Comments on: Carrier to Mayport?

By: Alter of Freedom

Alter of Freedom — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:13:36 +0000

Correct me if I am wrong but there are pratices by the Navy that keep the number of “carriers” not “ships” in port at one time exactly because of history, not just in Norfolk. I believe we have a certain number on float at all times.

By: tom hall

tom hall — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:48:57 +0000

This is far from a new discussion. The “strategic” vs the “political” sides have been battling for decades. It is far from just “rationalization”. It is strategic and should remain so. As far as I am concerned the two tunnels that must be passed over for our ships to depart the Naval Station and the 6 to 8 hour time frame are and should be of primary concern when talking about where to place these ships. Do yourself a favor and check out how many ships are inport during the Christmas and New Year Holidays.

By: Alter of Freedom

Alter of Freedom — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:56:25 +0000

I think we need to take a step back and stop trying to rationalize why this move is strategically acceptable. Thats not the point. BTW when is the lat time we had “all” our carriers in port?
The issue is this is just the beginning and brace for more upheaval. Remember BRAC? It will be coming back for another round of base reallignment and closings and this time Oceana Air Station is gone baby gone. It barely made it through the last round. Folks, we have to students of history and people. President-elect Obama is surrounding himself with the same Clinton folks that took a hard line on the military and defense appropriations. Ie, they cut them dramatically. The Hampton Roads and Newport News areas need to brace for some really tough times. I raised this during the campaign and no one wanted to enage in the discussion. Clinton knocked down the deficit at the time by cutting defense spending and cutting the military. I think the number was like 500,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and airman. Rumors are jobs at Northrup Grumman are in jeapordy given Obama anti-missile defense system and not supporting increasing surface vessels in the fleet. So the carrier issue may simply just be the tip of the iceberg here in Virginia and the impacts on the economy could be dramatic.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:58:17 +0000

I gotta go with Tom on this one. Anyone ever heard of Pearl Harbor?

By: tom hall

tom hall — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:54:57 +0000

Do we really want to keep all of our Carriers in one harbour ? I know this issue has gone back and forth over the 40 yrs I have been involved with the Navy, but it sounds like a good idea to me.

By: vjp

vjp — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:42:09 +0000

Not biased? Ha!

By: CR UVa

CR UVa — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:34:08 +0000

Seems like this is one topic that may unite Republicans and Democrats in Virginia. Could be interesting to watch.

And maybe I’ve been stuck on RSS feeds for too long or something, but I like the color scheme Vivian. Not that I am biased or anything.