USS 니미츠 퇴역을 앞두고 함정을 방문한 이전 승조원들

[위종민]

CVN-68 USS 니미츠의 초대 함장인 브라이언 컴튼 퇴역 미해군 소장을 포함한 이전 승조원들이 함정을 방문했네요. 

브라이언 컴튼 제독은 A-4E 파일럿 출신으로 북베트남 발전소 공격으로 해군 십자장을 수훈했다고 합니다.

**'올드 솔트'를 마지막으로 바라보다: 전 USS 니미츠 승조원들의 작별 인사**

샘 라그론
2026년 8월 3일 오후 4시 34분

2026년 7월 31일 퇴역한 브라이언 콤프턴 예비역 해군 소장. 그는 USS 니미츠(CVN-68)의 초대 함장이다. (USNI 뉴스 사진)

**항공모함 USS 니미츠 함상 —** USS 니미츠(CVN-68)에서 복무했던 전 승조원 400명과 그 가족들이 버스에서 내려 버지니아주 노퍽 해군기지 14번 부두를 지나 미 해군에서 가장 오래된 항공모함의 현문으로 올라섰다. 그들의 마지막 작별 인사를 위해서였다.

이날의 귀빈은 항공모함의 초대 함장이었던 94세의 브라이언 콤프턴 예비역 해군 소장이었다. A-4E 스카이호크 조종사였던 그는 1967년 공격비행대대(VA) 163 "세인츠(The Saints)"를 지휘하던 중 북베트남의 발전소 공격을 이끌어 해군십자훈장을 수훈했다.

비행대대 지휘를 마친 뒤 콤프턴은 항공모함 함장 양성과정을 거쳐 찰스턴급 상륙화물함 USS 엘파소(LKA-117)를 지휘했으며, 이후 니미츠의 초대 함장으로 취임해 1975년 취역과 첫 번째 지중해 배치를 이끌었다.

하계 백색 근무복을 입은 콤프턴은 현재 니미츠 함장인 조지프 퍼코 대령과 함께 격납고와 비행갑판에서 끊임없이 찾아오는 옛 승조원들과 악수를 나누고 기념사진을 촬영했다.

니미츠를 지휘했던 시절에 대해 묻자 콤프턴은 USNI 뉴스에 "좋은 자리였다. 내가 함장이었으니까."라고 말했다.

2026년 7월 31일 브라이언 콤프턴 예비역 해군 소장과 현 니미츠 함장 조지프 퍼코 대령. (USNI 뉴스 사진)

USS 니미츠 협회 회장인 게리 롤린스는 니미츠가 영화 **《최후의 카운트다운(The Final Countdown)》**을 촬영하던 시기에 항공병기 정비사로 복무했다. 이 영화에는 마틴 신과 커크 더글러스가 출연했다.

항공병기 정비사(AO) 직책에 대해 롤린스는 다음과 같이 말했다.

"해군항공의 책임은 많은 사람들의 어깨 위에 놓여 있지만, 항공병기가 없다면 그건 예정에 없던 민간 항공사 비행일 뿐입니다."

롤린스와 협회는 해군과 협력해 옛 승조원들과 그 가족들을 초청했다. 이들은 금요일 오전 함교 구조물(아일랜드) 앞에서 단체사진을 촬영한 뒤 함정 곳곳을 둘러보았다.

스티브 앤더슨은 협회 회원 가운데 한 명으로, 니미츠가 취역하기 전부터 첫 번째 배치까지 항공단과 함께 복무했다. 그는 코네티컷에서 손자를 데리고 와 자신이 VA-86 "사이드와인더스(Sidewinders)" 소속 항공기 구조정비사로 A-7E 코르세어를 정비했던 장소를 보여주었다.

앤더슨은 항공모함 건조 시험(builder's trials) 기간 동안 항모항공단 제8비행단(Carrier Air Wing 8)이 승함하기 전에 새 승조원들에게 비행갑판 운용을 교육하는 파견대의 일원이기도 했다.

그는 "나는 취역식 당시 이곳에 있었다."며 웃으며 말했다.

"하지만 정복(드레스 블루)이 없어서 취역식에는 참석하지 못했다."

2026년 7월 31일 열린 동창회에서 단체사진을 준비하는 전 USS 니미츠 승조원들. (USNI 뉴스 사진)

취역식에는 참석하지 못했지만, 그 뒤 열린 불꽃놀이는 함께했다.

앤더슨은 당시를 이렇게 회상했다.

