Bush carrier to be unfinished during party

[unhappycamper]

Bush carrier to be unfinished during party
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 18, 2008 17:07:40 EST

Ready or not, Presidents Bush 41 and 43 will gather in Norfolk, Va., early in the new year to commission 41’s namesake aircraft carrier, even though the ship won’t be quite ready for delivery.

Construction delays mean the future George H. W. Bush won’t be able to carry out sea trials and be accepted by the Navy before the Jan. 10 commissioning — the normal sequence of events for a new ship, the Navy and shipbuilder Northrop Grumman said Thursday in separate statements.

Legal custody of a new ship is transferred from the shipbuilder to the Navy when the service accepts delivery of the vessel. Commissioning ceremonies for Navy ships, by contrast, have evolved into more ceremonial and social events, where the ship’s crew and sponsor can celebrate the occasion.

In the case of the new aircraft carrier, the occasion is even more unusual, since the namesake is still alive. Naming a new Navy ship after a living person remains a rare thing, although in recent years the practice has become somewhat more common.

The Navy set the Jan. 10 date earlier this year to ensure that President George W. Bush would be able to attend while he was still the commander-in-chief. Bush will turn over the reins of government Jan. 20 to President-elect Barack Obama.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/defense_bushcarrier_commissioning_121808/%2e



uhc comment: Meet the $6.2 billion USS George H. W. Bush:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_George_H._W._Bush

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77)

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) is the tenth and last Nimitz class supercarrier of the United States Navy. She is named for former President George H. W. Bush, who was a naval aviator during World War II. George H. W. Bush is to be the final Nimitz class aircraft carrier constructed; the next carrier built will be Gerald R. FordTemplate:WP Ships USS instances, the first of a new class.

She is the second United States aircraft carrier to be named after a naval aviator (ForrestalTemplate:WP Ships USS instances was the first). Other naval vessels named for aviators include frigates McCluskyTemplate:WP Ships USS instances and ThachTemplate:WP Ships USS instances, and destroyer MasseyTemplate:WP Ships USS instances, all named for aviators who commanded formations in the Battle of Midway. George H.W. Bush is also the second aircraft carrier, following Reagan, to be named after a living former President. While still a Nimitz class ship, George H. W. Bush differs significantly from her predecessors, even more so than the differences between CVN 68–70 and CVN 71–76.

Construction began in 2001 by the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard, at a cost of $6.2 billion.(1) The aircraft carrier was christened on 7 October 2006, and delivery is set for 2008. She is scheduled to be commissioned in 2009.


FYI - The new Ford carriers cost upwards of $11 billion.

[fasttense]

1. Why don't they just name the ship after Benedict Arnold

or Al Capone? Seems it would be just as fitting as naming it after a war criminal like bush.

There is going to be some serious bad karma on the ship.

[Angleae]

2. And that price tag doesn't include aircraft.