Great news! Ike’s namesake ship in the U.S. Navy fleet, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, is now going to be plying the seas until perhaps the early 2030s. It had previously been scheduled to be decommissioned as early as 2027, according to Navy officials and the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.
The USS Eisenhower, the second oldest of the ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the Nimitz class, was commissioned in October 1977 after being launched two years earlier and christened by Ike’s widow Mamie. The plan had been for the oldest member of the class, the USS Nimitz, to leave service in 2025 followed by the Eisenhower in 2027. The earliest the latter will now depart is late 2029 but likely will be extended until the early 2030s. The newest class of supercarriers is named for former President Gerald R. Ford. However, delays in the production and delivery of Ford-class carriers have led to the postponement of retirement dates for the oldest members of the Nimitz class. Eventually, the Eisenhower will be replaced by the Ford-class USS Enterprise (certainly not the first U.S. vessel to bear that noble moniker).

The United States is currently employing its carriers at a high level of intensity. It has needed them for responding to simultaneous threats such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and attacks by Iranian proxies on shipping in the eastern Mediterranean and Red Seas, exacerbated by the Hamas attack against Israel last October. China’s continual saber-rattling against Taiwan and other U.S. allies in the South China Sea is another worrisome factor. On October 14, 2023 (ironically Ike’s birthday), the USS Eisenhower departed its home port of Norfolk to join cruisers and destroyers in the Mideast countering Houthi terrorists operating out of Yemen. The USS Gerald Ford was already stationed in the eastern Med, permitting the two carriers to act as “defensive bookends” on either side of the Suez Canal, according to news reports.
The Navy now plans to build ten Ford class carriers to replace the ten Nimitz ships, which were all commissioned between April 1975 and January 2009. An advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, assessed that retaining the Eisenhower beyond its original retirement timeline gives the Navy critical flexibility. He added that one way to deal with multiple challenges across the globe is to keep carriers around longer than the original 50 years they were intended to operate.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is the first ship named after our 34th U.S. President, who earlier was the overseer of many naval vessels during World War II and later as NATO Supreme Allied Commander. The vessel was initially named simply the USS Eisenhower, just like its class predecessor the USS Nimitz, but it was changed to Ike’s full name in 1970. It was constructed at the Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia, with the same design as the Nimitz, although it has been overhauled twice during its proud history to bring it up to modern standards. Since commissioning, the carrier has participated in deployments during the Gulf War in the early 1990s and more recent operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and elsewhere. The Eisenhower currently serves as the flagship of U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 2. A few Eisenhower Society trustees have been fortunate to visit the acclaimed carrier over the years, but presently it is not easily accessible! With nicknames like “Ike” and “Mighty Ike,” this reliable ship continues to live up to its motto “Greater Each Day.” We hope it has many more days to serve its country!
Dr. William Spracher is a retired Army colonel who formerly taught at West Point, National Defense University, and National Intelligence University, and is a Dwight D. Eisenhower Society trustee. The Eisenhower Society is dedicated to promoting the memory and legacy of leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower through educational programs, scholarships, grants, and special events. Learn more at dwightdeisenhowersociety.org.”
Featured image caption: The aircraft carrier departs Norfolk in 1994 to support Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti.
It would be prudent to rather retrofit these magnificent ships. Even at 70% of capabilities and capacities, the Nimitz class will be providing great depth to the acting fleet carriers. Their mere presents within 1000 miles from the main carrier group would be a force multiplier.
I was the signalman that pulled the commissioning pennant.
We now realize that many carriers have been sent to the scrap yard with 20 more Years of service in them. Why?
She is a beautiful lady as being man of rails
I’m a plankowner of this beauty.was a cook and drummer on this ship from 77-81 I was there to commission and I will b there to de commission
You know, dismantling these giant aircraft carriers is a huge mistake. It’s cheaper to refurbish than it is to build brand new. So, if they are intent on building these Ford class carriers, these other carriers should be used to patrol the periphery. Load them up with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonics, fighters, and drones. That would put a burr under anyone’s saddle.
I was lucky to be posted on the USS Enterprise super carrier on a Mediterranean cruise for 9 months . That was a vacation at the tax payers expense .
I think that the cvn’s are so expensive to recycle why not turn them into amphibious support ships they can hold a lot of attack helicopters and transport helicopters and maintenance facilities. The oldest carrier could be used as a training vessel for nuclear ratings. It could also be used as a school training vessel for many rates. The ship could be kept available just by training other rates in their duties so if war broke out it’s already available if any of the front line units are destroyed. It could also ferry replacement aircraft and weapons to other ships… Read more »
I love to join
The USS Dwight D Eisenhower CVN-69 was named that because his former VP President Nixon only used that name during the keel laying ceremony he presided over. The Navy rather than make the president look bad, changed the documents and final name to match. A bit of trivia that every sailor on IKE learns early on.
Yes I served on IKE, 1982-1984.
Meanwhile all Nimitz class carriers were originally designated to be named ONLY for 5 Star officers of all branches of the US military.
My brother was stationed on CVN-69, and worked with arresting gear (green shirt) on the DDE. We were fortunate enough to attend a “Dependents Day Cruise,” and were able to sit and watch the crew in a launch and recovery of the jets (I guess F-14’s?) on the flight deck of the carrier when it was stationed in Norfolk. I believe it was 1989. It was an unforgettable experience that not many can say they witnessed. What a blessing!!