Commissioning of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan --Live Thread--

Fox News Channel | July 12, 2003

[Darksheare]

Well.. yes.
I did enjoy may Saturday.
But I also enjoy wandering the conversations here in FReeperland too.
Hmm..
How to do both and not drive off the road...

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

Typing through my tears. Thanks you so much for the post. I had to work today so wasn't able to watch.

My son just finished up traning with 4 of the of the young men of which there first duty will be the USS Ronald Reagan. What an honor and they know this. I cannot wait to hear from them !

Over the last few months (thank goodness for cell phones)I have had the pleasure to talk with them and hear about there life daily. We all have thousands of sons (and daughters)out there. My family enlarged greatly.

As I told them so many times...
GOD BLESS YOU ALL...I LOVE YOU ALL...AND SWEET DREAMS SLEEPY BABIES!

To the USS Roanld Reagan: FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS

Just a note my son went to Ingleside, Texas. We know nothing about Ingleside and would love to hear of any information. Of course this will be our next vacation.

[snippy_about_it]

C-span is re-running it now and we are watching.

[mvpel]

Just sit and think about how much energy it takes to shove that floating city through the ocean at its top speed!

I'm not usually one for religious pronoucements, but I have this suspicion that G-d designed the uranium atom to allow every last human being living on earth, and eventually throughout the solar system, to have all the energy they need until the Sun burns out, but like all of G-d's significant gifts, it is morally neutral and it is up to us to use it properly.

[ken5050]

Speaking of "rank" inflation....fyi..During WW II, when the US military was some 13 million strong..the number of general officers was 50% LESS than the number we have today...and don't forget all their attendant staffs...

BTW..question for ya...a caught a bit of the C-span rebroadcast of the commissioning...I thought I heard Sen Warner say that the Reagan was the only ship named for a living ex-president....fid he forget the SSN Jimmy Carter...or does the Navy hold subs as "not" ships?

[KillTime]

It's the first Aircraft Carrier named after a living president.

I saw the whole event and thought it was the best thing I've seen in ages! I wish everyone saw that great naval tradition, wether they like Reagan or not. Only Fox and MSNBC aired the whole thing; CNN showed it from when Nancy made the ship "come alive", else they were showing some hollywood program. I wish I taped it; the speach by the CNO was the most moving speach out of the bunch, talking about the captains lonelyness of command at sea, etc.

[ken5050]

Thanks...I thought maybe the Navy was just trying to forget about the "Jimmee".....BTW..a suggestion for ya....many times, as long as the Congress isn't in session..C-span will cover these live ..and you get the screen without the scrawl at the bnottom that takes up half the picture.....worth checking out...they also had a long tour of the ship..most excellent..check out their website...both shows should be their..you can probably download it to your puter.....regards...

[Boom-Boom]

Since the advent of the super-CAG, you now have two O-6 line officers on the carrier. The XO of the ship is generally not an O-6 upon arrival, but may make O-6 during his XO tour. The DCAG, similarly, is often an O-5 as well on arrival, but will make O-6 before fleeting up to the CAG job.

There are O-6 staff officers on board occasionally, but even the senior doc, dentist and chaplain are generally O-5's. The embarked admiral staff (Cargru or Crudesgru) will have at least one O-6 as Chief of Staff.

In the old days, the Airwing Commander was an O-5 that reported to the carrier CO as a department head. The super CAG concept puts the CAG and CO on an equal level with a fair amount of load sharing of functional reponsibilities.

IMO, the super CAG concept works better than the previous setup, but it does preclude a super CAG from ever commanding a carrier. It didn't happen often in the past, but it did happen occasionally. Now aviators have to choose which track they want to follow post squadron command.

[Jeff Gordon]

Thank you for that information. Promotion during tour probably explains the high number of 06s on the Reagan.

Just how equal are the CO and CAG? In the event of a dispute such as 'attack target X or not' where higher command authority was not available, who is authorized to prevai: the CO or the CAG?

[Boom-Boom]

CAG is the warfighter - ie the COC goes from Pres - Sec Def - Regional Cinc - Component Commander - Cargru - CAG

The CO has a lot of input, but his concern is providing the base, fuel and bombs for the airwing. The CAG works for the Cargru on cruise. I suppose there is differences of opinion between CAG and the CO from time to time, but they weren't aired for public discussion when I was around.

[VOA]

Commissioning of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan

"Don't worry, we'll take it from here"
(promise of the USS Ronald Reagan to the USS Constellation)

News about the decommissioning of the Constellation at this URL:

http://www.kfmb.com/topstory16923.html

I was lucky to see the news report on the TV news from San Diego; some of the old hands
were leaving their share of salt water (tears) on the deck of the Connie.

