Navy plans to scrap ex-carrier Enterprise at private shipyard instead of PSNS

Kitsap Sun via Yahoo ^ | 08/19/2022 | Josh Farley

[DFG]

BREMERTON — The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is too busy maintaining the active Navy fleet to scrap the former Enterprise aircraft carrier, Navy officials announced Friday.

Instead, the "Big E," the Navy's first nuclear-powered flattop, will head for a private scrapyard somewhere in the American South for disposal, under plans outlined in a draft environmental impact statement.

Josh Farley, Kitsap Sun Fri, August 19, 2022 at 6:23 PM BREMERTON — The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is too busy maintaining the active Navy fleet to scrap the former Enterprise aircraft carrier, Navy officials announced Friday.

Instead, the "Big E," the Navy's first nuclear-powered flattop, will head for a private scrapyard somewhere in the American South for disposal, under plans outlined in a draft environmental impact statement.

More: The Navy wants to demolish Puget Sound Naval Shipyard's iconic shipyard crane. Here's why.

It's a decision that pivots hundreds of millions of dollars of work away from the Pacific Northwest. But the Navy's rationale is that Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is stretched too thin to take on the Enterprise job.

"Leveraging options to perform ex-Enterprise disposal at commercial facilities is advantageous to the Navy and allows (the shipyard) to prioritize the limited public shipyard infrastructure and workforce for active fleet maintenance," the Navy wrote in the document, released Friday.

In recent years, the Navy's submarine and aircraft carrier fleets have been pushed by Navy leaders in the face of global conflict, from the War on Terror to disputes in the South China Sea over a rising Chinese Navy presence. Add to that, shortages of skilled workers have led to delayed maintenance.

The Navy is "under tremendous pressure to execute their primary mission of maintaining the operational fleet," officials said.

[MercyFlush]

You should have been a contortionist in the circus. If you’re half as good at it in real life as you are on this forum then you’d be a superstar.

[BobL]

“You should have been a contortionist in the circus. If you’re half as good at it in real life as you are on this forum then you’d be a superstar.”

Naa, I just like the Reagan approach of being prepared to fight, rather than the Carter approach which was to disarm first.

But I understand that there are those who don’t really care if we can win, as long as we take out Putin in the process.

[dainbramaged]

My Mom and Dad both graduated from South Kitsap High School, Dad joined the Navy in 1943 and served on the USS Dixie during WWII (Torpedoman 3rd class) and remained in the reserves for about 12 years.
I have a photo of one of my great uncles at the Bethel Crossroads near Port Orchard driving a horse and wagon.
Went to grade school in Des Moines, my brother and I used to ride the bus to downtown Seattle and goof around at the Pike Place Market, First Avenue pawn shops and the like. Never had any trouble but it probably wouldn't fly today.

[JimRed]

Not a museum? Kirk and Picard will not be pleased!

[Glad2bnuts]

Port Orchard is still pretty great, although it is grown enough to no longer be called small town USA. It has room to grow still, but traffic is difficult, drug addiction and the homelessness that springs forth like cockroaches in an Alabama slum.