Staff report

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Adiah N. Ekanem, a 1995 graduate of Lakeland High School in Suffolk, recently returned home after a routine, scheduled deployment to the Persian Gulf while assigned to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, homeported in Norfolk.

Ekanem’s ship returned home after providing vital support to ground troops in the effort to stabilize the newly liberated Iraq.

USS George Washington also participated in Summer Pulse ’04, the Navy’s first exercise of its new operational construct, the Fleet Readiness Response Plan. Summer Pulse ’04 demonstrated the Navy’s ability to provide credible combat power across the globe, in five theaters, with other U.S., allied and coalition military forces. It included scheduled deployments, surge operations, joint and international exercises and other advanced training and port visits.

Carriers like USS George Washington are deployed throughout the world to maintain U.S. presence and provide rapid response in times of crisis. They serve as a highly visible deterrent to would-be aggressors, and are equipped with the most versatile and powerful

weapons and aircraft available.