The mission of the Commander, Carrier Strike Group NINE is to plan and conduct operations/exercises in surface, subsurface, and air strike warfare as directed by the numbered fleet commander as well as participate in the development of tactical doctrine. In addition, the strike group provides assistance to the type commanders in the preparation of employment schedules and supervises operational training and all elements of combat effectiveness. The staff ensures that assigned ships are maintained at the highest possible standard of operational and material readiness.

CCSG 9 staff consists of approximately 60 personnel, 25 officers and 35 enlisted. The staff has a varied and extensive professional background in order to deal with the breadth and scope of task group operations. All three warfare communities, air, surface, and subsurface are represented, as well as the intelligence, oceanographic, and legal communities.

Commander Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNAP) is represented in the Pacific Northwest and at Naval Station Everett. With one half of the entire Pacific fleet's aircraft carriers home ported in Puget Sound, CNAP's influence and interest span a wide area. The CNAP representative's telephone number is 425-304-4403.

Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, is represented in Everett through their Support Equipment Rehabilitation Facility. This activity provides for the repair, rehabilitation and periodic maintenance of aircraft carrier based support equipment. During aircraft carrier homeport upkeep cycles, approximately 2,000 individual items are processed through the carrier's Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department. The rehabilitation process includes disassembly, washing, sand blasting, painting and verifying operational readiness. The phone number is 425-304-4403 or DSN: 727-4403.

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) arrived at Naval Station Everett Jan. 8, 1997. It is the fifth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the largest warship in the world. The ship was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and commissioned Nov. 11, 1989.

Named after the nation's 16th president, the ship is the second ship of the line to bear his name and takes it motto, "Shall Not Perish," from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

The ship boasts all the amenities that would be found in any American city with a comparable population, including a post office with its own zip code, TV and radio stations, newspaper, fire department, library, hospital, general store, two barber shops and much more.

The ship also generates enough electricity to power a city of 100,000 and carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days without replenishment. USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN also has the capability of distilling more than 400,000 gallons of freshwater from seawater each day.

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN is also a floating airport, capable of launching an aircraft every 15 seconds. The ship carries six different types of aircraft (F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, E-2C Hawkeye, SH-60 Seahawk) with a total complement of about 80 aircraft. The ability to launch and recover aircraft is the ship's primary offensive weapon and is made possible by the individual squadrons who make up the carrier air wing which is assigned to USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN when it is deployed.

During deployments, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN is the nucleus of a carrier strike group of five to nine ships, including guided missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, replenishment ships and submarines. The ship can be reached on the quarterdeck number at 425-304-5154/5097 or DSN: 727-5154/5097.

Commander, Destroyer Squadron NINE (COMDESRON NINE) provides oversight for the ships of the squadron. COMDESRON NINE develops and formalizes doctrine, operational procedures, tactics, and associated training requirements. They also serve as Sea Combat Commander, which incorporates both surface warfare, underwater warfare, maritime interception operations and mine warfare commander functions, within any assigned carrier battle group or as an assigned task force, task group, or task unit within the third, fifth or seventh fleet. Five of Everett-based ships are presently assigned to COMDESRON NINE. They are the guided missile frigates USS FORD (FFG 54), USS RODNEY M. DAVIS (FFG 60), and USS INGRAHAM (FFG 61) and the guided missile destroyers USS SHOUP (DDG 86) and USS MOMSEN (DDG 92). COMDESRON NINE can be reached at 425-304-4601/10/30/40/50 or DSN: 727-4601/10/30/40/50.

The mission of RSO PACNORWEST is to support the type commander (TYCOM) and Destroyer Squadron NINE commander and to achieve and maintain the highest level of engineering, combat systems, logistics, medical and personnel readiness for all Pacific Northwest surface force ships, and other ships as directed by the TYCOM. They also provide any necessary support to the ships remaining in the Continental United States (CONUS) area while Comdesron NINE deploys.

Homeported in Everett since Sept. 3, 1994, the USS FORD (FFG 54) is the 48th ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided missile frigates. Built by Todd Pacific Shipyard in San Pedro, Calif., USS FORD was commissioned on June 29, 1985. Constructed to provide in-depth defense against air, surface and sub-surface threats for military and merchant shipping, USS FORD is capable of operating independently or as an integral member of a surface group.

The combat systems aboard USS FORD utilize a computer command and control system to integrate the ship's sensors and weapons. The propulsion system is a computer controlled gas turbine power plant that uses jet engines similar to those found on commercial airliners.