The U.S. Navy Is An Aircraft Carrier Superpower For A Reason

As a former teenage sailor who served on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, I was interested in Peter Suciu’ piece on aircraft carriers in The National Interest, an online publication that focuses on defense issues, national security, military affairs, foreign policy and U.S. politics.

Including amphibious assault ships (LHA), there are now 47 active aircraft carriers in the world, operated by fourteen navies. More than a third of the flattops are in service with the United States Navy, which maintains eleven nuclear-powered CATOBAR carriers, including ten Nimitz-class and one Gerald R. Ford-class.

In addition, the U.S. Navy operates two America-class LHAs of a planned 11; as well as seven Wasp-class ships – while an eighth was seriously damaged by fire and subsequently decommissioned last year.

The current U.S. fleet of Nimitz-class carriers will also be followed into service and replaced on a one-for-one basis by future carriers of the Gerald R. Ford-class, which are more automated in an effort to reduce the amount of funding required to maintain and operate the vessels.

In its 2018 report to Congress, the Navy stated its intention to maintain a 12 CVN force as part of its 30-year acquisition plan.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

The U.S. Navy Is An Aircraft Carrier Superpower for a Reason | The National Interest 

The Navy Is Moving Its Aircraft Carriers To Ready Them For A Potential Fight With China and Russia — Here's Where They're Headed

Christopher Woody at the Business Insider offers a piece on the U.S. Navy's new movement of aircraft carriers.

You can read the rest of the piece and view photos of the carrier force via the below link:

https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-moves-carriers-to-ready-for-possible-fight-with-china-russia-2018-8

Message To North Korea: The Military Might of The Three Carrier Task Force Underway

In the above U.S. Navy photo the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with their strike groups are underway, conducting operations, in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise near North Korea. 

Note: The above photo was taken by Lt. J.G. James Griffin.

You can click on the above photo to enlarge.

Passing The Carriers at Norfolk

In the above U.S. Navy photo sailors watch as the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) passes the aircraft carriers USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), USS George Washington (CVN 73) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

The Eisenhower departed Naval Station Norfolk for the maintenance phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP).

Note: The above photo was taken by Mass Communication Specialist 3^rd Class Dartek Williams.

You can click on the above photo to enlarge. 

Support Your Local Aircraft Carrier

Happy Birthday To The U.S. Navy: 241 Years Of Protecting America.

Happy 241st birthday to the United States Navy.

Born in Philadelphia in 1775, the U.S. Navy has protected America throughout our history.

As the son of a WWII U.S. Navy UDT frogman and a former U.S. Navy enlisted sailor who served on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, I'm proud of our history.

I'm also thankful for the diligence and sacrifice of our current U.S. Navy sailors who are "on watch" around the world.

You can learn more about the history of the U.S. Navy via the below link to the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command:

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/commemorations-toolkits/navy-birthday/Highlightsandimages.html

As they say, you can take the boy out of the Navy, but you can't take the Navy out of the boy.

My Philadelphia Inquirer Review Of 'A Carrier At War: On Board The USS Kitty Hawk In The Iraq War'

You can read my 2007 review of Richard F. Miller's A Carrier At War: On Board the USS Kitty Hawk in the Iraq War below:

http://www.amazon.com/Carrier-War-Board-Kitty-Hawk/dp/1597970476

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

On This Day In History: The Vietnam War's Operation Lam Son 719 Begins.

As History.com notes, on this day in history in 1971 Operation Lam Son 719 began.

I was an 18-year-old sailor serving aboard the USS Kitty Hawk as the aircraft carrier provided air support to the combat operation.

You can read about the combat operation and view videos via the below links:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-lam-son-719-begins?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2016-0208-02082016&om_rid=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa&om_mid=19686332&kx_EmailCampaignID=2383&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2016-0208-02082016&kx_EmailRecipientID=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history/videos/a-soldiers-story-operation-lam-son-719

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history/videos/deconstructing-history-aircraft-carriers-in-vietnam

The Biggest, Baddest, Most Powerful Thing On The Planet

The Most Interesting Man In The World And The War On Terrorism

Christmas Lessons From Mom - And Bob Hope

Joel L.A. Peterson offers a piece at the Philadelphia Inquirer on his Christmas memories of his mother - and Bob Hope.

It has been 15 Christmases since my mother passed, but I remember all the lessons she taught me - especially one on the meaning of Christmas.

It was Christmas Eve, 1987. I was a young naval officer, and I had been at sea nearly 100 days straight, escorting U.S.-flagged tankers through the Persian Gulf. On this particular Christmas, my ship, the aircraft carrier USS Midway, was just outside the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran.

