Navy considers retiring JFK and moving another carrier from Norfolk

Virginia Pilot ^

[Red Badger]

Ted the Kampfschwimmer will go apoplectic!......

[Tax-chick]

provide $10 million for an environmental impact study on the basing of a nuclear-powered carrier in Mayport, a Jacksonville suburb

My tax dollars at work, yippee. If the DoD had asked me, I'd have told them I'd rather have an aircraft carrier than an environmental impact study.

[Mr. K]

"...$10 million for an environmental impact study ..."

Has anyone ever made use of these fictional 'impact' studies? (I mean other than to deny the use of land to a landowner once they use their own funds to find an endangered slug on their property)

[ProudVet77]

The JFK is due for a major overhaul. Might as well retire her now than spend all the $$s on the overhaul. We can sustain our dominance of the sea easily with 11 carriers. It'd rather see the money go into development of the next generation Navy. We are very close to a whole new type of Navy, no use throwing money into the old Navy.

[Moose4]

Heck, I can give 'em the impact of moving a carrier to Mayport for free.

- You'll have to build a really big dock.
- You'll have to build more houses.
- You'll probably run over a few field mice while doing it.

There. And I'll only charge 'em $5 million for it.

}:-)4

(I thought the Dread Words of Power were "Bless your bowels, honey"?)

[NCC-1701]

I read somewhere that the Kennedy was the original choice for recovery carrier for Apollo 11. President Nixon nixed that out of spite to the memory of JFK. That's how the Hornet got the job. Anyone else hear that? I'd sure like to go aboard the Kennedy if it's turned into a floating museum.

[Tax-chick]

"Bless your bowels" is the super-secret Dread Words, not to be used for just *any* Niceness emergency.

Enjoy your $5 million!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The JFK was planned as a nuclear powered carrier but LBJ ordered her to be an oil burner.

[rabidralph]

Retiring FDR's legacy and now the JFK...sweet!

[satchmodog9]

bump

[CFC__VRWC]

They don't even have to do any of that - Mayport already has two carrier berths. When I was stationed there around Gulf War I time, the Saratoga (my ship) and the Forrestal called Mayport home. The Saratoga was retired - the last I heard about the Forrestal, the Navy was talking about sending it to Pensacola to be the training carrier, and retiring the Lexington.

[ProudVet77]

I'd prefer to see her sold (for $1) to Australia or the UK. She has a good 10 years of life left in her. They already have FA/18s, so they have the support structure for them.

[Non-Sequitur]

I read somewhere that the Kennedy was the original choice for recovery carrier for Apollo 11. President Nixon nixed that out of spite to the memory of JFK. That's how the Hornet got the job. Anyone else hear that?

I think it's more likely the fact that the Kennedy was an Atlantic Fleet carrier and Apollo 11 landed in the Pacific Ocean that ruled it out as recovery vessel.

[Coldwater Creek]

The Kennedy gets 6" to the gallon.

[Coldwater Creek]

I have been on board the Kennedy. Looks just like any other carrier.

[Non-Sequitur]

They already have FA/18s, so they have the support structure for them.

What they don't have are pilots trained to operate from a carrier, the 5,000 men and women needed to man it, or the need for the carrier in the first place.

[Redleg Duke]

Oh, don't go dumping his little tin-foil chapeau theories with something as irrelevant as facts! :-)

[ProudVet77]

Absolutely agree. What I was thinking of though was that the fact they have FA/18s already, they have parts for them, mechanics that know how to fix them and pilots that know how to fly them. They are also planning on buying the JSF which is carrier capable.
Since we are reducing our force by 1 carrier, we have 5K extra carrier sailors and airdales so we might be able to make them a deal for training. Something like we supply 2/3 the airdales while we bring their people up to speed. A lot of the other systems on her are similar to theirs, so we can supply say 1/3 of the staff, to get them over the hump. By keeping those people in our Navy we have crew for the CVN-77 when she gets delivered in '08.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A Great Lakes iron ore carrier gets about 1.5 feet to the gallon of Number 6 oil.