September 26th 2006: Navy Strike Group Contributing to Iraq, Afghanistan Security. During June and July, Enterprise aircraft launched 781 aircraft sorties in direct support of troops participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 237 aircraft sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Spicer said. Since the end of August, Enterprise has launched nearly 300 aircraft sorties and expended about 90 precision weapons in support of NATO forces and other coalition troops in Afghanistan, he said. Enterprise aircraft also continue to support Operation Iraqi Freedom from an air base in Iraq

On Sept. 12, Enterprise-based aircraft performed strafing runs against both Taliban extremists preparing for operations against ISAF forces and a building suspected of housing Taliban extremists. The ship’s aircraft also expended Guided Bomb Unit (GBU) 12 bombs against a Taliban fortification near Kandahar. The GBU-12 is a general-purpose, laser-guided 500-pound bomb.

Enterprise is the flagship in the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, which includes the cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47), all based in Norfolk, the attack submarine USS Alexandria (SSN 757), homeported in Groton, Conn., and the fast-combat supply ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6), homeported in Earle, N.J.
 

July 30th 2006: By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Joaquin Juatai, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs
USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, July 29, after the final weekend of the biennial Rim of the Pacific 2006 (RIMPAC) exercise.

More than 1,000 guests, including Sailors from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom joined U.S. Navy personnel for a final pierside reception aboard the carrier July 28.


Final launch of the Tomcat USS Roosevelt July 28 2006

July 30th 2006:  By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Carla Morton, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Public Affairs
ABOARD USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (NNS) -- The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) completed an eight-day Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 06-2 “Operation Bold Step,” July 28, off the East Coast, testing the CSG’s ability to operate alongside other U.S. forces and coalition partners in a complex, hostile environment.

 The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and embarked Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, Commander, Destroyer Squadron (CDS) 28 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 got underway from Naval Station Norfolk July 18, and after several days of conducting carrier qualifications for the air wing’s pilots, joined with other forces and commenced the exercise.

July 29th 2006: By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark A. Catalano, USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs
ABOARD USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (NNS) -- A long, storied chapter in naval aviation history came to a close July 28 with the final aircraft carrier flight operations for F-14 Tomcats, fighter jets that have spent more than 32 years in the fleet but are now retiring and making room for F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The final aircraft carrier operational launch for Tomcats happened aboard the Norfolk-based Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) when aircraft No. 112 from the “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron (VF) 31, piloted by Lt. Blake Coleman and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Cmdr. Dave Lauderbaugh, made its way down catapult No. 3 at 4:42 p.m.