On that Dec. 24, Bob Hope flew aboard, with singers and actors and beauty contest winners.

Waiting for the show, I thought of previous Christmases. It was my mother's favorite holiday, and she always pulled out all the stops. Her Hummel figurines were paraded and displayed, depicting nativity scenes and Christmas characters, like Santa and Rudolph. I could remember so many of my mother's perfectly orchestrated Christmases, when it was white and cold on the outside but warm and glowing in our home. As I waited for Hope's show to start, I felt so distant from the wonder of the season seen through the eyes that I had back then.

Hope turned out to be much better than I had expected. He was a very funny man who made everyone laugh at his own worst weaknesses and gaffes. But when the laughs were done, the reality of Christmas far away from any in my past hit me - and crushed my soul.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20141224_Christmas_lessons_from_Mom_-_and_Bob_Hope.html

Note: The above three photos show Bob Hope on the USS Kitty Hawk when the aircraft carrier was in Subic Bay in 1962. Thanks to Richard Gross for the use of his photos.

I served on the USS Kitty Hawk in 1970 and 1971 and we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas 1970 off the coast of Vietnam. We were scheduled to get the great Bob Hope show, but the Navy had to decline, as we were conducting air combat operations against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese.

I regret not seeing Bob Hope. He was a great comedian, a great actor, and a great American.

Aboard The Aircraft Carrier USS Washington: 41 Photos That Explain Why No One Wants To Mess With The U.S. Military

As an old sailor who served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War, I was interested in the piece and the photos of the USS Eisenhower offered by the Business Insider Australia.

Aircraft carriers are the heart of the U.S. Navy. The deck of a carrier is literally a few acres of American territory floating around the world, projecting massive air and seagoing military might.   

You can read the rest of the piece and view the photos via the below link:

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/uss-eisenhower-persian-gulf-imcmex-2012-2014-2#the-uss-eisenhower-was-first-deployed-in-1975-and-is-not-slated-for-replacement-until-around-2025-1

Command Authority: Tom Clancy's Last Thriller

Veteran journalist and author Joseph C. Goulden offers a good review of Tom Clancy's Command Authority in the Washington Times.

A feeling of sad finality gripped me as I read the last of the 739 pages of Tom Clancy's 18th and final thriller. Once again, the acrid scent of cordite wafted through my imagination during the climactic gunbattle as Clancy’s characters from the world of intelligence achieved yet another victory over the forces of evil.

Clancy, who died on Oct. 1 at 66, had boosters as disparate as President Ronald Reagan, who pronounced “The Hunt for Red October,” his first of 18 books, “the perfect yarn” and “non-put-downable.” National Public Radio's Alan Cheuse called him “Faulkner in a flak suit.”

Let’s be blunt about it. Clancy was an acquired taste — beloved by patriots who support a strong military and an effective intelligence community; mocked by leftist woo-woos who argue that a turned-cheek is the best defense against an adversary.

Clancy was an unabashed hard-liner. In his first novels, his heroes fought the USSR and its KGB. When the Iron Curtain tumbled, burying world communism under a heap of rubble, he made a seamless segue into a war against terrorism. I was one of the millions of fans who put him on the best-seller list for 17 straight books.

In “Command Authority,” Clancy has at it again with his original foes, correctly equating the current regime in Moscow as merely a relabeled version of what Reagan once termed “the evil empire.” The Russian president, one Valeri Volodin (somewhat rhymes with “Putin,” eh?) is threatening the military annexation of  Estonia, Ukraine and other former states of the USSR. 

Volodin's plan includes enhanced powers for the FSB, successor to the KGB as a vehicle to subvert his targets from within. He accuses the United States and other Western powers of instigating anti-Russian provocations in Estonia.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/17/book-review-tom-clancys-final-thriller/

Note: In 1984 my wife and I visited Jamaica, our favorite vacation island. I brought along several thrillers to read, including Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October.

I had not heard of Clancy at this point, but being a Defense Department civilian employee, as well as a Navy veteran who spent two years on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War and another two years on a Navy tugboat at the nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland, I was drawn to the novel by the subject matter.

Reading the book on the beach and by the pool, I was surprised at how accurate the details were (he even got the nickname right of a phone dropped into the sea by surface craft to communicate with submarines), and I was even more surprised at his detailing what I believed at the time was classified information. (I later discovered that I was wrong - the information had been declassified).

I became a Clancy fan and I've enjoyed reading all of his subsequent thrillers and his nonfiction books.

Tom Clancy died far too young at 66 and he shall be missed.

USS Enterprise Commemorates The Battle Of Midway

By Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Britney N. Epps, Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs.

June 4, 2012.

