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The US Navy will move its aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN69) (IKE) to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth in September for a 14-month docking-planned incremental availability (DPIA) period.
The aircraft carrier will undergo required improvement work to maintain its optimal running efficiency.
IKE engineering department master chief Terry Wylie said that work during the DPIA includes minor tasks like changing out the tiles, painting, fixing ladders and doors and working on berthing.
"The other side of this will be the contractors working on a variety of different big jobs," he said.
The navy aircraft carrier provides maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, forward naval presence, crisis response, sea control, deterrence, counter-terrorism, information operations, security cooperation and counter proliferation.
Weapons department G-5 division chief aviation ordnanceman Malcom Moore said that IKE is undergoing industrial work including welding, that will possibly affect her ordnance.
"It is necessary for us to offload our ammunition so the shipyard workers can do their job in a safe environment," Moore added.
Since commissioning, IKE has participated in Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, as well as the Gulf War in the 1990s, and more recently in support of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Image: SS Dwight D. Eisenhower with the USS George Washington in the Indian Ocean. Photo: courtesy of W.wolny.
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