This might be old news but I just stumbled across it. USS Ronald Reagan looks to be the navys newest aircraft carrier. I for one would be damn proud to serve on a vessel with that name. http://www.reagan.navy.mil/
On a side note...what do you think the USS Bill Clinton would be...hehe

[url]http://www.reagan.navy.mil/[/url]

Don't think they'll ever be one.... Willy wasn't exactly the Navy's best friend...

Here's the USS Bill Clinton (on the right):

[img]http://www.noblemaritime.org/houseboat%202.jpg[/img]

[ROFL2]

Heheheh. I love it!

Thanks for the link.  My dad and one of my brothers attended the commissioning.

DrMark

I just visited the site. The opening page - it's a picture of Reagan, a sort of misty pic of the vessel, and an 18th Century-looking gold RWR monogram - looked very strange to me, like something from an alternate universe, you know, maybe in a novel where a "progressive" wakes up to find the world has gone "horribly wrong." Bwahahahahaha!

Seriously, it is amazing to think that the nation (or the navy at least) recognizes the man who defeated the Soviet Union. I was trying to explain to my sons (at 3:30 this AM, starting the smoker) that until the early 90s, we actually more than half expected to get nuked by those barbarians. It is even sweeter to reflect on the fact that Reagan was and is reviled by the antilibertarian left as a moron, despite the fact that had a lefty governed instead of Reagan, we'd still be looking down the barrels of those nukes [I know they're still there, but it isn't the same], we'd still be negotiating as equals with bloody-handed communist savages, and convential wisdom would still be calling each release of a single Soviet dissident as a sign of real progress. Oh, BTW, the motto on the ship's coat of arms: "Peace through Strength."  I sincerely hope that at least once before he goes, Reagan has a moment to comprehend and marvel at this awesome piece of globe-straddling American might dedicated in his honor.

I was on a tour of the Reagan on Monday of this week.

Very cool, got to go on the bridge!

Why wouldn't you be able to say? Just because you were in a space that a ship has doesn't mean you revealed the capabilities and limitations of the ship.

Bonzo on"well Nancy I don't recall" Bonzo off

Not taking anything away from RR himself, but is anybody else somewaht disturbed that the carrier is named after a [b]living[/b] ex-pres?  And from what I understand there is a USS George Bush in the works also.  Just doesn't seem 'right' to have USN ships named after living people....we don't have the pics of living folks on our money after all.  Maybe I'm offbase with this [:\]

There is an order given prior to allowing visitors on any USN combatant vessel that goes something like this [b]"Attention all hands, attention all hands, now rig ship for visitors, rig ship for visitors."[/b]  (At least that was the order given for subs.  I don't have a clue about carriers.)

In submarines, the Sonar room was off limits and many other pieces of equipment were covered.  (Special covers were made to fit each piece to be covered.)  Even to a trained observer, we revealed little regarding capabilities.

5sub

One of my favorite political cartoons of all time:

[img]http://photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?sAccountUnq=5794&iGalleryUnq=347&iImageUnq=20227[/img]

Edited to add: Concerning the question of naming a carrier after a living former president: while I may be in agreement with you in general principle, I think a man like Reagan, who did SO MUCH for the defense and freedom of not only this country, but the whole world, deserves the honor, especially being in the condition he is in.

I know I will stand tall and proud if I ever have the honor of having this vessel sail past me.

I pray that wherever she sails her name will generate as much respect as her raw presence alone will, and that when necessary the name itself will strike as much FEAR as her weapons will.

Remember who this man was, and what he did. Few among us can confidently claim to have had the same caliber of titanium-armored BALLS this man had. Let the carrier proclaim that for the 30+ years she will sail.

Klinton is not worthy to have the painting scow of this vessel named after him. Maybe a CHT ("Collection, Holding, and Transfer"... Navyspeak for SEWAGE) barge would be more approriate...

It strikes me as unusual as well. However, to be blunt, even if he didn't possess an admirable character, the chances of Reagan doing anything to make us regret bestowing the honor are nil. The danger in naming big things after live people that their future conduct, or revelations about their past conduct, will require quick redesign and refitting of the building, the park signs, the money, whatever. That happened often enough in Florida that it's against the law to name state (maybe municipal as well) property after live people.

