The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is getting a new homeport, meaning roughly 3,000 sailors and their families will now be based out of Bremerton, Washington, rather than San Diego, California.
The move is necessary so that the carrier can undergo planned maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, according to the Navy.
The ship is expected to be in the yard for approximately 16 months, according to Cmdr. Zachary Harrell, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces.
The carrier is slated to depart July 16 for Bremerton. Then, in September, the warship will begin updates to its self-defense system, the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services, the Mk-38 25mm machine gun, along with maintenance for the ship’s hull, rudder, propulsion shaft, anchor and 25 berthing spaces.
Additionally, the carrier will undergo a “system retrofit to accommodate the F-35C Lightning II mission capabilities,” the Navy said.
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The Roosevelt wrapped up its latest deployment in May after getting underway in December 2020. That deployment, which was the second for the carrier within a year, took place in the 3rd and 7th Fleet’s areas of operation.
While deployed, the Roosevelt conducted dual carrier operations with the Nimitz carrier strike group in the South China Sea, and carried out bilateral exercises with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Royal Australian Navy, the Republic of Korea Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
Additionally, the TR also joined in on Northern Edge 2021 in the Gulf of Alaska before concluding its deployment.
“Whether it was operating in the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea or high northern latitudes in the Gulf of Alaska, Carrier Strike Group Nine demonstrated that the U.S. Navy is ready for anything,” Rear Adm. Doug Verissimo, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, said in a Navy news release in May.
“We met the challenges that COVID-19 brought head-on and successfully deployed forward to work with our allies and partners from Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea,” Verissimo said.
