CVN Naming – Enough With the Politics Already

Steeljaw Scribe ^ | 26 July 09 | Steeljawscribe

[CaptRon]

During his unparalleled tenure of fifty plus years, he also completed a record breaking twenty-nine years as Chairman of the House Naval Affairs and Armed Services Committee. In that position, Congressman Vinson forged and moved through Congress the landmark Vinson-Trammel Act which provided authority for the eventual construction of ninety-two major warships, the birth of the two ocean Navy

[CaptRon]

My favorites have always been those named for Revolutionary war battles; Cowpens, Saratoga, etc.

[buccaneer81]

My favorites have always been those named for Revolutionary war battles; Cowpens, Saratoga, etc

Ticonderoga and Yorktown are (or last were) cruisers.

[john in springfield]

I just thought of something even worse than a USS Clinton-a USS Edward M. Kennedy.

We need to name a submarine after Kennedy.

[GATOR NAVY]

Yeah, they gave USS America to the new LHA class. Better than a stick in the eye but that name should be a CVN.

[CaptRon]

Yorktown was a carrier, sunk at Midway. The Ti was indeed a cruiser, but I wasn’t speciying hull types, just like the names

[Al B.]

It will be a shame to see CVN-65 go into retirement. Still the fastest major vessel in the fleet. A great ship. My dad was on the sea trials of the Big E and was mighty proud of its capabilities.

A FReeper years ago told a great story of serving on the ship during Vietnam and how the Capt. of the ship challenged the Bainbridge and Long Beach (Nuke destroyer and cruiser) to a race to liberty port at Subic Bay. The Capt. had everything lashed down tight and told the crew to hang on...LOL. I'll never forget his description of the guys on the Big E watching the Bainbridge and Long Beach disappear over the horizon while the carrier lumbered up to speed, then left the smaller ships in its wake. Great story.

[buccaneer81]

The fifth Yorktown (CG-48) was a guided missile cruiser, commissioned in 1984 and decommissioned in 2004.

After CV-5 Yorktown was lost, CV-10 Yorktown (Essex class) was commissioned. Then, the fifth Yorktown (CG-48) was a guided missile cruiser, commissioned in 1984 and decommissioned in 2004.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

Some suggested ship names for the Obama Navy: USS Diversity, USS Affirmative Action, USS Redistribution, USS Hugo Chavez......

[buccaneer81]

Last time I was in your neck of the woods, I saw USS Warrior (MCM-10) from my condo balcony. She was sailing a pattern a mile or so off shore.

[tanknetter]

The current Enterprise will be out of service by the time CVN-79 comes along. Should be a no-brainer.

With the early retirement of the Kennedy and the slipping of the Ford's construction schedule, there has been talk of giving Enterprise another refueling to maintain the number of carriers. There's a real cost downside though ... nobody expects that she'd do more than another deployment or two (US CVNs run 6-8 month deployments every 18 months or so), but refueling would cost a few billion dollars (for getting five years or so out of 15-20 year cores).

Having said that, notice that the language in the proposed resolution specifically says CVN-79 or -80. I know a lot of people in DC and in the Navy are cognizant of the significance and symbolism of the name "Enterprise". Not just for the CV-6 and CVN-65 legacy, but also for the fact that Trekkies can be expected to go berzerk if the name is allowed to slip into disuse (people still remember how they managed to get OV-101's name changed). I think the resolution is deliberately worded to hold a slot open for the name, depending on whether CVN-65's decommissioning coincides with CVN-79 or -80 coming into service.

I've even heard the really neat idea that Enterprise name would be transferred from CVN-65 to the new "Enterprise" in a joint decommissioning/commissioning ceremony with the two ships sharing a pier at Norfolk.

[Salgak]

. . .until we name a **Starship** USS Enterprise, that is. . .

[CaptRon]

Not my neck. Last thing you would have seen there was the Hudson River Mothball fleet (my father worked on it as an electrician).

The last thing that moved out of there was the USS New Jersey on its way to 'Nam. Saw it from my senior English class!

[Salgak]

USS Devastator
USS Executor
USS Dominator

[Al B.]

I heard the Obama DOD was already planning to skip the planned refueling of the Lincoln and sending it to early retirement as part of the DOD budget cuts. That was several months ago so I don't know where that stands.

If they really do retire the Lincoln early, it doesn't make much sense to do an extra refueling of an older hull.

[CaptRon]

I’m right on Hudson. where were you?

[CaptRon]

I’m right on Hudson. where were you?

[buccaneer81]

Not my neck. Last thing you would have seen there was the Hudson River Mothball fleet (my father worked on it as an electrician).

I meant Panama City Beach. Did you relocate?

[CaptRon]

Part of the Carriers for Beercans initiative. If we get drunk enough we won’t notice how screwed we’regetting.

[buccaneer81]

I’m right on Hudson. where were you?

Panama City Beach.