Nimitz News

Happy New Year and welcome to 2005. I hope this email finds everyone well following an enjoyable holiday season. Here on the ship we've been on a normal inport routine since last Tuesday and our final holiday leave period ends today. This has been a very successful time for us with no significant accidents or injuries. We've also made good progress on the several maintenance actions we are working in the ship with contractors and the duty sections. I hope you all had a chance to visit with your NIMITZ Sailors during the holidays and they had a chance to rest and refresh for the work we have ahead of us.

Let me take a minute to touch on the ship's schedule for the next few weeks. I can't give specific dates in this unclassified email, but I can give you a sense of what's coming up. We'll get underway the last few days of this month for our propulsion plant examination. This is a big deal for us and the Reactor Dept. and Engineers have been working very hard to ensure we are ready. Following that at-sea period, we'll conduct a force protection exercise at North Island. This three day exercise is part of our Inter-Deployment Training Cycle and it will include all of our Strike Group deployers in San Diego. Exact requirements are still being determined, but we'll most likely be collapsing the duty sections to 5-section duty for those three days to cover the requirements of the exercise. We will get the specific information out to the ship's company this week so everyone can plan their activities. Around the second week of February, we'll conduct a Fleet Replacement Squadron Carrier Qualification (FRS CQ) in the operating areas off the coast. FRS CQ is the first time new Naval Aviators land on the ship in their fleet aircraft. That will take a handful of days and then we plan to remain inport at North Island until we conduct our Strike Group Eleven Joint Task Force Exercise in mid-March.

I should also mention that on 5 February, we'll have a shipwide party at a local hotel. Since we were underway for COMPTUEX right up until the Holiday Season, we didn't have an opportunity to have the annual shipwide party. We are instead having the party in February and it will afford the crew an opportunity to have a Valentine's celebration with their spouse or significant other. We'll have a great meal, lots of door prizes, a band or DJ for dancing, and an opportunity to enjoy each other's company for an evening of fun.

Still on the subject of the schedule, the family support group --Team NIMITZ -- is meeting Tuesday night, 11 Jan, in the Murphy Canyon Chapel at 1830. I think this is a very important group that will play a large part in our success - particularly during our deployment. My wife, Jodi, and I, the Executive Officer and his wife, Sandy, and the Command Master Chief will all be there to meet the group and answer questions. Everyone is welcome. Please join us and get involved.

Finally today let me mention that we are planning pre-deployment briefs in the evening on 22 and 24 February at Murphy Canyon and on 1 March onboard NIMITZ. We try very hard to provide lots of good information to families and we have a great deal of help from all the Navy family support activities in the San Diego area. Spouses of the crew and interested others should definitely mark their calendars for one of these dates. It is particularly important if this spring's deployment will be your first.

That about wraps it up for this installment. Once again, let me say just how vital your support to your NIMITZ Sailor is to our success. Thank you for all that you do.

Warm regards and very respectfully,

CAPT Ted Branch

Commanding Officer

USS NIMITZ (CVN 68)