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway with a ceremony conducted early in the morning June 4, a fitting tribute given the ship's close ties to the battle.

The previous USS Enterprise, CV-6, and her air wing played a vital role in the pivotal World War II battle that took place June 4-7, 1942.

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

"On this day in 1942, the entire complexion of the war in the Pacific changed," said Capt. William C. Hamilton, Jr., Enterprise's commanding officer, as he addressed the current Enterprise crew during the ceremony. "Thanks in no small part to the efforts of those serving aboard Enterprise."

Along with Enterprise, aircraft carriers USS Hornet (CV 8) and USS Yorktown (CV 5), along with U.S. strike forces, defeated the Imperial Japanese navy carrier task force under the direction of commander in chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Adm. Yamamoto.

Japanese losses during the battle were staggering. The Japanese Navy lost all four of the large carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor, a heavy cruiser, 248 carrier-based aircraft and over 3,000 lives, including 100 trained pilots who could not be replaced.

Enterprise and her air wing were credited with three of the four Japanese carriers sunk that day at Midway.

"We were not without losses of our own, however," said Rear Adm. Ted Carter, commander, Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. "Although Enterprise was not attacked during the battle, her air wing suffered the heaviest losses of any air wing at sea up to that point."

At the opening of the ceremony, Carter described the heroic roles of the Sailors and Marines who fought and died during the historic battle.

"This morning, we pause for a few moments to reflect on the battle itself, the role each member of the Enterprise Strike Group played, and the sacrifices Sailors and Marines just like you made on those early days of June 1942," Carter told the crew.

Hamilton, Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, Capt. Jeffrey L. Trent and Capt. Joseph J. Leonard, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 2, also spoke about the roles Enterprise, the air wing and the destroyer strike group played during the battle.

"Knowing this is our legacy, it is an absolute honor and privilege to remember the heroes of the Battle of Midway aboard our nation's most historic and legendary aircraft carrier, a great warship with a longstanding bond with Destroyer Squadron Two," said Leonard.

The partnership between Enterprise and Destroyer Squadron 2 began at Midway 70 years ago and continues today.

As part of the commemoration, Enterprise's First Class Petty Officer Association, detailed by Command Master Chief Dwayne E. Huff, performed a wreath-laying ceremony on the fantail aboard the ship. The fallen Sailors and Marines were also honored with a 21-gun salute and the sounding of "Taps," played by Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Timothy Lumpkin.

"While we look back on the incredible achievements of Midway and reflect on what it took for those Sailors to win, we should also look forward with great confidence," said Carter. "Midway taught us that this strength is not built upon technology and training, but rather brave, passionate Sailors and Marines just like you."

Aircraft assigned to CVW-1 performed a missing-man flyover formation June 3 to commemorate the aviators who lost during the battle.

Throughout the course of the day Enterprise went on to announce a historical timeline recounting the events of the Battle of Midway over the ship's announcing system.

"You preserve and celebrate the rich history and tradition of Enterprise," said Carter. "It is our past that has brought us to today and our past that will continue to shape our future," said Carter.

The above U.S. Navy photo was taken by Chief Intelligence Specialist Daniel B. Mayfield.

U.S. To Keep 11 Aircraft Carriers To Show American Sea Power

Foxnews.com reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told sailors aboard the USS Enterprise that America is committed to maintaining 11 aircraft carriers in the fleet to project sea power.

Panetta also told the crowd of 1,700 gathered in the hangar bay of the USS Enterprise that the ship is heading to the Persian Gulf region and will steam through the Strait of Hormuz in a direct message to Tehran.

Iran has warned it will block the Strait, a major transit point for global oil supplies, and bluntly told the U.S. not to send carriers into the Gulf. The U.S. has said it would continue to deploy ships there.

"That's what this carrier is all about," said Panetta. "That's the reason we maintain a presence in the Middle East ...

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/21/us-to-keep-11-aircraft-carriers-to-show-sea-power/?test=latestnews

The above U.S. Navy photo of Panetta on the deck of the USS Enterprise was taken by Petty Officer 3rd Class Scott Pitman.   

Report: China Building Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons For Use Against U.S. Carriers

Bill Gertz, the veteran national security reporter for the Washington Times, wrote an interesting piece about the Communist Chinese building electromagnetic pulse weapons, which can be used against American aircraft carriers.

The carrier remains one of America's symbols of power. No nation on earth can counter the carrier battle group at sea - yet. 

As an old carrier sailor - I served as a teenage seaman on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War - I'm concerned about this report and I hope our leaders in Washington are equally  concerned.

You can read Bill Gertz's report via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/21/beijing-develops-radiation-weapons/?page=all#pagebreak