1998 To 2008 (Homeport: Yokosuka)
Kitty Hawk departed San Diego on 6 July 1998, to assume new duties as America's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier from Independence. Kitty Hawk also welcomed aboard Carrier Air Wing 5, operating from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. Kitty Hawk arrived at her new operating location of U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, on 11 August 1998.
With the decommissioning of Independence on 30 September 1998, Kitty Hawk became the second oldest active warship in the US Navy and was authorized to fly the First Navy Jack.
Kitty Hawk set sail for a planned three-month underway period 2 March 1999, which included Exercise Tandem Thrust off Guam. Following the exercise, the Kitty Hawk/CVW-5 team was ordered to the Persian Gulf to enforce the No-Fly Zone over Southern Iraq. CVW-5 pilots flew more than 8,800 sorties in 116 days, including 1,300 combat sorties, dropping more than 20 tons of ordnance. On the return trip to Japan, Kitty Hawk made port visits to Perth, Western Australia, and Pattaya, Thailand. Kitty Hawk returned to Yokosuka 25 August 1999. She was again underway to the Sea of Japan 22 October to participate in Exercises Foal Eagle and AnnualEx 11G.
On 11 April 2000, Kitty Hawk departed Yokosuka, Japan for routine local area operations and to participate in Exercise Cobra Gold with the navies of Singapore and Thailand. Kitty Hawk participated in Exercise Foal Eagle in Fall 2000, and deployed again in March 2001 for a Spring underway period with a historic stop. On 22 March, Kitty Hawk became the first aircraft carrier to ever moor pier-side in Singapore, as the ship visited the brand new Changi Pier, located at the Republic of Singapore Navy's Changi Naval Base. On 29 April, shortly after a visit to Guam, Kitty Hawk celebrated 40 years of active service as the ship and crew sailed south to participate in Exercise Tandem Thrust 2001 with the Australian and Canadian navies. The ship returned to Yokosuka 11 June 2001.
On 17 October 2001, and again in 9 November 2001, Kitty Hawk was buzzed by a group of Russian warplanes in the Sea of Japan, which proceeded to take pictures of the reaction on deck. General Anatoly Kornukov, then Russian air force's commander in chief, stated that the Russian warplanes managed to evade Kitty Hawk's antiaircraft defense system and that "In the pictures, you can clearly see the panic on deck."
In October 2001, Kitty Hawk deployed to the North Arabian Sea for the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. The ship served as an afloat forward staging base for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, with a reduced air wing.
In April 2002, Kitty Hawk was underway for her scheduled spring training. Along with a Guam port call, the spring underway included port visits to Singapore and Hong Kong, where the crew celebrated Kitty Hawk's 41st birthday. In the fall of 2002, Kitty Hawk was training in the Western Pacific. Kitty Hawk and her battle group combined with U.S. Air Force units and elements of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force to conduct AnnualEx 14G in the waters surrounding Japan. Later, the ship and her crew made a port visit to Hong Kong.
On 11 September 2002, all US Navy ships were ordered to fly the First Navy Jack.
The ship once again departed Yokosuka on 23 January 2003 for a routine training mission, but a short time later, orders were received to transit to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to support the Global War on Terrorism and to prepare for future contingencies. Kitty Hawk was soon involved in Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom in the North Persian Gulf. Although the cruise was originally intended to be short, the ship ended up serving 104 continuous days at sea. Kitty Hawk returned to Yokosuka on 5 June 2003, immediately entering an extensive dry-dock period, or dry-docking ship's restricted availability (DSRA).
On 3 July 2005, Kitty Hawk pulled in at Sydney, Australia for shore leave. Later, during the same cruise, Kitty Hawk made a port call in Guam for four days. In November 2005, Kitty Hawk anchored at Hong Kong, and was there for Thanksgiving. In June 2006, after a six-month SRA period, the Kitty Hawk once again got underway, was overflown by a Russian Il-38, and shortly after pulled into Otaru, which is on the Japanese island of HokkaidÅ, and Singapore. In August 2006, the carrier pulled into Fremantle, Australia for shore leave. In September 2006, Kitty Hawk made the final port call of her Summer deployment at Pattaya, Thailand, after which she returned to her home port of Yokosuka.
In the month of October 2006, Kitty Hawk and her escort warships were undergoing exercises near Okinawa, and a Chinese Song class submarine shadowed the group then surfaced within 5 mi (8.0 km) of the group on 26 October 2006. It was considered to be quite rare for Chinese subs to operate that far from their homeports on the mainland, though with this incident that may be changing. Reports claim that the submarine had been undetected until it surfaced. In 2009, Timothy J. Keating, commander of the United States Pacific Command, commented on the issue, stating that the carrier was "in a very relaxed posture. If there were some heightened state of tension, we would, believe me, we would not let them get that close."
On 11 January 2007, Kitty Hawk entered a scheduled period of maintenance in Yokosuka, her place being taken by Ronald Reagan which made an unscheduled deployment three weeks later. This refit is "smaller than the one the ship completed " which took six months.
On 5 July 2007, Kitty Hawk pulled in at Sydney, Australia for six days of shore leave after participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre.
On 21 September 2007, Kitty Hawk pulled into Yokosuka, Japan, after a four-month summer deployment.
In November 2007, Kitty Hawk and other US Navy ships performed a joint military exercise, in the Bay of Bengal. Other nations that took part in this exercise were Australia, India, Japan and Singapore. Later that month, Kitty Hawk was scheduled to dock at Hong Kong for Thanksgiving . However, China denied entry to Kitty Hawk and the rest of her carrier group. China then reversed its position based on humanitarian grounds but by that time, Kitty Hawk was too far away to dock in time for the holiday. The cause of the Chinese refusal remains unclear.
Kitty Hawk was deployed off the coast of China along with two other ships during the Taiwan election on 20 March 2008. After the elections, she entered Hong Kong for the last time.
On 28 May 2008, Kitty Hawk departed Japan for the last time. She was replaced in Japan by George Washington.
On 7 August 2008, Kitty Hawk arrived at NAS North Island.
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