Rename A Aircraft Carrier.

[RapidNadion]

Sorry, but is the original USS Enterprise (CVN-65) due to be retired anytime soon? Or will it be by the time CVN-79 is commissioned?

I remember taking a tour of the (CVN-65) Enterprise back in 2000, on an ROTC field trip. I was stunned (and heartened) to see, on the floor tiles of the bridge forward of the entry hatch, a dorsal view silhouette of the 1701-Refit, with the accompanying "U.S.S. Enterprise / NCC-1701."

I lol'ed. Quietly.

 

[Sci]

Sorry, but is the original USS Enterprise (CVN-65) due to be retired anytime soon? Or will it be by the time CVN-79 is commissioned?

CVN-65 is not the original Enterprise. The original United States Ship Enterprise would be a Continental Navy sloop-of-war that was captured in 1775 and burnt to prevent capture in 1777.

The first aircraft carrier Enterprise was CV-6, a Yorktown-class carrier that served with distinction during World War II, becoming the most decorated ship in the fleet, and the one after which Star Trek's Enterprise was named.

 

[RapidNadion]

^ Yeah. I thought about that when I made that imprecise word choice, but decided to leave it because I forgot where I was posting. Rest assured, it won't happen again.

 

[Sci]

^ Yeah. I thought about that when I made that imprecise word choice, but decided to leave it because I forgot where I was posting. Rest assured, it won't happen again.

Fair enough.

And, yes, CVN-65 is set to retire in 2013 since the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

 

[RapidNadion]

Gosh - 51 years of active service. That's impressive. Thanks for the link.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There should always be an Enterprise. It should be an unbroken chain of names. Retire one, create another.

Of course, Trek once went close to 20 years without one (the time between the destruction of the Ent-C, and the launch of the D). I don't believe they've ever stated the specific reason for that...

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

I would like a carrier named Enterprise to continue the tradition. OTOH, there was a nearly twenty-year gap between the Enterprise-C and -D being in active service, while the latter took its sweet time getting built.

There will certainly be another Enterprise in the USN, it's just a matter of when. I just hope that politics doesn't get TOO in the way of the name being assigned to a large ship again, preferably a carrier. But would anyone want to serve aboard the glorious fueling tender USS Enterprise?

Mark

 

[Cyke101]

That's it?

That's it from me I'm afraid. I believe he was a Presidential nominee a while ago but beyond that I'd have to do a bit of research.

I'll wait for the little paddle boat named the USS Ron Paul

 

[JuanBolio]

The British have the best names, the sheer ballsyness of calling ships Victorious, Invincible, Vengeance wins hands down.

On this we agree. If we could combine those with some of our battle names (Valley Forge, Iwo Jima, Saratoga, etc...) we'd be set. Oddly we do have some really awesome names for our minesweepers and coastal patrol boats, though...

I can't imagine the Navy is too happy at the prospect of naming a capital ship after a Democrat

There's the USS Jimmy Carter, so I don't think its an anti-democrat thing. Carter, Bush Sr., and Ford were all Navy men. Not sure why they named one after Reagan... he was in the Army.

 

[Sci]

The British have the best names, the sheer ballsyness of calling ships Victorious, Invincible, Vengeance wins hands down.

On this we agree. If we could combine those with some of our battle names (Valley Forge, Iwo Jima, Saratoga, etc...) we'd be set. Oddly we do have some really awesome names for our minesweepers and coastal patrol boats, though...

I can't imagine the Navy is too happy at the prospect of naming a capital ship after a Democrat

There's the USS Jimmy Carter, so I don't think its an anti-democrat thing. Carter, Bush Sr., and Ford were all Navy men. Not sure why they named one after Reagan... he was in the Army.

Yeah, there's a U.S.S. Jimmy Carter, but that's a Seawolf-class submarine--I doubt the Navy is inclined to name an aircraft carrier after a President who wasn't a Republican.

 

[JuanBolio]

The Carter is a submarine because President Carter was himself a submariner. I don't think the Navy is quite that politically polarized.

 

[notwendium]

The CVN-79 SHOULD be called <i>Enterprise</i> Bonus points if there's an NX-ready-room-style set of portraits in the officer's mess or somesuch (sailing ship, CV-6, CVN-65, STS, CVN-79 & NCC-1701 )

 

[Vonstadt]

The British have the best names, the sheer ballsyness of calling ships Victorious, Invincible, Vengeance wins hands down.

On this we agree. If we could combine those with some of our battle names (Valley Forge, Iwo Jima, Saratoga, etc...) we'd be set. Oddly we do have some really awesome names for our minesweepers and coastal patrol boats, though...

