Posted on 05/11/2011 7:07:20 AM PDT by Strategy
NORFOLK
EVEN FIGHTER PILOTS need some help carrying their luggage when they're embarking on a six-month cruise.
Lt. William Fincher, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 15, had his mother help carry his gear to the aircraft carrier Bush on Tuesday afternoon. The Bush and its sister ships in Carrier Strike Group 2 leave today for an expected six-month deployment to the Mediterranean and Arabian seas.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
I did this 5 times on carriers over my 20-year Navy career.
I too, am wishing her fair winds and following seas.
But in all my years, I never saw one pull out so early, underway at 0545 this morning!
Is this the second ship named for a living person? I know that the Carl Vinson was the first.
Not exactly the Top Gun image.
???..........
But in all my years, I never saw one pull out so early, underway at 0545 this morning!
maybe it bugged out early in case zer0bama decided to scrap her....
She’s glad to get her basement back................
If she’s like my mother, she insisted on “helping” her son.
Wasn’t the Reagan launched while he was still alive?
There is a ship named for Jimmy Carter. How long will it be before there is a ship named USS Obama got Usama? (gag)
Free Republic Runs ONLY On Your Donations.
Make Yours NOW and End the FReepathon!
There is no SHIP named after carter....it is a submarine...a BOAT, not a ship...
Can’t happen. Don’t you have to be a US Citizen to have a warship named after you?
Let the fun begin ;-)
The USS Ronald Reagan was, too.
It’s sad that Ronnie Reagan didn’t know about it.
1900s
USS Holland (SS-1) was commissioned in 1900; John Philip Holland, pioneer of submarine design, died August 1914.
USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-156) was laid down in July 1918, launched in December, and commissioned the following June. Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott, 25-year member of the House Naval Affairs Committee, died October 1918.
USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20) was laid down in January 1961, and Retired Admiral Richmond K. Turner died in February. The ship was launched in 1963 and commissioned in 1964.
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) was named in 1980; Carl Vinson, former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, died in 1981, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709) was named in 1983; Retired Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy”, died in 1986.
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) was named in 1989; Retired Admiral Arleigh Burke, former 3-term CNO, died in 1996. Burke spoke at the ship’s commissioning on July 4, 1991.
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) was named in 1993; John Stennis, former chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, died in 1995, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) was named in 1995; former President Ronald Reagan died in 2004.
USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300) was named in 1997; Bob Hope, veteran of USO shows spanning 50 years, died in 2003.
2000s
Jimmy Carter and a model of the SSN-23
USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) was named in 1998 for former President and submariner, Jimmy Carter.
USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) was named in 2002 for former President and carrier pilot George H. W. Bush.
USS Nitze (DDG-94) was named in April 2004; Paul Nitze, former Secretary of the Navy, died in October 2004, before the ship was commissioned.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was named in October 2006; Gerald R. Ford, former President and carrier officer, died December 2006.
USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) was named on November 27, 2006, for Wayne E. Meyer, acclaimed as the “father” of the Aegis combat system. Meyer died in September 2009 a few weeks before the ship was commissioned.
USS John Warner (SSN-785) was named on January 8, 2009, five days after John Warner, former Secretary of the Navy, retired from the U.S. Senate.[1
Two foreigners that I'm aware of have been honored with namings: Winston Churchill and the Marquis de Lafayette.
He may have, early on. He wrote his letter to the American people in 1994, and the ship's name was announced in 1995.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.