[Bobarian]

Well, I admit that I'm ignorant on the topic. But you seem to confirm that there was a naming convention at some point. I know that the battleships lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor were all named after states, Arizona, for example.

And I seem to remember some controversy years ago about a nuclear sub named Corpus Christi, (Body of Christ), and subsequently renamed City of Corpus Christi. And the submarine commanded by Scott Glen in Hunt for Red October was called the Dallas, not that I regard Hollywood as any kind of expert witness.

If the Navy is just choosing random names now, I agree that is a very sad state of affairs. That's the sort of thing that makes my brain itch, and now I need to go double up on my OCD meds.

[GATOR NAVY]

You're right, SSNs were named after cities for a while (i.e.Los Angeles class). What we're talking about is that it is no longer possible to tell what kind of ship a ship is by it's name. The Navy is so screwed up now when it comes to naming they can't even come up with a convention inside a single class of ships! Look at the Seawolf class SSNs:

USS Seawolf (SSN-21)- a fish (and previous submarines)
USS Connecticut (SSN-22)- a state
USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)-a former president

What a mess.

[GATOR NAVY]

Here's a link on ship naming from the Naval Historical Center if you're interested.

Ship Naming in the United States Navy