I can't imagine the Navy is too happy at the prospect of naming a capital ship after a Democrat

There's the USS Jimmy Carter, so I don't think its an anti-democrat thing. Carter, Bush Sr., and Ford were all Navy men. Not sure why they named one after Reagan... he was in the Army.

Yeah, there's a U.S.S. Jimmy Carter, but that's a Seawolf-class submarine--I doubt the Navy is inclined to name an aircraft carrier after a President who wasn't a Republican.

Actually Sci, there is always the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY CV-67 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)

He was hardly a Republican and was the Commanding officer of a Navy P.T. Boat during WWII. (P.T. 109). JFK was a democrat. CV-67 just retired in 2007 after being in service close to 40 years.

Then there was the USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT CV-42 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Franklin_D._Roosevelt_(CV-42) retired in 1977 after serving over 30 years. FDR was also a democrat.

Or of course the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN CVN-75 http://www.truman.navy.mil/ Once more a democratic President, and an ex army officer.

I think the US Navy is comfortable with democratic names being placed on capital ships. Just that I think during the previous 8 years or so with Washington being primarily republican they just had a stronger 'lobby' recently going in the defense department of chosing more republican names for our ships.


Vons

 

[Icemizer]

USS Taft. The fattest president in history deserves this honor!

I actually believe that the name Enterprise should be retired permenantly from naval service. Instead it should be the name given to the first of any new generation space craft.

 

[Corran Horn]

The navy always needs an Enterprise in my opinion. Actually it's one of the best known ships in the United States navy for the very reason of Star Trek (that was told to me by their Public Affairs Officer when I took a tour of the ship as a child).

But I've heard there are multiple petitions out with various names and Congress has already suggested a few on their own. Two I've heard of are:

Arizona
Goldwater

I can see naming a carrier Arizona to honor the ship and crew that went down at Pearl Harbor.

But GOLDWATER?! FORD?! What the heck for?

Gerald Ford was in the Navy...

For his naval service, Gerald Ford earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine engagement stars for operations in the Gilbert Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, Hollandia, Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation. He also received the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars for Leyte and Mindoro, as well as the American Campaign and World War II Victory Medals.

 

[Brannigan]

Sorry, but is the original USS Enterprise (CVN-65) due to be retired anytime soon? Or will it be by the time CVN-79 is commissioned?

I remember taking a tour of the (CVN-65) Enterprise back in 2000, on an ROTC field trip. I was stunned (and heartened) to see, on the floor tiles of the bridge forward of the entry hatch, a dorsal view silhouette of the 1701-Refit, with the accompanying "U.S.S. Enterprise / NCC-1701."

I lol'ed. Quietly.

I like that. In a book I have about the Enterprise (CVN-65), one of the gangways they have pictured has a banner on it that says "Fleet Starship". Its good to see that the Navy has a sense of humor.

 

[RapidNadion]

^ Agreed - and not a little surprising, to me at least.

 

[nx1701g]

Sorry, but is the original USS Enterprise (CVN-65) due to be retired anytime soon? Or will it be by the time CVN-79 is commissioned?

I remember taking a tour of the (CVN-65) Enterprise back in 2000, on an ROTC field trip. I was stunned (and heartened) to see, on the floor tiles of the bridge forward of the entry hatch, a dorsal view silhouette of the 1701-Refit, with the accompanying "U.S.S. Enterprise / NCC-1701."

I lol'ed. Quietly.

I like that. In a book I have about the Enterprise (CVN-65), one of the gangways they have pictured has a banner on it that says "Fleet Starship". Its good to see that the Navy has a sense of humor.

During the airing of the different Star Trek series they also had the new episodes beamed (pun intended) directly to their mess hall a day before they aired.

 

[mtblillie]

A big question I think should be how EXACTLY does a name get chosen for a ship in the navy anyway?

I was always under the impression that for the most part the navy sort of decides what they want to call it but that the President gets the final say when he signs the Commission for the vessel. Also having said that it may not necessarilly be the Navy that has the political interest in naming but rather the president, congress, or whoever in the Government that has pull enough to say so.
Not accusing anyone, just seems like if for example a president really wanted to honor a former president he might suggest a change when commissioning or maybe asking the SecNav or Navy cheif of staff to consider a certain name. Just a thought

 

[S'kai]

As I'm not a native to America, what's the 'significance' of Goldwater meant to be?

Barry Goldwater was a Senator from Arizona. He inherited his wealth from his father's department store. He made a name for himself as a proponent of an American brand of conservatism. He wrote a widely read book, "The Conscience of a Conservative." He ran for president and lost to Lyndon Johnson in 1964 by a wide margin.

Being a radical, I regarded him as the right hand of the devil when I was in college. Today, he looks positively moderate compared with the loonies intent on hijacking the Republican party.

Back to the big E.