Sam LaGrone – March 26, 2025 8:39 PM
The Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier departed San Diego Bay on Wednesday for what is expected to be its last deployment, USNI News has learned.
The 49-year-old USS Nimitz (CVN-68) pulled away from the carrier pier at Naval Air Station North Island after arriving in San Diego on Monday. The carrier left Wednesday morning local time with sailors manning the rails, according to ship spotters. The carrier left last week from its homeport in Bremerton, Wash., to travel to San Diego for final preparations before flying on Carrier Air Wing 17 and joining with its escorts.
In addition to CVW 17, Destroyer Squadron 9 is embarked on Nimitz overseeing guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Gridley (DDG-101), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123). Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee is joining the strike group on its maiden deployment after commissioning in 2023.
Following the carrier’s deployment, Nimitz is set to shift homeports to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., in 2026 ahead of its planned decommissioning, USNI News reported earlier this month. The carrier last deployed in 2023 for seven months to the Western Pacific.
Nimitz’s departure follows the reassignment of San Diego-based carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) from its current Pacific deployment to the Middle East.
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