We'll say 'Goodbye, Abe; Hello, Nimitz'
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sailors depart the USS Nimitz after returning to San Diego from a deployment in 2008. (U.S. Navy photo)
USS Nimitz is scheduled to arrive at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard late next year for maintenance. Then, according to U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, the carrier will switch homeports to Everett to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln when it goes to the East Coast for refueling in 2013.
It's unclear if the Navy has made a final decision about bringing Nimitz to Everett yet. Navy sources could not confirm that on Monday. UPDATE: The Navy clarified on Tuesday that the decision on a replacement for the Lincoln is not final.
What is certain is that the Lincoln will leave Everett, possibly for good, meaning the city will play host to a different carrier for the first time since Naval Station Everett opened in 1994.
The Puget Sound area also will be home to three carriers for a time. That means more work for the shipyard in Bremerton, as well as more people living and traveling around the region.
See reports from the Kitsap Sun and The Herald of Everett for more details and reactions from local officials.
UPDATE: I helped write another story for The Herald about why local officials are at least a little worried about what happens after the Lincoln leaves Everett. It also explains why Norm Dicks' prediction that the Nimitz would move to Everett after its shipyard availability makes sense, even if the Navy hasn't made a final decision yet.
Full disclosure: I reported the story for The Herald, where I work regularly as the new media editor.
— Elaine Helm Norton
Nimitz Home Port
Guest wrote:
In the course of my employment an individual presented a US Dept of State photo ID. In the course of our business I was informed that the individual was in the greater Everett area to arrange advance billeting for the Nimitz.
A US Navy sailor passed on the information within a day of the earlier encounter.
Allen Porterfield