[VOA]

Ships motto:
"Peace Through Strength"

one of my favorite Reaganisms:
"Trust, But Verify"

(I was suprised that line didn't come up more during the Blix Debacle; guess most
of the press would rather not remind the public of Reagan's sane approach to diplomacy
and defense.)

[VOA]

From the Reagan Library website........
USS RONALD REAGAN CVN-76 COLLECTIBLES

hole_n_one,
I think you've single-handedly wrecked my budget for the foreseeable future.
But thanks for solving lots of my future gift-giving conundrums...
(I suppose that would be "conundra" in Latin...)

[Jeff Gordon]

I have tough time fitting the Super CAG concept into the ancient Navy tradition of the Captain being the absolute master of the ship. I guess modern times require modern thinking. The 21st Century Navy have Super CAGs on the bridge and female Ordinancemen on the decks.

Do today's Junior Naval Aviation Officers take OOD or JOD duties on the ship's bridge? It would seem like those choosing the CO track rather than the CAG track would need to start to learn ship handling well before the Squadron Command level.

(Thank you for answering my questions. As you can tell, I have a lot of curiosity about the modern Navy. I suppose I should restart my subscription to "Proceedings.")

[Boom-Boom]

The CO is still boss of the ship. I suppose the Cargru or Crudesgru could take command under certain circumstances, but otherwise they steer clear and let the CO do his business. CAG has little to say to the CO about how the ship is run.

CAG and the airwing are a tenant command on the carrier, not totally different than the relationship that functional wings have with the CO of naval air stations. The CO at sea has more control than the landbased CO, but the relations between parties are similar.

CAG doesn't go on the bridge unless he wants to talk to the CO. More often he's found back in the Air Boss's tower or down in CATCC for the night arrestments - that is, unless he's flying twice a day like most of them... He doesn't stand watch, per se, although currently most Cargru / Crudesgru will give CAG the Alpha Sierra hat and make him responsible for the surface picture for the battle group. Airwing personnel stand AS for CAG using carrier OS's for technical support.

JO's don't go to the bridge either (unless they've made a major faux pas and get to meet the CO...)There's no need to worry about quals until you've screened for squadron command. Once you're XO of a fleet squadron, you'll do a CDO underway qual on the bridge - mostly consisting of conning while along side during an UNREP. Officers aren't tracked until following their squadron CO tour: some are picked for Nuc - carrier CO track; others opt for the CAG track.

The Nuc CO track is grueling. After command you have nuc school (with all the kids just out of engineering courses at college), carrier XO, CO of a deep draft (supply ship), and finally CO of the carrier. 8-9 years of sea duty straight to command the carrier. I suppose it's worth it, but those years are often the heart of the envelope for kids at home. It's bad enough not seeing your kids when they're 5-6 years old, but would be really tough when they're 15-16.

[Jeff Gordon]

Those guys on the CO track must be really, really dedicated and highly responsible people. I suppose the attrition rate on that track is kind of high.

I was watching the CSPAN tour of the Reagan. They interviewed a Lt. Cmdr who was the Officer of the Deck. He said he had been doing OOD duty on carriers for several years. I was expecting to see the Wings of Gold on his chest. They were not there. It looked like he was wearing the insignia of the Submarine Service. Is it normal for non-Aviator officers to be driving the carriers?

BTW: I was impressed by the HiTech bridge. The old fashioned engine room telegraphs replaced with computer touch screens. Paperless navigation charts. Lots of nice stuff.

[StriperSniper]

the press would rather not remind the public

Yup.

[Boom-Boom]

Yes, carrier CO's have a heavy load to bear. They are on the bridge during flight ops (often 18 hours a day) and given the traditional solitude of CO's, they don't get much time to laugh and scratch with the boys (and girls). Moreover, it's no longer a sure path to flag. I don't have current figures, but I doubt the promotion rate is much over 50% - probably the same for super CAG.


JO's on the carrier bridge are generally Surface Line officers. I guess there could be a sub officer on the bridge as OOD, but more likely he was wearing the "bow waves" of Surface Line - they do look a little similar from a distance.

Aviators very rarely will be OOD. Second tour aviators that come back as assistant navigator stand OOD, but there aren't any aviator JO's on the bridge while they're embarked with their squadron. JO's DO stand "boat officer" duty in port, but that is the extent of their helm responsibilities. What with flying (as much as possible), strike planning and doing their ground job, there just isn't time for non-essential activities. Plus, as every good JO will tell you: "If you sleep 12hours a day, the cruise is only half as long."

[unspun]

Oops. Just saw this post Leni; it slipped by somehow. RW9 tells me you'll be in the area. We'll have to compare notes!

Goodness & wellness,
Arlen