Navy to Commission Aircraft Carrier George H.W. Bush (ooooo! Bubba's gonna be Torked.)

DefenseLink News Release ^

[SandRat]

The Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush will be commissioned Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.

President George W. Bush will deliver the principal address. Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, daughter of the ship’s namesake, is the ship’s sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

The lastNimitz-class aircraft carrier is named to honor World War II naval aviator and America’s 41st president George H. W. Bush. Born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., Bush began a lifetime of service to America when he joined the Navy on his 18th birthday as a seaman. He became the youngest pilot in the Navy at the time, receiving his commission and naval aviator wings before his 19th birthday.

Bush flew the Avenger torpedo bomber in combat from the carrier USS San Jacinto. During an attack on enemy installations near Chichi Jima in September 1944, his plane was hit by enemy fire while making a bombing run. Although the plane was on fire and heavily damaged, he completed a strafing run on the target before bailing out of the doomed aircraft. Bush parachuted into the sea and was later rescued by the Navy submarine USS Finback. He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his Navy service in the Pacific theater during World War II.

After his time in the Navy ended in September 1945, Bush held a number of public service roles that included two terms as a U.S. congressman from Texas, ambassador to the United Nations, chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to China and director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He then served two terms as vice president under the late President Ronald Reagan before being elected himself as President of the United States in 1988. As commander-in-chief, Bush led the United States and a coalition of nearly 30 other nations during Operation Desert Storm, which ended Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and liberated the people of the Persian Gulf nation.

Capt. Kevin O'Flaherty, from Los Angeles, Calif., and a 1981 Naval Academy graduate, will become the ship’s first commanding officer, leading a crew of more than 5,500 men and women, including embarked air wing personnel. George H. W. Bush will be initially homeported in Norfolk, Va., assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Construction of the tenth Nimitz-class ship took place at Northrop Grumman-Newport News, Va., starting with the ship’s keel laying Sept. 6, 2003, and christening Oct. 7, 2006. George H. W. Bush towers 20 stories above the waterline, displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water, has a flight deck width of 252 feet, and at 1,092 feet long, is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. This floating airfield has a flight deck that covers 4.5 acres. Bush’s two nuclear reactors are capable of more than 20 years of continuous service without refueling, providing virtually unlimited range and endurance, and a top speed in excess of 30 knots.

The ship will support a wide variety of aircraft, including the F/A-18C Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters, the E-2C/D Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft, the C-2 Greyhound logistics aircraft, the EA-6B Prowler and the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, multi-role SH-60 and MH-60 helicopters, and other future carrier-based aircraft.

[neodad]

Ping!

[screaminsunshine]

The Military is our only hope.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Quite an honor for the 1st President Bush.

Given enough time, a ship will be named after Bill Clinton.

Did anyone else hear that Midway Airport in Chicago may be renamed for Obama?

[Al B.]

This ship will be commissioned before it’s finished. NG/Newport News will not deliver this ship to the Navy until the Spring. Very unusual thing to do but understandable considering the circumstances.

[devane617]

Since I would not have to buy gas, I’ll take two.

[50cal Smokepole]

ooooo! Bubba's gonna be Torked.

Isn't there a rumor going around about a new, stealth latrine enclosure? The Clinton Crapper? Just rumor.....

[unkus]

“ooooo! Bubba’s gonna be Torked.
Isn’t there a rumor going around about a new, stealth latrine enclosure? The Clinton Crapper? Just rumor.....”

Good one.

[smokingfrog]

USS Bill Clinton
The ship is constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminum and is completely solar powered with a top speed of 5 knots. It boasts an arsenal comprised of one (unarmed) F14 Tomcat or one (unarmed) F18 Hornet aircraft which although they cannot be launched or captured on the 100 foot flight deck form a very menacing presence. As a standing order there are no firearms allowed on board. The 20 person crew is completely diversified, including members of all races, creeds, sex, and sexual orientation. This crew, like the crew aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, is specially trained to avoid conflicts and appease any and all enemies of the United States at all costs! An onboard Type One DNC Universal Translator can send out messages of apology in any language to anyone who may find America offensive. The number of apologies are limitless and though some may sound hollow and disingenuous, the Navy advises all apologies will sound very sincere. The ship's purpose is not defined so much as a unit of national defense, but instead in times of conflict, the USS Clinton has orders to seek refuge in Canada.

[RichInOC]

God bless the Big Poppy and all who serve in her.

[SkyDancer]

What? an a/c carrier named “Slick Willie” .... but I guess there’s a nickname for the Bonhomme Richard ....

[Vision]

With due respect to 41’s lifetime of heroic service in our military and government...wow it seems there are there a lot of government buildings, school buildings, airports, and now a carrier named after a one term president. Seems 4 times as much as Reagan but I could be wrong.

[LibWhacker]

Bubba needs to chill. It’s on the drawing board... The Navy’s only garbage-powered garbage scow The William “Bubba” Clinton.

[thinking]

He became the youngest pilot in the Navy at the time, receiving his commission and naval aviator wings before his 19th birthday.

GH still holds that record to this day...

[Texas Eagle]

Oh, my God. The USS Bill Clinton. That is simply hilarious.

[Seruzawa]

I still think the Nav should pull an LSD out of mothballs and christen it the USS William Jefferson clinton.

[skimask]

[OrioleFan]

Bubba will get an ice breaker named: “Put some ice on it.”

[fso301]

I was touring a Coast Guard Cutter's open house when I saw the USS Bill J. Clinton heading down the Hudson River and snapped this picture.

[the invisib1e hand]

yeah, but obama got the other airport in chicago named after him.