January 3, 2012 PRESS RELEASE #: 2012-001

MEDIA ADVISORY: Media interested in covering USS Ronald Reagan’s departure from Naval Air Station North Island Jan. 6 should contact Naval Air Forces Public Affairs at 619-545-1141 before 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 5.

USS Ronald Regan Departs San Diego for Maintenance

by USS Ronald Reagan Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO – The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) will

depart San Diego Jan. 6 to conduct a major maintenance period at Naval Base Kitsap in

Bremerton, Wash.

Reagan is making the temporary, administrative homeport change to conduct a

year-long Docking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA) at the Puget Sound Naval

Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) at Bremerton. Reagan

has been homeported in San Diego since 2004.

“Maintaining the ship’s material condition is an important part of ensuring that

Ronald Reagan reaches its 50-year life cycle,” said Capt. Thom Burke, Reagan’s

commanding officer. “The next year will help us remain a fully-capable war fighting

vessel.”

USS Ronald Reagan has completed five deployments in the last six years.

COMMANDER NAVAL AIR FORCES

PRESS RELEASE Naval Air Forces

Naval Air Station North Island San Diego, CA 92135

(619) 545-1137/41 Fax: (619) 545-1140

"We have a strong connection with the San Diego community and the State of

California in general,” said Burke, “but this ship has been worked very hard over the last

several years, and we need to go up north for a good overhaul.”

Reagan returned to San Diego Sept. 9, 2011, after spending more than seven

months at sea in support of Fleet Commanders and including participation in Operations

Tomodachi, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.

Most notably, Reagan was the first U.S. ship to respond off the coast of Japan

following the March 11, 2011, 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that

devastated the coast of Japan. While on station, Reagan and Carrier Air Wing 14 flew

more than 300 sorties and delivered more than 350,000 pounds of supplies to isolated

areas of the damaged coast.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is the only government dry dock capable of

accommodating a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier on the West Coast. The Navy expects to

accomplish more than 490,000 man days of work during the DPIA. Total man hours

contributed to the availability will be divided between government workers at PSNS &

IMF and the Reagan crew. Reagan’s DPIA is scheduled to be conducted from Jan. 10,

2012, through Jan 10, 2013.

For more news and information about the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) or the

Ronald Reagan Strike Group, see http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn76 or

www.navy.mil/local/cvn76/, or visit the Official USS Ronald Reagan Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/ussronaldreagan.

-USN-