The USS Kitty Hawk, the oldest aircraft carrier in the Navy fleet, and conventionally powered by eight steam boilers, will be heading east from its home port in Yokosuka, Japan.

The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, whose two reactors will allow the flattop to steam for 18 years before refueling, already is heading west from the East Coast.

In June, a historic rendezvous is expected to take place at Pearl Harbor.

A "crossdecking" of about 900 sailors will occur between the Kitty Hawk and George Washington as the newer carrier heads to Japan, and the aging Kitty Hawk sails into decommissioning and an uncertain future.

It will be the first time a U.S. nuclear-powered carrier is based in Japan.

According to the Kitty Hawk's Web site, it will take about a week in Hawai'i to transfer equipment and supplies to the George Washington.

Honolulu hotels already are taking reservations for the big event.

The George Washington, which will increase the U.S. Navy's reach in the Pacific, is tracing a serpentine path en route to its final destination, with stops scheduled in Brazil, Chile, San Diego, Hawai'i and Guam.

The Kitty Hawk, first deployed in 1961, is expected to be in San Diego for several weeks, and then will be decommissioned in Bremerton, Wash.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, recently said the decommissioning won't take place until early 2009 at the earliest.

"I don't know the actual decommissioning date. It has not been finalized," Greenert said in March. "But I will tell you we will not decommission the Kitty Hawk until the commissioning of the (aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush)."

Greenert said that commissioning is scheduled for January 2009.

KITTY HAWK HAS KEY RIMPAC ROLE

One more thing on the USS Kitty Hawk: According to the Canadian Navy, the carrier will serve as the "command platform" for the upcoming Rim of the Pacific, or Rimpac 2008, naval exercises off Hawai'i.

Canada said the five-week exercise will begin June 29.

Rimpac, held biennially, will involve the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Peru, Chile, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, according to Canadian reports.

Other nations may also participate.

During Rimpac 2006, the 20th in a series of the naval exercises conducted since 1971, more than 40 ships, six submarines, 160 aircraft and almost 19,000 sailors, airmen, Marines, soldiers and Coast Guard personnel participated.

Russia, which is rebuilding its military, has an invitation to take part in the upcoming Rimpac, but its participation is uncertain. Russia had been invited to observe the 2004 and 2006 Rimpacs, but did not send observers.

China, whose military buildup keeps U.S. military minds pondering a less-than-clear intent, was not invited to participate in or observe Rimpac 2008.

The U.S. Navy said the National Defense Authorization Act of 2000 precludes direct military-to-military contacts with China, except for search and rescue and humanitarian assistance operations.

A small Chinese contingent observed Rimpac in 1998 before the law was passed.

In 2006, a waiver to the restriction allowed a Chinese team to observe a portion of the U.S. exercise Valiant Shield off Guam. The Navy previously said there were no plans to invite China to be a participant or observer for Rimpac 2008.

The Navy also will be looking for possible sonar challenges as environmentalists increasingly have sued in federal court over sonar effects on marine mammals.

The Defense Department in early 2007 exempted the Navy and sonar use from the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act for two years — causing an outcry from environmental groups that maintain the underwater sound harms whales.

During Rimpac 2006, a federal judge briefly prohibited midfrequency sonar use during the war games.

USS HAWAI'I ARRIVES HERE IN MAY '09

The latest word is that the USS Hawai'i, one of the Navy's new Virginia-class submarines, will arrive in its namesake state in May 2009.

Pearl Harbor is expected to get the first three Virginia-class subs (after the Virginia). Those are the Texas — which is supposed to arrive at Pearl Harbor before the USS Hawai'i — and the North Carolina.

Four Virginia-class submarines have been delivered to the fleet and six more are under construction, the Navy said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.