Navy Strategic Plan Leaves Nimitz Out Of Naval Station Everett

In developments first reported by Noah Haglund in The Herald Friday afternoon, it appears the Navy has changed its mind and the USS Nimitz will not return to Everett, Washington as previously planned.

On December 22, 2015 the Navy announced the Nimitz would stay in Bremerton until the end of the fiscal year in 2019 before coming back to Homeport at Naval Station Everett. At the time the ship and crew had bounced between Everett and Bremerton between deployments and maintenance work. This quote from our story in 2015…

Nimitz was scheduled to shift her homeport to Everett, Washington, in the summer of 2016, return to Bremerton in fiscal year 2018 for another extended maintenance period and move back to Everett in 2019.

“The prospect of successive homeport changes and the inevitable impact on Sailors and their families resulted in my decision to extend the temporary stationing of USS Nimitz in Bremerton,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

Today Congressman Rick Larsen’s office released a letter received this week from Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer saying strategic plans have changed and the Nimitz is not coming back to Everett. Here is that letter.

2018-09-20 Letter – Homeporting USS Nimitz in Port of Everett

The letter was written in response to a letter sent by Congressman Larsen earlier this month inquiring on the status of the Nimitz. A spokesperson for the Congressman tells MyEverettNews.com he is disappointed and has invited Secretary Spencer to Everett to explain the Navy’s thinking and future plans. Staff from the Navy and Larsen’s office are working on arrangements for the visit.

This afternoon Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers issued the following joint statement:

“We were disappointed to learn today that the Navy will not be returning the Nimitz to Naval Station Everett, despite previous commitments. We understand that the US military must constantly change and adapt to the threats we face as a nation. We believe strongly that Naval Station Everett continues to be a strategic asset for our country and will continue to advocate on its behalf.

Everett has been a Navy town since 1994, but we have a much longer history of supporting the military and those who serve. Across the region, we take justifiable pride in our bases, forts and stations. We will continue to be strong partners with the Navy and do all we can to support active duty service members, their families, and our veteran community. Our strong and diversifying regional economy will continue to provide jobs and opportunities to our growing community.”