With a thunderous bang, a Navy F/A-18 slammed onto the deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Feb. 16, snagging a steel wire with its tailhook to complete a “trap,” the Navy’s term for a safe landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

The Navy has released an environmental assessment draft for its proposal to homeport the Ford-class aircraft carrier at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton.

Naval Base Kitsap would swap the Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, for its newest, the USS John F. Kennedy, under a plan released Friday.

The USS JFK is proposed to replace the USS Nimitz which is currently homeported at NBK-Bremerton and is scheduled to be decommissioned next year, according to the U.S. Navy.

In about a year, the USS Nimitz will be leaving Naval Base Kitsap ahead of its planned decommissioning, according to Navy spokesperson Ted Brown.After being in