman (CVN 75) to be commissioned July 25 USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)