Posted on 08/11/2005 1:34:24 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
Former President Jimmy Carter was expected to take his first dive in a submarine Thursday since his Navy career ended in 1953, leaving Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay with his wife Rosalynn aboard his newly commissioned namesake, the USS Jimmy Carter.
The visit and overnight dive by the Carters, which had been kept confidential for about a week, will conclude Friday with his appearance at a press conference.
Lt. Cmdr. Monica Richardson, public information officer for Submarine Group 10 at Kings Bay, said the Carters will tour the base during their visit, which included an invitation-only event with local dignitaries Wednesday night.
During the course of the evening, Carter confirmed that he had taken a hand in discussions about locating the submarine base in Camden County, a matter that had long been cause for speculation in Georgia. The decision to make Georgia the East Coast home for the Trident nuclear submarine occurred while Carter was in the White House.
"He revealed his influence on the base, saying that it would be hard on his part not to be involved, being a former governor and having (then U.S. Senator from Georgia) Sam Nunn as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee," said Ed Buczek, public affairs officer at Kings Bay. "That's always been part of the legend of the base."
Carter's own experience in the submarine service certainly added to the legend. The former president is a 1946 graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. He served on a submarine with the rank of lieutenant before leaving the Navy.
The USS Jimmy Carter, a Seawolf-class attack submarine named for the former Georgia governor and 39th president of the United States, was commissioned Feb. 19. The Navy has not identified its home port, but it was said to have been visiting Kings Bay during a break in operations.
The USS Jimmy Carter was designed to operate under various conditions, whether beneath the Arctic ice or in shallow water. It measures 453 feet in length, is 40 feet wide and can operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots (about 29 mph) when submerged. The boat carries a crew of about 130 officers and sailors.
Carter, a Democrat, was elected president in 1977 and served until 1981. He was defeated for a second term by Republican Ronald Reagan.
100 bucks to the seaman who peers into the periscope while Carter is on the bridge and cries "Inbound Rabbit to starboard, SIR! What should we do?"
The sub that makes only LEFT turns.........
How will it ever leave port with it's rudder welded to only go in left circles?
There's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
hehehe
17 Seconds
The ship honored, the presidency honored, the man spit upon and tried for treason.
First submarine garbage scow. A fitting honor.
A JAG rerun was on the other day, and they kept talking about the Jimmy Carter. It hurt my ears to hear one of our subs with that name.
"Where do you serve, sailor?"
"On the SSN-23, sir."
Not an OXYmoron, just a moron...........
Excuse me Mr. Carter. We are out of peanuts. We do, however, have these fantastic jelly beans.....
Its a sign of Carter's two-faced view of himself that he would allow a weapon of war to have his name while pratteling on with his surrender in Iraq jibberish.
"And these, sir, are called 'hedgehogs',
in case of attack by aqua-rabbits."
That JAG thing sometimes reminds me of Garbage!
Can you imagine how those that end up serving on this sub must feel?
Jimmy Carter is a disgrace and a traitor. I can't immagine the ridicule that those serving it will face from others in the Navy.
It was my first time to tune in, actually. They kept bandying that name around, so I had to bail.
LOL!
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