UNIT REPORT // CVW-7
The USS Abraham Lincoln has been gearing up for its first deployment in seven years, and one that will see the carrier being part of a major relocation exercise.
HAVING UNDERGONE A mid-life refueling complex overhaul (RCOH), the mighty USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is returning to full operations and is set to deploy for the first time since 2012. The ship’s hull and nuclear reactors have been overhauled, and its electronic, communication and mechanical systems — as well as weapon systems and sensors — have all been upgraded.
While the RCOH was completed in 2017, followed by a year of ‘kicking off the rust’, the carrier’s crew and its strike group still have to prove themselves before earning certification for deployment with the US Navy’s newest combatant command, the 2nd Fleet. In late January, the Lincoln sailed out of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and joined Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG-12) to do just that, with a month-long Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). This teams the ships with Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) to test capabilities in air warfare, surface and sub-surface warfare, and electronic attack training missions. It’s a fin…
