CVN-74 USS John C Stennis Patch

Launched in 1993 and named for one of the Senate’s most steadfast champions of the U.S. Navy, the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) embodies the enduring strength and reach of American sea power. A Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, she carries not only the might of modern warfare but also the legacy of decades of service, sacrifice, and leadership under the banner of freedom.

From her first deployments in the late 1990s, the Stennis proved herself a force of resolve and readiness. She sailed into the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing no-fly zones over Iraq in the tense years that followed the Gulf War. Then came the call that would define a generation—September 11, 2001. Within days, the Stennis was underway, joining the fight in Operation Enduring Freedom. Her flight deck roared with the sound of F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers launching into Afghan skies, striking targets hundreds of miles inland. It was from her decks that the first blows in America’s longest war were delivered.

As the years went on, the Stennis became a familiar name in the world’s most volatile waters. She projected power in the Arabian Sea, safeguarded freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and stood as a floating fortress of diplomacy and deterrence in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Her crew of more than 5,000 sailors—aviators, engineers, technicians, and deckhands—formed a city at sea, capable of responding to crises anywhere on the globe at a moment’s notice.

But beyond the missions and milestones, the USS John C. Stennis represents something deeper: the unbroken spirit of those who serve. Each deployment tells a story of sleepless watches, roaring catapults, and the hum of turbines beneath steel decks. Every sailor aboard carries the weight of history and the pride of a nation that has relied on its carriers to protect liberty since the Second World War.

The CVN-74 USS John C. Stennis patch honors that living legacy—a symbol of strength, endurance, and the men and women who have stood their watch upon her decks. To wear it is to remember that peace is preserved not by words alone, but by those who stand ready at sea.