PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The ex-USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) aircraft carrier moored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard will commence its final journey Thursday morning to Brownsville, Texas, where it will be scrapped.
The Navy said it will take about two weeks to get to Texas.
Commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968, CV 67 was the first Navy ship to be named John F. Kennedy and was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built by the U.S. Navy.
The ship conducted 18 deployments. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, USS JFK helped establish air security along the mid-Atlantic seaboard in support of Operation Noble Eagle. In 2002, the ship was deployed in support of Operations Anaconda and Enduring Freedom, followed by support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.
In 2005 and 2006, USS JFK served as a training platform.
The vessel was decommissioned in 2007 after more than 39 years of conducting U.S. Navy missions worldwide.