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Uss Nimitz Cvn 68 Reunion

After 51 years since PRECOMM, on 31 July 2026, Charlie Jones (22nd Company) and his wife, Ginny, returned to Norfolk for a USS Nimitz CVN 68 Association reunion and tour of the ship. The ship was to be decommissioned in 2026, but that has been delayed a year in order to maintain the required 11 aircraft carriers on active duty.

Ginny and Charlie are pictured here with the first Nimitz CO, RADM Bryan Compton, now 97 years old.

The first CO is known for his diligence in studying his aircraft’s path to and from targets during the Vietnam War. Having been raised on a farm, he wanted to avoid dropping bombs on civilians and their farms.

He provided a unique leadership style that made the Nimitz PRECOMM crew highly productive and efficient, getting the ship done on time.

Charlie is a “Plank Owner” and was responsible for initial testing of all the reactor and propulsion systems. He supervised the initial criticalities of the two advanced reactors, paving the way for the entire Nimitz Class.

Charlie discussed details of reactor plant testing with key Reactor Department people. 

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, “aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered”, but she was later redesignated as CVN-68, “aircraft carrier, multi-mission, nuclear-powered”, on 30 June 1975, as part of a fleet-wide realignment that year.

The ship was named after World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, USN, (1885–1966), who was the Navy’s third fleet admiral. She is the only Nimitz-class carrier whose official name is just the surname of the person for whom she is named.