Military

USS Carl Vinson To Make San Diego Home Again

The aircraft carrier will return to its homeport of San Diego in August

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Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson will shift its homeport back to San Diego, the U.S. Navy announced Friday after the ship's year-long stint in Washington for repairs.

News first broke about USS Carl Vinson from Congressman Scott Peters who shared the following tweet on Wednesday and Navy sources later confirmed the information to NBC 7. On Friday, the Navy made the official announcement that the Vinson would be returning home.

https://twitter.com/RepScottPeters/status/1215060616152412160?s=20

The ship was based in NAS North Island from October 2009 until its departure to Washington in 2018. The shift to Washington was done ahead of Carl Vinson's planned drydocking at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for maintenance, Cmdr. Ron Flanders said.

Locals were excited for the potential homecoming of USS Carl Vinson -- a strong addition to San Diego’s rich military history.

“San Diego, of course, was the birthplace of Naval Aviation back in 1911 at North Island, and by default, San Diego became the centerpiece for Naval Aviation before World War II, including the development of aircraft carrier technology and tactics –--- this really is a homecoming of sorts for the true birthplace and cradle of carrier aviation,” said Karl Zingheim, staff historian at USS Midway Museum.

USS Carl Vinson was commissioned in 1082. In 2011, the body of Osama bin Laden was buried at sea from the Vinson's deck. The ship's deck also hosted the first NCAA basketball game on an aircraft carrier that same year. The game was played between North Carolina and Michigan State.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include the official confirmation from U.S. Navy officials.

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