"취역식은 5월이었어요. 6월에는 항공단이 승함했고, 가족 체험항해(dependent cruise)를 했습니다. 약 20여 마일 정도 나가서 배를 세운 뒤 좌현 약 200야드 거리에서 폭탄과 로켓을 투하하는 등 정말 멋진 장면들을 보여줬죠."

T.C. 롯과 킴 롯 부부는 1990년대 중반 니미츠 배치 기간에 만나 인연을 맺었고, 이번 작별 인사를 위해 플로리다에서 찾아왔다.

T.C.는 "이번 기회를 놓치지 않고 모두와 함께 마지막으로 이 배를 보기 위해 오기로 했다."고 말했다.

남미를 일주한 뒤 니미츠는 올해 봄 귀항했으며, 내년 퇴역 절차를 거쳐 최종적으로 해체될 예정이다.

킴은 1994년 미군이 여성의 전투함 근무 제한을 해제한 이후 니미츠에 배치된 첫 여성 승조원이었다.

2026년 7월 31일 T.C. 롯과 킴 롯. (USNI 뉴스 사진)

킴은 USNI 뉴스에 이렇게 말했다.

"저를 너무 일찍 보냈어요. 제가 왔을 때는 여성용 침실도, 아무것도 없었거든요."

이후 함정 후미 쪽에 여성 침실이 마련됐고, 약 70명의 여성 승조원이 함께 생활하게 됐다고 그녀는 설명했다.

두 번째 배치 기간 동안 함교 바로 뒤에서 작전전문병(Operational Specialist)으로 근무하던 킴은 항공모함에서 청소 작업을 하던 T.C.를 만났다. 그는 니미츠에서 항공교통관제사로 복무하고 있었다.

킴은 당시를 이렇게 회상했다.

"저는 통로 바닥의 왁스를 벗기고 새로 칠하는 작업을 하고 있었고, 그는 화장실을 청소하고 있었어요. 물이 필요해서 갔는데 음악을 틀어놓고 있더라고요. 그래서 그 음악(갭 밴드의 'Outstanding')에 대해 한마디 했죠."

두 사람은 연애를 시작했고,

T.C.는 "아랍에미리트 항구에 입항하던 순간부터 우리는 서로 확신했어요."라고 말했다.

"그리고 1년 뒤 결혼했습니다."

2026년 7월 31일 USS 니미츠 비행갑판에서 피터 노리스의 집례로 결혼서약을 다시 하는 T.C. 롯과 킴 롯. (USNI 뉴스 사진)

결혼 27주년을 맞은 두 사람은 니미츠를 다시 찾아 협회 군종장교인 피터 노리스의 집례 아래 비행갑판에서 결혼서약을 새롭게 했다.

노리스는 영국 해군 항공모함 HMS 허미스(R12)에서 의무병으로 복무한 전 영국 해군 군인이었다. 그는 허미스가 노퍽 해군기지에 기항했을 당시 니미츠 승조원들과 친분을 맺었으며, 이후 목사 안수를 받은 뒤 협회에 합류했다.

세 사람은 금요일 비행갑판에 모여 짧은 예식을 진행했고, T.C.와 킴은 다시 한 번 서로에게 서약을 전한 뒤 항공모함 함교 구조물을 배경으로 짧은 입맞춤을 나눴다.

예식이 끝난 뒤 T.C.는 니미츠와 해군 복무가 자신의 인생에 얼마나 큰 영향을 미쳤는지를 강조했다.

"이 배가 바로 제 가족입니다. 이 배가 없었다면 제 가족을 시작할 토대도 없었을 겁니다."

샘 라그론

샘 라그론은 USNI 뉴스 편집장이다. 그는 2009년부터 해군 관련 입법, 획득사업, 작전을 취재해 왔으며, 미 해군, 미 해병대, 캐나다 해군과 함께 승함 취재를 수행한 경험이 있다.

이메일: [slagrone@usni.org](mailto:slagrone@usni.org)

시그널: SamLaGrone.13

X: @samlagrone

A Last Look at ‘Old Salt’: Former USS Nimitz Sailors Say Goodbye - USNI News

A Last Look at ‘Old Salt’: Former USS Nimitz Sailors Say Goodbye - USNI News

A Last Look at ‘Old Salt’: Former USS Nimitz Sailors Say Goodbye

Sam LaGrone

August 3, 2026 4:34 PM

Retired Rear Adm. Bryan Compton, commissioning commander of USS Nimitz (CVN-68), on July 31, 2026. USNI News photo

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS NIMITZ — Four hundred former USS Nimitz (CVN-68) sailors and their families streamed off buses on Pier 14 at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., and up the brow of the oldest carrier in the Navy for a final goodbye.

