Posted on 04/14/2016 5:48:24 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Ray Mabus again accused of politicizing process
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus is under fire for bending service rules in order to name the next Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer after a retired Democratic politician.
Mabus, who has previously been accused of politicizing the ship-naming process, announced Monday that the destroyer will be named after Carl Levin, a former Democratic U.S. senator from Michigan who is still alive and did not serve in the U.S. military.
Mabus disregarded Navy ship-naming rules stipulating that destroyers should be named for deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including secretaries of the Navy.
The announcement prompted a hasty inquiry from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.), a former Marine, who asked Mabus to explain the decision. Hunter expressed concern in a Tuesday letter to the Navy secretary that the decision could constitute a “politicization” of the ship-naming process.
“I would like an explanation as to how this decision properly reflects Navy ship-naming rules,” Hunter wrote, citing a new report from the Congressional Research Service laying out the service’s ship-naming rules. “It is important that the Navy adhere to its own ship naming rules and take every effort necessary to avoid politicization of this process.”
Hunter cited recent exceptions that Mabus has made to name destroyers after Thomas Hudner, a living retired Navy officer, Paul Ignatius, a living former secretary of the Navy, and former Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Democrat who served in the Army and died in 2012.
Historically, the Navy has rarely named military ships for living people. According to the report released this month, at least 18 U.S. ships have been named for living people, seven of which have been announced since 2012 and three just this year. Mabus, who was appointed secretary by President Obama in May 2009, has broken tradition by naming seven naval ships after living people.
Mabus came under fire in 2011 for naming a supply ship in memory of labor leader Cesar Chavez. Hunter at the time argued that the decision seemed to be “more about making a political statement than upholding the Navy’s history and tradition.”
A July 2012 Navy report to Congress on the naming of ships reaffirmed the tradition of naming destroyers for deceased U.S. naval leaders, though it also stated that “a Secretary’s discretion to make exceptions to ship-naming conventions is one of the Navy’s oldest ship-naming traditions.”
The Navy secretary has traditionally selected and announced the names for naval ships under the direction of the president. The secretary also takes nominations and suggestions from the Chief of Naval Operations and Naval Historical Center and invites input from Congress.
“There have been exceptions to the Navy’s ship-naming rules, particularly for the purpose of naming a ship for a person when the rule for that type of ship would have called for it to be named for something else,” the CRS report explains. “Some observers have perceived a breakdown in, or corruption of, the rules of naming Navy ships.”
Capt. Patrick McNally, a spokesman for Mabus, told the Washington Times that the secretary can “deviate” from the ship-naming rules, which he described as “guidelines.”
“He names ships for American heroes and considers Senator Levin’s long commitment to the nation worthy of recognition …. The naming conventions are guidelines set by the secretary. He can deviate from them if he desires,” McNally stated.
Mabus called the naming of the the USS Carl M. Levin a “great honor” in a statement Monday.
“It is a great honor to name this ship in recognition of such a dedicated public servant. I have no doubt that all who serve aboard her will carry on the legacy of service and commitment exemplified by Carl Levin during his storied career,” Mabus stated.
Levin served 36 years in the U.S. Senate and chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee for nine years. Hunter noted in his letter that Levin served “honorably” as “a strong advocate for our men and women in uniform.”
John Stennis and Carl Vinson were democratic politicians that never served a day in our armed forces. Harold E. Holt, never served a day in our armed forces and was not even an American citizen. The conventions for naming Naval vessels went by the way side decades ago.
The Navy named a ship after Democrat congresswoman Gabby Giffords for the accomplishment of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Navy named a ship after Democrat congresswoman Gabby Giffords for the accomplishment of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Although I realized that ‘we’ would pay for the Reagan/Bush/Ford namings, this one for Gifford is really an insult to ALL.
Pretty soon we will be getting ‘Rainbow Coalition’ names for ships and the old 60’s standby - the daisy in the rifle barrel’ will be standard.
Plus high heels and skirts for all....
We certainly took a wrong turn as a nation a while back and I really don’t see us coming ‘back’...especially if we get stung with a HRC or Bernie or Joe B ... even expect them to try and resurrect algore and JF’nKerry.... shudder
Naming a ship after giffords is an insult.
We do have an Arleigh Burke named after Winston Churchill.
That is wrong in my opinion. Have you seen who Obama has a Navy Chief of Staff?
My mistake as I misread an email. He apparently promoted another female 4 star.
It is very difficult to have served this nation in combat and hear time after time how Obama and his ilk just keep on trashing and gutting this nation’s military. One of the proudest and most important aspects of military service is tradition. It seems that Obama is dead set on making this nation’s military a third world social experiment. It is past treasonous to me to throw misfits like queers and lesbians on the military as no one can tell me it does not lower unit combat effectiveness.
5.56mm
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Yes..I really 'love' it going to VFW and AL etc and having a 'son of' as a member that is my age or close. Granted, I was in the 'lucky' range having been born in '39 and people MY age could had done all their Active Duty and still be ineligible for the 'clubs'...they get a pass. If they want to frequent 'our' clubs, they should have at least had to go through boot camp...
I really think more of an 'illegal' that is here working and being beneficial to the community - yes I do know of some that both husband and wife each have at least one job and take nothing from 'us', than the cowardly SOB's that decided Canada was a better option.
If we - as a country - had any gonads, we should have let or INSISTED Canada KEEP the slackers.
Sure you had seen the below before but good to repeat now and then.
A Veteran - whether active duty, discharged, retired or reserve - is someone who, at some point in time, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount up to and including their life.
Don’t disagree. No such position as Navy Chief of Staff.
The Senior Officer of the United States Navy is titled Chief of Naval Operations.
Yes, every veteran I know knows that saying.
I was an Army type, but; I recall that phrase being used to describe the top Admiral in the Navy. CNO
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