Navy Petty Officer 1st Class MELINDA J. AMBERS, daughter of Beverly A. Watkins of Oak Harbor, along with nearly 12,000 past and current crew members, family and friends attended the inactivation of aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

Enterprise, the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, recently completed its 25th and final deployment and returned to its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk for a scheduled inactivation, held prior to the ship’s terminal offload program and subsequent decommissioning.

The inactivation ceremony was the last official public event for the ship, and served as a celebration of life for the ship and the more than 100,000 sailors who served aboard.

In honor of that spirit, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, in a video message played at the ceremony, announced that the name Enterprise will live on as he officially passed the name to CVN-80, the third Ford class carrier and the ninth ship in the U.S. Navy to bear the name.

A veteran of 25 deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and the Middle East, Enterprise has served in nearly every major conflict to take place during her history.

Ambers is a 1995 graduate of Franklin D. Roosevelt High School of Dallas, Texas and joined the Navy in July 1997.