The guest of honor was the first commander of the carrier, 94-year-old Rear Adm. Bryan Compton. An A-4E Skyhawk pilot, Compton was awarded the Navy Cross for leading a strike against a North Vietnamese power plant in 1967 while commanding the “The Saints” of Attack Squadron (VA) 163.

Following his squadron command, Compton entered the carrier command pipeline, commanded the Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship USS El Paso (LKA-117), and then took charge of Nimitz through its 1975 commissioning and its first deployment to the Mediterranean.

Dressed in summer service whites, Compton shook hands with a constant receiving line of his former sailors, posing for photos in the hangar bay and the flight deck accompanied by current Nimitz commander Capt. Joseph Furco.

When asked about his time leading Nimitz, Compton told USNI News, “It was a good deal. I was the captain.”

Retired Rear Adm. Bryan Compton, commissioning commander of USS Nimitz (CVN-68), and current Nimitz commander Capt. Joseph Furco on July 31, 2026. USNI News photo

Gary Rollins, president of the USS Nimitz Association, was a former aviation ordnanceman aboard Nimitz for the carrier’s deployment that included filming of the B-movie classic “The Final Countdown,” starring Martin Sheen and Kirk Douglas.

Speaking about the AO rate, Rollins said, “the responsibilities of naval aviation rest upon the shoulders of many, but without aviation ordnance, it’s considered another unscheduled commercial airline.”

Rollins and the association coordinated with the Navy to host the former sailors and their families, who spent Friday morning climbing all over the ship after posing for a series of group photos by the island.

Steve Anderson was one of the association members who served with the air wing on the ship from before the commissioning and through the first deployment. He came from Connecticut and brought his grandson to the carrier to see where he served as a aviation structural mechanic with the “Sidewinders” of Attack Squadron (VA) 86 working on A-7E Corsairs. Anderson was part of a detachment to teach flight deck training to the new crew during builders trials on the carrier ahead of the arrival of Carrier Air Wing 8.

“I was here for the commissioning,” he sad. “[But] was not allowed to attend because I didn’t have dress blues.”

A sailor prepares to take a group photo of former USS Nimitz sailors during a reunion on July 31, 2026. USNI News photo

While Anderson missed the commissioning, he was there for the fireworks afterwards.

“The commissioning was in May. In June, the air wing came aboard, and we had our dependent cruise, and we sailed out about 20 some miles, stopped the ship and dropped bombs and rockets and all kinds of cool stuff just 200 yards off port side,” Anderson said.

T.C. and Kim Lott traveled from Florida to bid farewell to Nimitz, where the couple met during a deployment in the mid-1990s.

“We took the opportunity to make plans to come join in the group and see her one last time,” T.C. said.

After sailing around South America, Nimitz arrived this spring ahead of a planned inactivation next year and eventual scrapping.

Kim was the first woman assigned to Nimitz after the U.S. lifted restrictions on female sailors serving on warships in 1994.

Former USS Nimitz sailors T.C. and Kim Lott on July 31, 2026. USNI News photo

“They sent me too early because when I got here, there was no berthings, no nothing,” she told USNI News.

Eventually, there were about 70 female sailors aboard in a berthing to the rear of the ship, she said.

During her second deployment, Kim, who was an operational specialist working just behind the bridge, met T.C. while he was cleaning stations aboard the carrier. He was an air traffic controller aboard Nimitz.

“I was out there stripping and waxing passageways, and he was cleaning the bathroom, and I needed some water,” she said. “He was playing music, and I remarked about the music [Outstanding by ‘The Gap Band’].”

They started dating and “we were pulling into port in the UAE, and from there, it was just we knew,” T.C. told USNI News. “A year later, we got married.”

T.C. and Kim Lott renew their vows aboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68), officiated by Peter Norris on July 31, 2026. USNI News photo

T.C. and Kim returned to Nimitz on their 27th wedding anniversary and renewed their vows on the flight deck, officiated by the association’s chaplain, Peter Norris. Norris, a former U.K. Royal Navy medic aboard British carrier HMS Hermes (R12), became friendly with sailors on Nimitz during a deployment that included stops at Naval Station Norfolk. Norris later joined the association after being ordained.

The three gathered on the flight deck Friday for the brief ceremony. T.C. and Kim reaffirmed their vows and had a quick kiss in the shadow of the carrier’s island.

After the ceremony, T.C. stressed the importance of Nimitz and his Navy career on influencing his life afterwards.

“[This ship] is my family. Without this ship, I have no foundation of starting my family,” T.C. said.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
Email: slagrone@usni.org
Signal: SamLaGrone.13
Follow @samlagrone

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