USS Kitty Hawk is a showcase of military muscle

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK — Almost every five minutes, wave after wave of American fighter planes take off from the USS Kitty Hawk in a steady show of might about 66 nautical miles off Saipan.

The Navy’s superiority fighter F-14A TOMCATS, F/A-18C HORNETS which can carry up to 17,000 lbs of weapons, were among the 67 jet fighters on board the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) currently being used in the military exercise dubbed Operation Tandem Thrust ’99.

At least 106 helicopters and fighter planes take off in a day for a military operation which begins at 8 am to 11 pm, said Commanding Officer Capt. Mathew W. Tuohy. The number can even reach up to 150 jet fighters a day for a 24-hour operation.

“We have cycles that can run every hour and 15 minutes to an-hour-and-a half. During real war situation, we can sustain a 24-hour operation for three days,” said Tuohy who is in charge of the whole operation.

Some 4,500 men and women (the youngest is 21 years old) on board the oldest active ship in the US Navy have been carrying out the military exercise for almost almost a month now. Kitty Hawk is the only second aircraft carrier to ever hold the honor of flying the First Navy Jack after the decoommissioning of USS Independence ( CV 62) in September 1998.

One of 12 aircraft carriers in the American naval fleet, Kitty Hawk is capable of sailing over 700 nautical miles a day.

Commander Timothy J. Keating said some 8,500 Navy personnel directly under his command are participating in Tandem Thrust ’99. Naval services from Singapore, South Korea, Canada and Australia have joined the exercise held in various sites which brings to a total of 10,000 participants. Kitty Hawk will return to Yokosuka, Japan its permanent homeport once the exercise ends on April 4.

According to Keating, the joint military exercise was a result of two years planning involving tactics and procedures to be used by the allies against their enemies in the event of a war.

He said the Pacific region was the best site for the military exercise since it is the nearest site for all the participating countries and provides a bigger area for war maneuver.

“We want to project power ashore, this is the main thing that we want to do, meaning we can take a carrier, park it off the coast anywhere in the world and hit targets ashore,” according to the Navy’s public information officer.

To serve the men and women on board, Kitty Hawk’s kitchen bakes about 800 to 1,000 loaves of bread a day and more than 17,000 meals are served in the air wing alone. It also distills 380,000 gallons of water a day.

Built in 1961 for $265.2 million, Kitty Hawk underwent a 15-month overhaul which amounted to $110 million in January to March 1998.