Kitty Hawk Strike Group 03 Underway
CVA / CV-63 Kitty Hawk
"HAWK" / "The Battle Cat"

On January 20, 2003 the Kitty Hawk departed Yokosuka for carrier qualifications off Iwo Jima, some 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo. The qualifications are believed to have focused on night landings by the air wing. It is not clear just how many ships departed with the Kitty Hawk.

On January 21 the Kitty Hawk returned to port to onload elements of the Air Wing. She departed the next day, on January 23, to conduct operations off the Korean Peninsula in response to increased tensions between the United States and North Korea. For a period of time it looked as if the Kitty Hawk would not participate in an invasion of Iraq as the situation in Korea did not appear to be easing.

However, on February 7 various media reports indicated that the Kitty Hawk had been ordered to deploy to the Persian Gulf and that the USS Carl Vinson and her Battle Group would be moved into the Western Pacific to deter North Korea. On February 16, 2003 the Kitty Hawk passed through the Strait of Malacca.

In early March, Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 joined other Navy carrier battle groups, in conducting operations in support of Operation Southern Watch. On March 20 the Kitty Hawk began providing support to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In an unprecedented effort, the Battle Cat also participated in the Department of Defense's media embed program. Kitty Hawk successfully embedded 41 media personnel representing or originating from 15 countries. This amounted to 756 man-days during which journalists were underway aboard Kitty Hawk covering combat operations.

On April 13, she was ordered to return to Yokosuka and she departed the Persian Gulf on April 16. She returned to Yokosuka on May 6 and is scheduled to begin an extended Yard period on May 12 through October 2003.

During her underway period the Kitty Hawk expended 864,000 pounds of ordnance during 5,375 aircraft sorties. She had thirty-seven underway replenishments and traveled nearly 30,000 miles since departing Yokosuka on January 20. Two aircraft from the Kitty Hawk were lost.

Since the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has replaced the F-14 Tomcat as the primary fighter interceptor aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), a new, highly advanced engine test cell has been installed in the ship's jet shop to facilitate the transition. As the Navy gradually phases out the Tomcats and replaces them with Super Hornets, carriers such as Kitty Hawk have installed the JETI to deal with the new engine's complexity. Kitty Hawk's AIMD is still in the process of certifying its JETI and is running tests on it using engines such as the F-414.

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 are together again, as the ship and nearly 4,500 Sailors recently departed the ship's forward-deployed port of Yokosuka, Japan for a scheduled fall cruise that began Nov. 1. The ship's crew recently finished a 10-day sea trial period, gaining certifications and qualifications needed to support the air wing.

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) pulled back into her permanently forward-deployed operating port of Yokosuka, Japan, Dec. 12. The six weeks at sea to included a ANNUALEX (annual exercise) joint military exercise with Japan, a port visit in Guam, a bit of maneuvering around a typhoon while still having success in air wing flight training, and some huge strides in testing and maintaining the material condition of the ship.

Chronology

12 Dec 2003 - Returns to Yokosuka
27-30 Nov 2003 - Port visit @ Guam
25 Nov 2003 - Pacific Ocean
17 Nov 2003 - East China Sea
07 Nov 2003 - South China Sea
05 Nov 2003 - Philippine Sea
03 Nov 2003 - Pacific Ocean
01 Nov 2003 - Departed for fall cruise
23 Oct 2003 - Returns to Yokosuka
21 Oct 2003 - Pacific Ocean
16 Oct 2003 - South China Sea
13 Oct 2003 - Pacific Ocean / Sea Trials
Oct 2003 - Complete Yard Time
10 Sept 2003 - Leaves Yard
12 May 2003 - Enters Yard
06 May 2003 - Return Yokosuka
21 Apr 2003 - Indian Ocean
16 Apr 2003 - Departs Persian Gulf
13 Apr 2003 - Ordered to Return to Yokosuka
19 Mar 2003 - OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
late Feb 2003 - Transit Strait of Hormuz
24 Feb 2003 - Gulf of Oman
16 Feb 2003 - Transits Strait of Malacca
12 Deb 2003 - off Philippines
06 Feb 2003 - Ordered to Deploy
23 Jan 2003 - Departed Yokosuka
22 Jan 2003 - Returned to Yokosuka
21 Jan 2003 - Off Iwo Jima for Carrier Quals
20 Jan 2003 - Departs Yokosuka