USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) or IKE (the surename) is an aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is the second of the ten Nimitz-class supercarriers currently in service, and is the first ship named after the thirty-fourth President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The vessel was initially named simply as USS Eisenhower, much like the lead ship of the class Nimitz, but the name was changed to its present form on 25 May 1970. The carrier, like all others of her class, was constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Virginia, with the same design as the lead ship, although the ship has been overhauled twice to bring her up to the standards of those constructed more recently. Since commissioning, Eisenhower has participated in deployments including Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, as well as the Gulf War in the 1990s, and more recently in support of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On 29 June 1970, Newport News Shipbuilding of Newport News, Virginia was awarded the contract for construction. On 30 June 1975, her designation was changed from CVAN-69 to CVN-69. She was laid down as hull number 599 on 15 August 1970 at Newport News shipyard at a cost of $679 million ($4.5 billion in 2007 dollars), launched 11 October 1975 after christening by Mamie Doud-Eisenhower, and commissioned 18 October 1977, Captain William E. Ramsey in command. Since her commissioning, Eisenhower has had 13 Commanding Officers. On commissioning, she replaced the aging World War II–era carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in the fleet.

Eisenhower has earned a number of awards, including the Battle "E" in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2006 as the most battle efficient carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. In 1999, she won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet. In addition, she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation with service star (1980, 1983); the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with four service stars (1990, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2007); the Navy Expeditionary Medal (1980), the National Defense Service Medal with service star; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with three service stars (1983, 1994, 1998, 2000); and Southwest Asia Service Medal with two campaign stars. The ship also won the Atlantic Fleet Retention Excellence Award (aka the Golden Anchor Award) in 1999; as well as the Battenberg Cup in 2006.

The Eisenhower will eventually be replaced around 2021 by the Gerald R. Ford–class aircraft carrier CVN-80. Said name of CVN-80 is currently unknown.

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