US Navy deploys 2nd aircraft carrier to Gulf

Associated Press ^ | 4/08/2012 | Associated Press

[FreeAtlanta]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Navy said Monday it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions with Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along with the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks one of the few times the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating in waters near the Persian Gulf, said Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.

The two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden, she said.

[Jacquerie]

“How many planes does McCain owe us for? 4?”

After the fire, McCain volunteered for duty that resulted in getting shot down over the most heavily defended airspace in history.

FU.

[cva66snipe]

Seems like we departed the ship from the stern or starboard side. But, tje shadows.

True. We usually used the fantail & the officers used deck house one at the QD. There was one starboard aft also. We had four I think but the port side very seldom used but it was there. We had to use it once maybe in Yugoslavia.

[cva66snipe]

Oh, BTW, USS AMERICA 1985-1989....AG1

Small world :>} One of my GQ stations was directly underneath Photo Lab LOL. That's where the extra A/C unit for the Lab was. I hated it. The hatch into the passage did not have a scuttle and SEAMART {I think was the name of it} right next too the equipment room was locked LOL.

I got out at the end of the 80 overhaul. I usually worked in AC&R A-Gang but did T.A.D. to Boat Crew as a make shift engineman and also volunteered T.A.D. to Fire Department twice. FD was established as a permenant division in 1979 on the ship. Before that the HT's worked all fires below decks.

[cva66snipe]

My first C.O. on the ship was shot down three months before McCain was and in The Hilton with him for duration. If McCain had given aid he would have not supported him in 2008. McCain due to who his family was likely caught far more hell there than anyone can ever imagine.

[Happy Rain]

At anchor on the Independece (CV-62) our enlisted departed from the fantail and officers from Sponson 8.
Sponson 8 was also from where we threw the ship's trash into the ocean—which kind of gave we who knew some of the more worthless officers on board a little chuckle.

[Texas Eagle]

The unthinkable would be loosing one or both of our great ships and crews. I am nervous and praying for our military.

It's always a good thing to pray for our military personnel.

I wouldn't worry too much about harm coming to any of our ships and crews, though. I'm sure the appropriate "authorities" have been well recompensed to ensure the safety of our fleet.

Losing one or two soldiers or marines in Trashkanistan is easy enough to ignore but there's no way Urkel is going to allow something like The USS Cole to happen on his watch.

Where do you think all that money that was supposedly "lost" on Solyndra and other solar energy boondoggles is actually going?

[TomasUSMC]

Now.......if the headline said......2nd ICBM.....THEN It’d be interesting.

[Schwaeky]

The Big E is being decommissioned? WTF??? Obama needs to go. Now.

[Moose4]

I don’t think it’s an Obama thing. The Enterprise is the oldest combat ship active in the Navy right now (47 years old) and plans have apparently been in the works for years to retire her. Sadly, if the Wikipedia article on the Enterprise can be trusted, because of what they have to do to de-fuel the reactors upon decommissioning, they won’t even be able to turn her into a floating museum because there won’t be enough left of the ship to do it.

}:-)4

[Moose4]

Actually I was wrong, she’s not 47 years in service, she’s 51 years in service. Commissioned in November 1961.

}:-)4

[cherokee1]

McCain and I are the same age. I’m familiar with his career all the way. He’s a slow learner. He wrecked a trainer at Pensacola getting started. I didn’t. But for his pedigree that might have ended his air career. He wrecked two more planes in non-combat incidents before the commies got him. Those are the ones I know about which is why I asked? In his current career he’s still a slow learner. My question was simple and straight forward. You can put your snit in an appropriate place.

[cva66snipe]

The Big E is being decommissioned? WTF??? Obama needs to go. Now.

She over due a deserved retirement as it is. She a Nuke/Steamer. That means the nuclear reactor heats water & generates steam about 1200 PSI worth of super heated steam. That pressure the size of a pencil lead can dismember you and you'd never know the leak was there. She was built after Constellation CVA/CV-64 {decomissioned conventional} and followed by conventionals America CVA/CV- 66 & Kennedy CV-67 both decomissioned.

[Schwaeky]

reactors and steam boilers can be replaced... the big E is as much a symbol for American military leadership and pride for the people as it is a mobile naval air platform delivering death to America’s enemies...

[Jacquerie]

You didn't wreck a trainer because you didn't have the courage to be a Naval Aviator during war in the first place. After just one accident, most men would have given up. The USAF and USN suffered horrendous accident rates in those years due to non standardized operating and maintenance procedures. Our nation put up with many more times the accident rate we have today. He lead combat airstrikes, and that is not done without the confidence of fellow tacair pilots. I assure you that if he was not competent, the Commanding Officer of VA-163 aboard the Oriskany would not have accepted him. Like all wartime aviators, McCain was a brave man. Too bad you are not man enough to recognize bravery in those you politically disagree with.

