Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Navy’s Wasp-class USS Iwo Jima is entering a two-year, $204 million maintenance period at BAE Systems Norfolk after serving as the primary extraction platform for the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
-As part of Operation Absolute Resolve, the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship transported the deposed leader to New York to face narcoterrorism charges.
(Aug. 4, 2021) The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) transits the Strait of Hormuz, Aug. 4, 2021. Iwo Jima is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Logan Kaczmarek)
-Beyond its combat role, the Iwo Jima recently became the first “Gator” ship to feature USO afloat recharge centers, a program spearheaded by its Executive Officer, Capt. Kathryn Wijnaldum.
-This modernization will ensure the ship remains a vital “floating military base” through 2028.
From Caracas to Norfolk: The USS Iwo Jima’s $204 Million Overhaul After Maduro Capture
The USS Iwo Jima is scheduled for a two-year maintenance period at BAE Systems Maritime Solutions Norfolk, Naval-Technology reported in mid-January, citing a Department of Defense announcement.
“Due to be carried out by BAE Systems Maritime Solutions Norfolk, the initial $204.1m programme could increase to $255.8m should all options be exercised, with a planned completion date of February 2028,” the report said.
(Oct. 4, 2007) – U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 263, Marine Aircraft Group 29, prepare for flight on the deck of the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). Wasp is on surge deployment to the Middle East carrying the Osprey to its first combat deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary L. Borden (RELEASED)
The DoD announced that the bid was competitively solicited and that three offers were received.
Forbes reported that some repairs had already been done at sea on the USS Iwo Jima.
“In December, a sailor and civilian team from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center completed a two-week assignment that included a series of planned repairs essential to the safety and mission readiness aboard USS Iwo Jima and the amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17),” Forbes reported.
“According to the Naval Sea Systems Command, the work included repairs to a plenum bulkhead, bolted access points, and bulwark door access, as well as multiple structural repairs on the warships. The team further carried out “non-destructive testing” and completed associated repairs on one of LHD-7’s level decks, ensuring structural integrity and continued compliance with Fleet standards.”
The Iwo Jima in Venezuela
That particular ship has been in the news of late, mostly in relation to its role in Operation Absolute Resolve, the Venezuela raid on January 3 that included the capture of that country’s president, Nicolas Maduro. The president released a photograph of the deposed leader, wearing sunglasses and apparently handcuffed, aboard the ship.
SOUTH CHINA SEA (April 5, 2019) The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) is operating in the South China Sea in support of Exercise Balikatan 2019. In its 35th iteration, Balikatan is an annual U.S.-Philippine military training exercise focused on a variety of missions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, and other combined military operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Barker/Released)
In that raid, Maduro was taken to the United States aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
According to USCarriers.net, the current incarnation of the Iwo Jima was laid in 1997, christened in 2000, and commissioned in 2001.
Forbes shared more in January about the ship that carried Maduro to New York.
“USS Iwo Jima was deployed to the Caribbean in late August 2025 as part of the significant U.S. military buildup, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, which focused on counternarcotics operations against Venezuelan drug cartels,” the Forbes account said.
The Iwo Jima is not, despite a common misconception, an aircraft carrier. It is in fact, an “amphibious assault ship.”
The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 7, 2022. Exercise Silent Wolverine is a U.S.-led, combined training exercise that tests Ford-class aircraft carrier capabilities through integrated high-end naval warfare scenarios alongside participating allies in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is conducting their first deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jacob Mattingly)
“Although nearly as large as the aircraft carriers operated by several nations, the LHDs serve in a different role than the U.S. Navy’s time-proven Nimitz-class and new Gerald R. Ford-class of nuclear-powered supercarriers,” Forbes said. “Each of the Wasp-class flattops is capable of transporting and deploying almost the full strength of a United States Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit, and landing them in hostile territory either via helicopters or landing craft,” Forbes said. “
Forbes went on to describe the Wasp-class ships as “essentially a floating military base.”
A USO Enhancement
Last July, the Navy announced that the USS Iwo Jima had become the first amphibious ship to include USO afloat recharge centers.
“The afloat centers include many of the same amenities as a land-based center, such as comfortable seating, TVs, video and board games, and snacks. Equipping the ship with these centers creates a home away from home for Sailors and embarked Marines while on deployment, the announcement said.
“Onboard Iwo Jima, we have 2,200 Sailors and Marines—warfighters who are being prepared and are ready to support our nation’s business when we deploy,” Capt. Kathryn Wijnaldum, executive officer of Iwo Jima, said in that announcement last year.
“Our intent for its [centers] use is that they will provide an opportunity to support the warfighter—to help them reset, recharge, and de-stress—so that they can resume their duties that enable us to accomplish our mission and get the job done when our nation calls upon us.”
“Thank you for the extreme cooperation of the ship and for the patience to deal with us here now on our very first gator,” Jeff Hill, the USO’s Expeditionary Region Vice President, said in the July announcement. “To be able to serve Marines and Sailors wherever the world takes you, USO is going to be with you wherever you may go—that’s our objective.”
Interview with the XO of U.S. Navy’s Assault Ship
Also, last July, DVIDS published an interview with Capt. Kathryn Wijnaldum, at the time the new XO of the USS Iwo Jima, who was described in the piece as a “ highly skilled experienced officer of 24 years.”
“When I was in second or third grade, I went on a field trip to the Naval Academy,” Capt. Wijnaldum said in the profile. “I didn’t know it was the United States Naval Academy (USNA) until years later, but I remember going in the chapel. In the chapel there is a mural for Admiral Sampson and I had a connection since my maiden name is Sampson. I remember praying in the chapel saying ‘when I grow up, Lord, I want to go to this school.’”
She later joined the ROTC, and later the Army reserves.
“When I was in the Army Reserve, I got a Navy ROTC scholarship, but my Army commanding officer wouldn’t let me out of my contract,” Wijnaldum said in the profile. “He said ‘the only way I let you out of your contract now, is if you get accepted to the Academy.’ What he meant was West Point. So, he was kind of mad when he found out I was accepted to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, but he at least let me out of my contract.”
She received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science while at Annapolis, and was then commissioned in 2001.
“I feel like the nuclear program chose me, because at the time I didn’t even know about the nuclear program,“ Wijnaldum told DVIDS. “I’ll never forget when I got invited to interview. I had other friends who I thought were stellar academically. I had good academics, but they were engineers, and I was a political science major. So, when I got invited to interview, and I was like ‘oh, somebody wants me,’ and so I interviewed and passed.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
