Posted on 12/19/2008 1:03:22 PM PST by GATOR NAVY
Tugboats will pull the George H.W. Bush, the 10th and final aircraft carrier in the Nimitz class, to its January commissioning, the Navy and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding said Thursday.
The big carrier should have sailed under its own power from the Newport News shipyard to Norfolk Naval Station for the Jan. 10 ceremony.
It is not ready for delivery, said Margaret Mitchell-Jones, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman. In the past, the Navy has delayed the ceremony, which marks the ship's official entry into the Navy fleet. But not this time.
Navy Secretary Donald Winter set the date earlier this year, and changing it now would be too costly and difficult, said Lt. Clay Doss, a Navy spokesman. A long list of VIPs is invited, including former presidents, top Navy leadership and the Bush family.
"This entailed significant planning and communications, and travel arrangements for thousands of entities," Doss said. "There are a lot of moving parts here that we're not looking to derail."
The $6.3 billion ship was originally scheduled for completion in April, but Northrop Grumman, the sole builder of nuclear-powered carriers for the Navy, has delayed it three times.
"Labor shortages, late material deliveries of key components and late delivery of commodities" are responsible, Doss said.
"We just ran out of days on the calendar to accomplish this effort before the commissioning ceremony," Mitchell-Jones said.
The Bush is 97 percent complete and should be finished by the end of March, she said. Painting, labeling of spaces, systems testing and sea trials remain.
The ship has to pass two sets of trials before official delivery to the Navy: the builder's testing of the ship's primary systems, including its steering gear, propulsion system and anchoring equipment, and a test drive by the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
It is worth it to me, not to have Hussein preside over the ceremony.
Probably so W can preside over the ceremony.
I’m okay with it, letting W oversee the ceremony of a carrier named for his father is the type of situation that will never happen again, so I don’t really mind. There going to have a ceremony, its not like the the champagne bottle will pass through the holes in the frame. Keeping it at the planned date, so W can do it while still in office actually seems like the correct call.
I agree. W should be the one to preside over this. He’s earned it.
Even if she consisted of a keel only, there is no way Obama should preside over the commissioning of the USS George H.W. Bush.
Hopefully this is the first of many major engagements where she will emerge victorious.
“The $6.3 billion ship was originally scheduled for completion in April, but Northrop Grumman, the sole builder of nuclear-powered carriers for the Navy, has delayed it three times.”
I’d have thought that by #10, they’d have the procedure down.
How many different shipyards built 24 Essex class carriers between 1941 and 1946?
You mean halting construction and ordering it set aside for parts ?
Thanks to whatever jerk had my original comment removed.
Sorry, as a Navy lifer I put the traditions of the Navy over the wants of the outgoing President Bush. If the ship isn’t ready to turn over to the Navy, then it shouldn’t be commissioned. Plain and simple.
This one is quite different from its predecessors, lots of improvements in design and technology -- even the hull design has changed.
Whatever happened to the show about building it? I only ever see the same one episode every time.
Thanks to cuts that began under Poppy Bush and Sec of Def Cheney we are down from 4 to now one carrier capable ship builder although NNSB&DD has historically been the major builder.
The mention of shortage of labor is a big concern. It means ship fitters capable of building carriers are in short supply. The Bush/Clinton/Bush years have not been kind to military readiness.
This one isn't the new class. Ford will be the new hull design etc. It's a Nimitz class and Ford will begin the new hull and class.
Given Zero and a dem controlled Congress, maybe commissioning her is also a way to make sure she's completed. Ya never know, those fools might just decide to scrap her.
Then we probably shouldn't be naming it the George H.W. Bush. There is a tradition not to use the names of individuals while they are still alive, but then again there is also a tradition of breaking that first tradition from time to time.
Nope the DEMs have two more to build. The USS Johnson and the USS Clinton will likely be carrier names. Even Carter has a Navy namesake.
A garbage barge I hope.
Carl Vinson was around for the naming and christening of the 3rd Nimitz-class carrier that bears his name, CVN-70. I believe he passed away before the commissioning however.
It’s a sub.
Silent and out of sight, unlike its namesake.
Bingo.
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