Decommissioning
Originally scheduled to undergo a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) in 1996 for subsequent retirement in 2010, CV-66 fell victim to budget cuts and was instead retired early by the U.S. Navy.
She was decommissioned in a ceremony at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia on 9 August 1996. America's final commanding officer was Capt. Robert E. Besal. The guest speaker for the ceremony was Adm. Leighton W. Smith, a former America commanding officer. Following the decommissioning, America was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and was transferred to the Ready Reserve Fleet at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though already decommissioned, she was awarded the 1995 Battenberg Cup in recognition of her crew's achievements in her last full year in service.
Read more about this topic: USS America (CV-66)