Editing USS Enterprise CVN-65 (section)

==1990 TO 1999==

•	March 1990: Enterprise completed its highly successful around-the-world deployment by arriving in Norfolk, Virginia. Enterprise had safely steamed more than 43,000 miles (69,000 km) from its long-time homeport of Alameda, California. 

•	March 17, 1990: Kenneth Thacker is honorably discharged and departs the USS Enterprise for the last time.

•	October 1990: Enterprise moved to Newport News Shipbuilding for refueling and the Navy's largest complex overhaul refit ever attempted. During this overhaul, the Navy extended Enterprise's length from 1,101 ft to 1,123 ft as well as other refits to extend her service life. 

•	27 September 1994: Enterprise returned to sea for sea trials, during which she performed an extended full power run as fast as when she was new. 

•	28 June 1996: Enterprise began its 15th overseas deployment. The Big E enforced no-fly zones in Bosnia as part of Operation Joint Endeavor and over Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. The deployment also marked the end of an era when VA-75 retired the A-6 Intruder from the Navy. 

•	20 December 1996 Enterprise completed its deployment. 

•	February 1997: Enterprise entered Newport News Shipbuilding for an extended selective restrictive availability lasting four-and-a-half months. 

•	6 November 1998: Following workups, Enterprise departed on its 16th overseas deployment, this time with Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3). 

[[image:enterprisegulf.jpg|thumb|left|'''In the Persian Gulf…again!''']]

Enterprise patrols the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Fox.

•	8 November 1998 night: Shortly after the start of the deployment, Enterprise suffered a major accident when an EA-6B Prowler crashed into an S-3 Viking on the carrier's flight deck. The mishap occurred when the EA-6B was returning to Enterprise following night qualifications and struck the S-3 which was on the flight deck. Both crews were reported to have ejected from their aircraft. A fire broke out involving both aircraft, but was quickly extinguished by the Enterprise flight deck crew. Three of the four members of the Prowler crew were lost at sea. The remains of the fourth were recovered shortly after the crash. The two crew of the Viking were rushed to the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. No other Enterprise crew members were injured. A search for three EA-6B Prowler crew members was suspended after nearly 24 hours and after covering more than 100 square nautical miles (340 km²) on the water and 700 nautical miles (1300 km) in the air. 

•	23 November 1998: Following a high-speed Atlantic transit, Big E relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf. 

•	During a port call in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, Enterprise hosted former President George H.W. Bush and a live concert by Grammy Award winning rock group Hootie and the Blowfish. 

•	16 December to 20 December 1998: Just days after the stop in Jebel Ali, the Enterprise battlegroup spearheaded Operation Desert Fox, destroying Iraqi military targets with more than 300 Tomahawk land attack missiles and 691,000 pounds (313 tonnes) of ordnance. The 70-hour assault was carried out by Enterprise, Gettysburg, Stout, Nicholson and Miami. The operation was intended to disrupt the construction of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but instead captured world attention as a controversial act of war. 

•	23 December 1998: Secretary of Defense William Cohen flew out to the carrier, bringing along his wife Janet, Senator Daniel Inouye from Hawaii, Representative John Murtha from Pennsylvania, and singers Mary Chapin Carpenter, Carole King and David Ball. The Secretary enjoyed lunch with Sailors on the mess deck before he kicked off a concert on the flight deck. 

•	Following operations off Sicily, Enterprise returned north, this time for a port visit in Cannes, France. Plans changed slightly, though, as Yugoslavian peace talks in Rambouillet, France deteriorated and the carrier was ordered back to the Adriatic after only 24 hours in Cannes. 

•	Early March 1999: On a short recall tether, Enterprise and CVW-3 pulled into port at Trieste, Italy for their last Mediterranean port visit before returning to the Persian Gulf. They relieved Carl Vinson 14 March 1999 and took over the helm of Southern Watch. 

•	6 May 1999: Enterprise returned home. 

During the 1998-1999 deployment, Enterprise steamed more than 50,000 miles (80,000 km) and spent 151 days underway. The aircraft of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) were launched nearly 9,000 times, logging approximately 17,000 hours in the sky. The Enterprise Battle Group was the first to deploy fully IT- 21 capable, affording the team unprecedented internal and external communication channels.