[size=5]USS Bill Clinton[/size=5]



[img]http://drs.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=love+boat/v=2/l=IVS/*-http://www.epguides.de/loveboat.jpg[/img]

We have a member of this board (Locodriver) whose son has orders to be posted on the Reagan. His squadron has brand new F-18E and a new ship.

I agree with you 100%. Brain dead does not mean dead dead. Its improper to name a ship after a living person. It is also considered to be extremely bad luck by sailors.

Other weird or improper ship names:
USS Trent Lott (under construction, will launch 2020)
USS Chung-Hoon DDG-93 will be commissioned 2004 (Chung-Hoon???)
I believe there was a USS Strom Thurmond under construction before he died.
USS George H Bush CVN-77 (planned construction, originally was going to have a proper name of USS Lexington)

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq63-1.htm

FYI, the USS William J Clinton was cancelled because NAVBEURSHIPS couldn't decide on whether it should be a garbage scow or a floating brothel [:D]

Trent Lott? [>:/]

AACOS (the American Association of Comb-Over Specialists) demanded it as the price of their endorsement of the (R) Medicare plan.

Trent Lott brings home the Navy bacon to Mississipi pretty well.  NAS Meridian advanced jet training base and Gulfport Naval Base.  I think that USN would probably rather not be in Gulfport and have the ships in Jax instead, but it's tough to go against somebody with Lott's seniority and clout, even if he isn't the majority leader anymore.

Don't forget Pascagoula...

Naming ships after POLITICAL personalities (instead of LEADERS) pisses me off.

Ever wonder why the USS THOMAS S GATES is the ONLY TICONDEROGA-class cruiser named after a PERSON rather than a BATTLE?

Politics, boy! Politics! [puke]

Close but no cigar. Gulfport is a CB base. And there is a couple of Special Boat Units based in Bay St. Louis, probably at the Stennis Space Facility. Pascagoula is the NAVSTA.

NAVSTA Pascagoula is located across the basin from Northrup Grumman Ingalls Shipbuilding's west bank facility. It's home to DESRON 6, three cruisers, and two frigates. It's also rumored to be BRACed. Which would be more than fine in my opinion. As my wife said, you can get orders to there, but don't expect me to go.

Oh and ships are based in Mayport Florida. More Jax Beach than Jacksonville itself. [:d]

Normally ships are not named after the living.

USS Carl Vinson (CV-70) was the first exception that I knew of.

I'm trying to get the USS Ronald Regan as my next (and final [:)]) ship. The commute is only about 120 miles each way ... sure beats the drive to Norfolk though [:)]

Arleigh Burke attended the commisioning of DDG-51 [i]USS Arleigh Burke[/i].  Also the [i]USS Bob Hope[/i] was commissioned before he passed away as well.

As for naming of ships I always liked Rickover's quote when asked why nuke submarines were no longer being named after fish, instead taking their names from cities and states.  Old Hyman replied...

[b]"Because fish don't vote!"[/b]

[:D]

Rickover was alive when they decided to name a sub after him. His response was classic Rickover:"It should have been a carrier."

But Virginia has better gun laws.

the USS Clinton, bill and hillary
[img]http://www.landslides.com/Slidesets/mutations/mutations27/images/27-J-3020-28.jpg[/img]
2 NY City garbage barges

The Navy has for a variety of reasons foregone the old classic formulae for naming ships.  Since we don't have too many new ships anymore and fewer classes, the old ways have gone by the boards.

Naming ships, buildings or just about anything after living honorees is a new thing.  I guess it's nice that some of the honorees are still around to be aware of the honor.

When we had visitors, rigging for visitors generally meant taping paper bags over a few things in CIC.  Visitors didn't get to any other spaces that might be sensitive (magazines) or dangerous (engineering spaces).  Realistically,  you don't worry too much about visitors seeing things, if they know enough about what they're seeing to report on it, they probably already know it's there.  The outside of boxes generally doesn't reveal anything, it's the noises or emissions it makes that is of interest.