USS Ronald Reagan arrives in Brisbane, Australia

Australian Broadcasting Corporation ^ | January 24, 2006 | Lisa Millar

[new yorker 77]

Reporter: Lisa Millar PETER CAVE: Brisbane is bracing for an American onslaught today after the arrival late yesterday of the USS Ronald Reagan - the biggest and newest aircraft carrier in the world.

It's on its maiden voyage and Brisbane is the first port of call.

Lisa Millar reports.

LISA MILLAR: Queensland's newest tourism attraction is a mammoth aircraft carrier docked in Brisbane for the next five days.

The nuclear powered ship has sailed from San Diego - Brisbane is its first port of call.

Larger than three football fields and higher than a 20-story building, it has firepower too. The flight deck holds more than 80 fighter jets and antisubmarine helicopters.

But it's the 6000 crew, with an average age of just 20, who are set to make an even bigger impact while they're here.

Strike group commander Rear Admiral Michael Miller.

MICHAEL MILLER: This is something that we have been looking forward to for a long time, and as I think you're aware, our first time for a nuclear powered carrier to go pier side in Australia. We are honoured to be given that privilege and we are so excited to be here.

LISA MILLAR: Excited too are the brothel owners who are expecting business to boom.

Nick Inskip is the spokesman for the Adult Business Association.

NICK INSKIP: January is traditionally a very quiet time of year for us, and it means that of course it brings up our sales a little bit. And beyond that, I think it's a real treat for the women who work in the industry, because they find that the sailors who come into town are a really polite bunch of people. They treat them with respect and they just love meeting them.

LISA MILLAR: His only disappointment is that Queensland's legal brothels can't put on more staff to cope with the influx.

NICK INSKIP: We're only allowed five ladies on the premises providing services at a time, which is a real constraint on our business at the best of times, so it does cause a problem. But the difficulty for us isn't just that we're limited - it's where do people go if they don't go to a licensed brothel? Seventy-five per cent of the industry is made up of illegal escorts and what we're really doing by not regulating that part of the industry is we're just making it open slather for the black economy. And unfortunately some sailors will be forced to go there.

LISA MILLAR: With sailors expected to spend about $2-million a day, Queensland tourism bosses are hoping this is just the start of a long and lucrative relationship with the US military.

Mark Olsen from Tourism Queensland.

MARK OLSEN: It's a fantastic addition to Queensland's cruise shipping industry. Military is a smaller part of our cruise shipping fleet, but a very important contribution. We estimate over $5-million over the five days that the USS Ronald Regan will be in town, and that's not just in Brisbane – that's spread all the way across the state from the Great Barrier Reef right the way down to Gold Coast.

LISA MILLAR: What sort of effort is going in to trying to make Queensland the preferred stopover for the US military – perhaps taking the crown off Fremantle?

MARK OLSEN: We work very closely with the itinerary planners that organise these trips out, to make sure that Queensland is top of mind. We've even gone to the trouble of creating promotional DVDs that are played onboard, both at home and onboard the ships to encourage sailors and the itinerary planners to look at booking Queensland as part of their itinerary. But of course, we don't have any control over where the vessels go, only to ensure that when they think about a visit, that they do think about Queensland first.

PETER CAVE: Mark Olsen from Tourism Queensland. Lisa Millar our reporter.

© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm

[hillary's_fat_a**]

We're only allowed five ladies on the premises providing services at a time

Let's see ... does that mean the group can handle 15 SAILORS at once performing various services? ROFLMAO!

[new yorker 77]

Sat Jan 21, 10:29 PM ET

An E-2C Hawkeye from the 'Black Eagles' of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113 launches off the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, Jan. 11, 2006, near Honolulu. The carrier group was on a four-day Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Pacific Fleet has made training to track and fight submarines its top combat priority amid concerns its sailors' skills haven't been keeping up with the advanced diesel submarines China and other Pacific Rim countries have been buying. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Photographer's Mate Airman Kathleen Gorby)

[bnelson44]

Party time!

[new yorker 77]

That vessel is a thing of beauty.

The engineering, the work that went into build it, the men & women who operate and maintain it, and of course the name Ronald Reagan are all beautiful things.

[encm(ss)]

Look out for diesel submarines! DBF-er

[AgThorn]

We're only allowed five ladies on the premises providing services at a time

Hmmm ... 6000 sailors,
probably 5500 of them male and
half of them lookin' for 'friendship'

.... 5 ladies. These will be 5 busy ladies!!!

[concentric circles]

The ship's public affairs manager, Lieutenant-Commander Gary Ross,
said that "the entire crew is looking forward to a little bit of liberty
and interacting with the good folks of Brisbane."

[Yossarian]

These will be 5 busy ladies!!!

I wouldn't want to be the last of the seamen.... Yuch!

[cmsgop]

Ya Had to go there........didn't Ya!

[A.A. Cunningham]

USS Ronald Reagan: Port of Call Brisbane, Australia

[Proud_USA_Republican]

How sad it this. THey get a better reception than if that ship arrived in San Fransicko.

[SoCalPol]

Nice to see the Aussi reception for the USS Reagan
It is a great ship to see. It is homeported here in
San Diego.

[naturalman1975]

Don't worry - there's more than one legal brothel in Brisbane.

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

"Back in the day," and long before I was married, I spent five magnificent days in Perth as part of Air Wing 6 embarked in USS INDEPENDENCE.

The hospitality of the Australians exceeded all legends, and the last business establishment any of our sailors needed was a brothel.

[AgThorn]

Is it now homeported here? Fantastic!!! I knew that it was here for awhile but I thought that was just for loading up for it's current run. Hope to get a tour one of these days. So proud of this ship! And the man it is named after! And being a recent new resident of SD (one year), that's only a bonus!!

[jslade]

On the way to the Persian Gulf. Perhaps?

[ccmay]

I think the actual number is 25, after all they each have two hands.

Reminds me of the Roman Empress, Theodora.

-ccm