Ships returning from war visit Honolulu
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
A year ago today, the Disney movie "Pearl Harbor" premiered on the 4.5-acre flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis during a stopover here.
Advertiser library photo • May 15, 2001
That was before Sept. 11 and Operation Enduring Freedom. This time around, it's the crews of the Stennis battle group — including the Pearl-Harbor-based cruiser Port Royal — who have the starring roles.
USS John Stennis pulled in to Honolulu last May to provide its deck for the premiere of the "Pearl Harbor" movie.
The Stennis, which spent four months in the North Arabian Sea and launched 287 aircraft sorties into Afghanistan as part of Operation Anaconda, arrives in Pearl Harbor this morning for a several-day stay and heroes' welcome as it makes its way back to San Diego.
The Port Royal returns home after taking part in air defense and ship interdiction operations, while the guided missile frigate USS Jarrett and fast combat support ship USS Bridge are also making stopovers.
The 97,000-ton Nimitz-class Stennis, which has a crew of 5,000, was off the coast of southern California on Sept. 11 for training when the ship and its battle group were called to duty and headed to the North Arabian Sea.
"She deployed two months early, which was a credit to the ship's and air wing's readiness to go and provide a vital role in our nation's war on terrorism," said Cmdr. Jack Papp, a spokesman for Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in San Diego.
Papp said that with the arrival today, "Anytime you have a ship coming back from a war and being as successful as they were, I'm sure morale is very high."
The Stennis battle group includes seven surface ships, two submarines and eight squadrons. The fifth carrier to arrive on station, Stennis took part in Operation Enduring Freedom and Anaconda. Aviators flew 1,898 strike sorties and dropped 275,000 pounds of bombs.
The early deployment in November meant the 410 men and women aboard the Port Royal missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's with their families.
Also aboard the Port Royal were two SH 60B helicopters and their crews from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 37 stationed at the Marine Corps base in Kane'ohe Bay.
Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for Navy Region Hawai'i, said the 567-foot guided missile cruiser kept an eye on the air picture with its Aegis combat system and SPY-1 radar, and conducted interdiction operations to make sure al-Qaida members were not escaping by sea.
It was the first combat deployment for the Port Royal, which was commissioned in 1994. Between January and March, the Port Royal saw a 100 percent re-enlistment rate, and $639,692 in tax-free bonuses were paid out for re-enlisting in a hostile fire area, Campbell said.
The four ships arriving today also will receive a merchants' welcome.
The Stennis, Jarrett and Bridge crews add up to almost 6,000 crew members whose combined daily spending on the island is expected to top $750,000.
"We work with the Navy and encourage them to select Hawai'i as a port call as frequently as possible," said Charlie Ota, vice president for military affairs with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i. "We see the tremendous economic impact it can have on our hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions."
The Stennis arrival is part of a Pentagon decision to trim its carrier force in the Arabian Sea from two to one, with the USS John F. Kennedy remaining on station. The Stennis and Port Royal stopped in Australia earlier this month.
The Japan-based carrier Kitty Hawk was to have replaced the Stennis, the New York Times reported, but Pacific commanders objected to leaving the region without a carrier in light of U.S. anti-terrorism operations in the southern Philippines and concerns on the Korean peninsula.
