Following 48 years of service consisting of 407,507 arrested carrier landings and 448,235 catapult launches through its lifetime, ex-USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) has officially been moved to the Inactive Ships Maintenance Office in Bremerton two days ahead of schedule.

In a ceremony held on Mooring “G” on Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Jan. 27, Kitty Hawk was formally transferred from PSNS & IMF to inactive ship fleet following more than 200 high-risk evolutions on board.

This work was mainly done to the interior to the hull and below the waterline, requiring the assistance of Code 760 divers, Code 740 riggers, Shop 38 mechanics, Shop 99 cleaners and Shop 11 tanks and void crews. Ship’s Force was also instrumental, providing for the setup and help to get the carrier transferred. This true team effort was done without incident.

“The high-risk evolutions we’ve been doing have been predominantly on Kitty Hawk,” said Capt. Mark Whitney, commander, PSNS & IMF. “Every single one of them has … been done expertly and flawlessly.”

With the work finally complete, and Kitty Hawk tucked in for many years to come, the silence surrounding this warship is unmistakable.

“When you walk down the pier to there is absolutely no activity,” said Rear Adm. James Symonds, commander, Navy Region Northwest, said. “To think about, in the case of Kitty Hawk, the 48 years of history, thousands and thousands of Sailors passing through that ship and conducting the Navy’s and the nation’s business, it’s just very strange and very eerie to see it sit there lifeless.”

With 18 deployments solely in support of operations including Vietnam, the Iranian hostage crisis, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia and air strikes against Iraq, not including the rest of its tenure, Kitty Hawk was granted rest next to the former USS Independence where it can now be seen by passersby driving into Bremerton.