Theodore Roosevelt Departs Newport News Shipbuilding After Overhaul

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., July 6, 1998 – The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) departed Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) on July 2, 1998 after a year-long period of maintenance and overhaul work. The ship returned to its homeport in Norfolk, Va.

Work performed on Roosevelt included the replacement of all four ship propellers, blasting and painting of the hull, major renovations of onboard storage tanks and miscellaneous systems upgrades.

The ship’s commanding officer, Captain David Architzel, said of the work performed by Newport News Shipbuilding, "The scope of the work says it all. There isn’t another shipyard in the world that could deliver two carriers in one day, continue building another and overhaul and refuel yet another carrier." Architzel was referring to the delivery to the Navy of the newly-constructed Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), 24 hours prior to the Roosevelt departure. Newport News is also building Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and performing the refueling and overhaul of Nimitz (CVN 68).

Architzel was very pleased to have the ship ready to return to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., by July 4. "This is a quality of life issue that was important to me," he said. "I wanted the crew to be with their friends and families for the fourth of July holiday."

Theodore Roosevelt, named for the 26^th President of the United States, was built at Newport News Shipbuilding. The company laid the keel in 1981; launched the ship in 1984 with Mrs. John F. Lehman Jr., wife of then-Secretary of the Navy Lehman acting as Ship’s Sponsor; and delivered the ship to the U.S. Navy in 1986.

Theodore Roosevelt has participated in missions in Operation Desert Storm and in support of operations in Bosnia. In Desert Storm, Roosevelt’s carrier air wing flew an unprecedented total of 4,209 missions. The ship also took part in Operation Provide Comfort, in which she played a vital role in protecting and assisting Kurdish refugees fleeing Iraqi forces.

Newport News Shipbuilding is America’s premier shipbuilding company with annual revenues of approximately $1.7 billion and 18,000 employees. The company is the leader in the design and construction of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U. S. Navy.