CH 13 NEWS, NORFOLK 17 JAN 02

Navy Secretary discusses USS TR - JFK issue

The Secretary of the Navy is talking about the
condition of the USS John F. Kennedy and how her
status could delay the return of the Norfolk-based USS Theodore Roosevelt. She's due home from the Arabian Sea in mid-March.

On Thursday, Secretary Gordon England was in
Suffolk visiting the Joint Warfighting Center. He blamed the problems on longstanding neglect.
"Apparently, over the years, the work wasn't done that should've been done as part of major overhauls.

One thing we've learned is that deferring
maintenance just causes more problems in the
future," the secretary said.

Inspectors found numerous problems aboard
JFK, including 3 of its 4 elevators not working
2 of its catapults rated as "degraded."
The ship's overall firefighting capability graded as "seriously degraded." Top-side corrosion on the ship being the "worst observed in three years."

The ship's captain was relieved of duty last
month because of the problems.
Secretary Gordon also said the war requires that
all schedules are in flux and the sailors understand.