Lance Cpl. Kelly Zak, assigned to the
Summary
PACIFIC OCEAN (Mar. 17, 2008) Lance Cpl. Kelly Zak, assigned to the "Red Devils" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, gets her vital signs checked during a mass casualty drill on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet in the western Pacific and Indian oceans. The U.S. 7th Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed fleets with approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eduardo Zaragoza File# 080317-N-9760Z-012
Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) and CVAN (attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922.