So yeah twerp, FU again.

[tanknetter]

reactors and steam boilers can be replaced... the big E is as much a symbol for American military leadership and pride for the people as it is a mobile naval air platform delivering death to America’s enemies...

Yes, they can. But doing so with Enterprise would cost more than a brand new carrier.

You'd have to the hull of the ship into pieces to get the reactors out. You'd also have to take a heck of a lot of the piping associated with them. New reactors, and turbines, go in then rebuild the hull.

On top of that you'd then have to replace pretty much all the rest of the piping in the ship. And the electrical cabling. And the communications lines. Because it's all ancient and prone to failures.

I know there's a lot of sentimentality associated with the "Enterprise" name. But I know people who have actually served on her who tend to refer to her as "Ghettoprise" and "Enterprison". The last overhaul went massively over budget and schedule. And if you actually go on board her there's all sorts of equipment and fixtures that are labeled "RIP" in red. "RIP" stands for "Retired In Place". IOW, no longer operable, but incapable or at least uneconomical to actually remove.

Much better to preserve her as a museum** and give the name to a worthy successor. That would be CVN-80, now that CVN-79 will be John F. Kennedy. My fear tho is that they'll hang the name on one of the America-class LHAs ...)



(**which CAN be done, btw. The plan is to cut her apart at Newport News to get the reactors out, weld her back together and tow her around South America to scrapping at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. If she's sound and seaworthy enough for that kind of a tow, she should be ok to park somewhere as a museum.)

[tanknetter]

Forgot this one ...

[cva66snipe]

The propulsion plant config for Enterprise also differs greatly from Nimitz class. Enterprise has two reactors the Nimitz class has eight. You're right about the issues faced to replace them. Both conventional and Nuke the propulsion plant including boilers, reduction gears, generators, reactors,De-Sal plants etc all go in first as the keel is laid. It is not economical nor time use wise to change to plants once the keel is laid. A complete rebid and start all over is faster.

The conditions you describe go along with a ship the Navy is fixing to decommission. Kennedy was in bad shape and America had a pier side boiler room explosion. The persons who put their lives on the line keeping the ship going deserve the best. They deserve as safe a ship as we can reasonably provide. To be honest I hope and pray the ship makes the deployment without a catastrophic failure. I'm just looking at the reality of it.

[tanknetter]

Enterprise has two reactors the Nimitz class has eight. You're right about the issues faced to replace them.

Other way around, actually.

Both conventional and Nuke the propulsion plant including boilers, reduction gears, generators, reactors,De-Sal plants etc all go in first as the keel is laid. It is not economical nor time use wise to change to plants once the keel is laid. A complete rebid and start all over is faster.

IIRC we, and the other major world powers, reboilered and returbined many WWI-era dreadnoughts during the post-WWI "building holiday". The Japanese even cut some of their battleships in two in order to insert additional boilers to allow for faster speeds.

But that was an exceptional situation where manpower was cheap and building new ships wasn't an option (as it was prohibited by treaty).

IIRC(2), the US carriers that were SLEP'd in the 1980s had their turbines yanked for refirb. There was an article I read at the time about either Indy or Connie's SLEP that specifically mentioned that the new mounts were in waiting for the turbines to be reinstalled. But replacing turbines is considerably different from replacing an entire engineering plant.

[cva66snipe]

Turbines would be possible but likely not the boilers. The boilers are over two decks tall and how the heck you gonna lift one out? It would take cutting from the flight deck down to the 6th deck.

Some things can be done some can't. We added a 300-350 tom A/C unit in 1980 but it was put on the 4th deck. I do know the boilers go in first though looking at early construction pictures. That is one reason why a CV can not be converted to CVN and vice versa once the keel is laid.

That goes back to a rumor started that America was planned a CVN and changed by McNamara. She was awarded under Ike as a CVA. DFM {Diesel Fuel Marine} was cheap back then. That was basically what I meant.

WW1 era ships were easy change overs for one simple reason. They were not compartmentalized like WW2 built ships and not even like the long range super carriers that began at Forestall. Compartmentalization was a WW2 learned lesson and it was learned fast. This as well limits doing future changes.

S.L.E.P. overhaul takes about 3 years minimal so there would be a time allowance to change out turbines. On the other hand though if you look at building a typical conventional CV that took four years but you had a new ship. Enterprise from keel to commission was also four years. Our biggest limitation now construction wise is instead of four carrier builders we have one.

Your right on the turbine replacement. It was CONNIE that had the turbines replaced {first time it had ever been done on a super carrier} between 1990-93. That bought her ten more years service. Looks like she had a massive fuel fire in 88.