December 17 (UPI) — The USS Nimitz docked at Naval Base Kitsap on Tuesday after completing a 270-day deployment, which may be its last deployment before decommissioning.
Thousands of people gathered at the base in Bremerton, Washington, to welcome the carrier and reunite with loved ones who served aboard it.
Kimberly Seavey was among them, and she welcomed the opportunity to greet her husband, Taylor, with a traditional kiss after completing his deployment.
“This is a very special moment for us – an exciting moment for us,” Seavey told KING-TV.
“I’m really excited,” she added. “He would get off the boat and he would come and meet me and kiss.”
Seavey held up a sign that read, “My Christmas wish came true. Welcome home, baby.” She also said she experienced several upsetting incidents during her deployment.
A family member and a pet have each died in the past nine months, and she said it was difficult to bear the pain while her husband was at sea.
The ship’s latest nine-month deployment began on March 31 when it departed Kitsap in support of the U.S. Navy’s 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleets, Navy Times reported.
“In this nine-month deployment, we have traveled to more than two-thirds of the planet,” Rear Adm. Fred Goldhammer, commander of Carrier Strike Group 11, said in a press release.
Goldhammer added: “I cannot overstate the positive impact the Nimitz Strike Group has had as part of our mission to preserve peace through strength by maintaining credible deterrence alongside our allies and partners.”
The strike group’s deployment includes three months in support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and four months in support of Central Command.
While serving with the Fifth Fleet, it supported the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and assisted in the fight against Islamic State targets in Somalia.
During the nine-month deployment, the aircraft carrier crew flew more than 8,500 sorties and logged 17,000 flying hours.
The aircraft carrier also participated in 50 at-sea replenishment missions and sailed more than 82,000 nautical miles.
The Nimitz is the world’s oldest active aircraft carrier. It was launched in 1975 and is scheduled to sail to the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia for decommissioning in 2026.
The Nimitz was named for Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who along with General Douglas MacArthur led U.S. forces against Japan during World War II.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the flagship of a series of 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers built from 1968 to 2006 by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
The Nimitz’s keel was laid in 1968, launched in 1972, and put into service in 1975.
