USS Nimitz returns home to Puget Sound after lengthy overseas deployment

INDIAN ISLAND, Wash. - The Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is returning to its home waters Thursday after a record-setting deployment through the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The giant nuclear-powered ship currently is maneuvering through the Strait of Juan de Fuca with a planned stop at the Navy's Indian Island ammunition depot before heading to its home port of Bremerton later this week.

Hundreds of crew members will "man the rails" at that time as the Nimitz, commanded by Capt. Max Clark, makes its way through Puget Sound and Rich Passage to a long-awaited reunion with family members and loved ones.

Although the 1,092-foot carrier officially deployed almost nine months ago, crew members have been away from loved ones for about 11 months due to the “bubble” measures the Navy implemented to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 on ships.

Crew members stepped on board for quarantine on April 1, 2020, before heading out to sea at the end of April for pre-deployment training, which rolled into the carrier’s early June deployment. The strategy worked - not a single case of coronavirus has been found aboard the ship.

Sailors did get a few safe haven port visits in Guam, Oman and Bahrain to get a chance for some rest and relaxation, but even those visits were executed "within a bubble" to prevent infection, said Carrier Strike Group 11 commander Rear Adm. James Kirk.

During their deployment, the ship and crew conducted five dual carrier operations with the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Ronald Reagan and took part in exercises with the navies of India, Japan and Australia.

The Nimitz also transited the Strait of Hormuz to to ensure freedom of navigation in that world hot spot and participated in Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Operation Octave Quartz.

With its deployment over, the huge carrier entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca at about 3 a.m. Thursday.

Family members will greet the ship when it pulls into Naval Station Kitsap in Bremerton later this week, but strict social distancing will be enforced, Clark said.

After its return, the Nimitz will begin a months-long maintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.