Carrier USS Kennedy Decommissioned

[liberal N proud]

MAYPORT, Fla. - Sailors in blue lined the deck of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy on Friday as guns boomed to commemorate the decommissioning of "Big John" after nearly 40 years of service.

Officers gathered in front of a screen displaying a large American flag, and speakers echoed the words of the carrier's namesake, including the famed line from President Kennedy's 1961 inauguration: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

One of two remaining fossil fuel-powered aircraft carriers in the Navy, the ship supported Operation Desert Shield in Iraq in 1990, and was deployed in February 2002 to the North Arabian Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

It also supported Operation Iraqi Freedom in June 2004, and its airwing dropped more than 54,000 pounds of bombs on Iraq.

The Kennedy, based in Florida since 1995, recently served as a training platform for Navy pilots to obtain carrier landing qualification. The Navy suspended the ship's flight operations about a year ago, citing faulty landing equipment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17750689/


Every time I hear that one of these ships is decommissioned, I wonder, are these vessels that decrepit and out of date that they could not be retrofitted vs a completely building a new ship using valuable resources? If someone can explain in a way that would truly justify this practice I would be amazed.

[BOSSHOG]

1. A whole bunch of money was put into keep her afloat

for this long. She was in SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) in Philadelphia in the 80's for a thorough overhaul. Also technology has advanced considerably in the past 40 years and it is often difficult to retrofit an old gal. I often get a little maudlin about decommissionings. I hope Big John becomes a Museum instead of a reef.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I have mixed feelings about it. Even though I am a pacifist I feel a little sad about it.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Ya can't humanize a ship

but you can come to love some of them; not all but some.

[AllegroRondo]

4. refitting her to nuclear would be too expensive

but I do hope she becomes a museum.

[Kelly Rupert]

5. I assume that converting it from diesel to nuclear

would cost too much, but I'm not an expert.

[Gold Metal Flake]

6. Three words: Floating Drag Strip!

Better be able to shut down fast!

[Turbineguy]

7. 40 years is an old ship

Sometimes retrofitting is simply impossible. Also fossil fuel steamers have a hard time keeping up with nukes. Ongoing maintenance programs envision eventual decommissioning. They are not designed to keep the ship as new in the same way you keep your car running for as long as possible but do not replace the engine or other major components every few years to maintain orginal performance specs.

Most of the time the work that is done is as cheaply as possible to keep the vessel in class or on schedule.

Unless the ship has some very unique charateristics that become attractive (as what happened to some of the WWII vintage battleships) again, it has a life expectancy.

[n2doc]

8. Also, hulls and welds get weak

Corrosion makes metal thinner, and all sorts of internal equipment (wiring, plumbing, etc.) starts to fall apart. A ship can become very dangerous very quickly, and you don't want that in a warship, especially. They should name the next one they build after JFK, though.