USN CVN-82 & 83

[taxi1]

Waiting for the USS Hunter (Biden not Ligget).
It will be our first ship to require an unqualified crew to get paid $83,000 per month, and be required to use cocaine while standing watch.
And all crew members will be preemptively pardoned for any transgressions afloat or ashore from 10 years prior to enlistment until 10 years after separation.

Motto: When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything

 

[Uncle Fester]

I think Spruance and Armstrong are pretty good candidates.

Neil has a Navy ship now, belongs to ONR, and DDG-111 is Spruance.

R/V Neil Armstrong - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Neil Armstrong is an Ocean Class research vessel and, as one of the newest, most advanced ships in the U.S. academic fleet, is outfitted to conduct general oceanographic research.

www.whoi.edu

 

[Faded Float Coat]

Yuck.

Am I the only one who thinks naming our biggest ships after living presidents is a bad idea?

Agree, with one caveat: if you're absolutely hell-bent on naming a carrier after a living president, at least pick one that was a Naval Aviator - GWHB (at the time).

 

[Swanee]

Neil has a Navy ship now, belongs to ONR, and DDG-111 is Spruance.

R/V Neil Armstrong - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Neil Armstrong is an Ocean Class research vessel and, as one of the newest, most advanced ships in the U.S. academic fleet, is outfitted to conduct general oceanographic research.

www.whoi.edu

Ah yes. The first human to walk on the Moon has some weird esoteric research ship named after him. This ship will never make headlines and will be largely forgotten by anyone who didn't sail her.

Meanwhile two men who were elected President get the greatest capital ships ever to be built named after them. Their ships will have strike groups named after them and will be seen on the nightly news for decades to come.

Imagine the skipper on the 1MC," Ladies and gentlemen, we sail into contested waters against a capable adversary who wishes us dead. We carry the name of a fearless American who did the impossible, who stood for what is right for all mankind, who amongst incredible odds did not fail. We carry that banner with us, that name on our hearts and we will not fail them. This name lives into eternity and embodies our warrior spirit. You are all prepared for the hard days ahead. Fight with a happy heart, you have been well trained and you're ready for this. Victory will be ours!"

That means a lot when it's Armstrong. What does it mean when it's Clinton or Bush Jr?

 

[Brett327]

I've spent a fair amount of time on carriers. Can't say I've ever even pondered the ship's namesake as I'm launching of the pointy end headed for combat ops. Sure, cool sounding names are great and all, but I think the notion that it motivates anyone to be better at their job, or fight more bravely when repelling an attack is a bit silly.

 

[Swanee]

Silly for the O's going off the front end, sure. For the 19 year old kid who is homesick, donning their fire fighting gear and hoping the CIWS does it's job, perhaps not so much.

"Tonight is the night of nights" wasn't written for the officers.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Silly for the O's going off the front end, sure. For the 19 year old kid who is homesick, donning their fire fighting gear and hoping the CIWS does it's job, perhaps not so much.

"Tonight is the night of nights" wasn't written for the officers.

The carrier is also a unique place in the DoD, where every sailor performs some function (and many officers as well), that enables a relatively small group of officers to accomplish the mission of the entire carrier. So I guess that is to say that our traditional sense of officers supporting enlisted folks is a little flip flopped. At least in an operational/combat ops sense. That doesn't negate your point, just saying that the whole perspective on a CVN is pretty counter to your experience in the USMC. One might argue, justifiably so at times, that the O's headed across the beach might have priority over everyone else on the ship, O and E alike.

 

[Brett327]

Silly for the O's going off the front end, sure. For the 19 year old kid who is homesick, donning their fire fighting gear and hoping the CIWS does it's job, perhaps not so much.

"Tonight is the night of nights" wasn't written for the officers.

Come on now. This is a highly romanticized view of what motivates anyone.

 

[Odominable]

The carrier is also a unique place in the DoD, where every sailor performs some function (and many officers as well), that enables a relatively small group of officers to accomplish the mission of the entire carrier. So I guess that is to say that our traditional sense of officers supporting enlisted folks is a little flip flopped. At least in an operational/combat ops sense. That doesn't negate your point, just saying that the whole perspective on a CVN is pretty counter to your experience in the USMC. One might argue, justifiably so at times, that the O's headed across the beach might have priority over everyone else on the ship, O and E alike.

Not disagreeing with you but despite flowery claims to the contrary in the Marines that is effectively the dynamic in any aviation squadron, on a carrier or otherwise.

I suppose it’s a bit magnified on a CVN since as you say that’s literally the entire reason the ship exists, but let’s face it, 99% of the effort on an Amphib outside workups is supporting/enabling flight ops

 

[sevenhelmet]

Come on now. This is a highly romanticized view of what motivates anyone.

How does that relative apathy around names explain why people fought to get a modern ship named Enterprise?

Call me a romantic if you like, but I think senior folks who share your attitude is exactly why our ships aren’t better named. The ship’s name, like the flag, could represent an ideal to unite around, and would do so for decades. Not as a stand-alone motivation for sailors, but as a reinforcing part of characteristics and values working together to illuminate the best parts of American culture. Seen in that light, “Slick Willy” just doesn’t cut it. It’s a missed opportunity.

Honestly, if it really doesn’t matter: given our six-sigma, program-managed, bureaucracy culture, why do we bother naming them at all? They already have numbers. It would save money on paint and administrative tasks to simply not do it anymore.

 

[taxi1]

Maybe the USS Braxton Bragg. That's name's become available.

 

[BDR529]

Maybe DOGE can get involved and come up with some ideas to reduce the federal deficit. Sell off naming rights, allow advertising inside the ship. For example: lets have the USS Coinbase, a wardroom brought to you by Ozempic, sports betting kiosks brought to you by DraftKings sprinkled throughout the ship.

Better idea than the USS Murrha. 😄

Reminds me of this... there's alot of potential for ad space on a CVN.

 

[sevenhelmet]

Today aircrews from the USS Taco Bell struck Houthi targets in Yemen. Cdr. Robert “Spicy” Jones of VFA-200, the Bashing Burritos, says his aviators performed well and reminded all that there is a two for one sale on gorditos with the purchase of a Pepsi product.

Doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Idiocracy is real.

 

[Flash]

Waiting for the USS Hunter (Biden not Ligget).
It will be our first ship to require an unqualified crew to get paid $83,000 per month, and be required to use cocaine while standing watch.
And all crew members will be preemptively pardoned for any transgressions afloat or ashore from 10 years prior to enlistment until 10 years after separation.

At least that ship is serving a useful purpose.

Unlike this one that is an overpriced showpiece that is all about looks but is actually ugly as sin, cost far more than originally budgeted for and still can't do anything useful to include shooting its own guns, which are going to be removed, and which still hasn't done anything useful years after being built. As Patches O'Houlihan would say, it is about as as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop.

Bonus, this is actually a commissioned US Navy vessel while the BRP Sierra Madre is not and has nothing to do with the US government. At all.

 

[Flash]

Neil has a Navy ship now, belongs to ONR, and DDG-111 is Spruance.

R/V Neil Armstrong - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Neil Armstrong is an Ocean Class research vessel and, as one of the newest, most advanced ships in the U.S. academic fleet, is outfitted to conduct general oceanographic research.

www.whoi.edu

Forgot about the Armstrong, I think that is a bit underwhelming for Spruance.