The Carrier USS George H. W. Bush Is Under The Gun To Deploy On Time

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

Defense News: Held Up In the Shipyard, Carrier Bush Is Under The Gun To Deploy On Time

WASHINGTON – The USS George H. W. Bush, newest of the fleet’s operational carriers, is under the gun. The ship emerged from a shipyard in late July five months late – seven if compared to the original schedule. It's facing a planned deployment later this year that needs to be on time if the Bush is to relieve another carrier already operating on the far side of the world. With a compressed training schedule, Norfolk-based Fleet Forces Command (FFC) is wrestling with how to get the ship, its air wing and supporting strike group fully ready to deploy to a combat zone, a situation its Optimized Fleet Response Plan (OFRP) was conceived to handle.

Dealing with the Bush’s situation crosses a lot of Navy bailiwicks, including Naval Reactors and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington – the latter also overseas Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where the Bush’s overhaul was performed – to Fleet Forces Command to the Pentagon’s joint planning offices, where the global disposition of the fleet’s carriers is decided. And out in the Persian Gulf, the crew of the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is hoping the Bush arrives around the first of the year, in time for Ike’s strike group to return home after seven months on deployment.

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WNU Editor: This is one of the U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carriers .... and it appears that maintenance problems are becoming the new normal for the U.S. Navy. case in point .... LCS Freedom's Engine May Need Replacement (Defense News).

USS George H.W. Bush Sea Trials

For The First Time, At Sea On Its Own -- The Daily Press

Just after 9 a.m. Friday, the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush floated over the top of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the first time that the ship went to sea under its own power.

Flanked by a host of tugboats and Coast Guard escorts, the commissioned $6.26 billion Newport News-built ship departed for its first of two rounds of sea trials called "builder's trials," moving the ship another step closer to delivery to the Navy.

The trials — operational tests conducted at sea over a few days — are used to demonstrate that the ship's two nuclear propulsion plants and other systems function properly.

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My Comment: I sometimes scratch my head and wonder if this is worth it in today's geopolitical world.

A Presidential Welcome For USS George H.W. Bush

(Click Image To Enlarge)
U.S. sailors walk alongside Pre-Commissioning Unit George H.W. Bush, docked in Norfolk, Va., Jan. 7, 2009, during a rehearsal for the aircraft carrier's commissioning ceremony. The ship is scheduled to be commissioned Jan. 10 at Naval Station Norfolk. U.S. Navy photo by Navy Seaman Joel S. Kolodziejczak

From Yahoo News/AP:

NORFOLK, Va. – It's the perfect gift for an old Navy flier: 1,092 feet of flattop.

"What do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?" asked President George W. Bush from aboard the Navy's newest ship. "Well, an aircraft carrier."

The USS George H.W. Bush, a steel-gray vessel longer than three football fields and built at a cost of $6.2 billion, was commissioned Saturday with its namesake, the 41st president, and other members of the Bush family on hand for the ceremonies at Naval Station Norfolk.

Adorned for the day with red, white and blue bunting, the USS George H.W. Bush is one of the Nimitz class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the largest warships in the world.

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U.S. Congressional Politics On Full Display

Is The USS George H.W. Bush. Florida Bound?
-- In From The Cold

The Congressional delegations of Florida and Virginia have been engaged in a big-money tug-of-war in recent weeks. At stake is an economic impact of $500 million a year, based on a prospective home port for the new aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

When the Navy recently announced plans to station the a carrier at the Mayport Navy Base in Jacksonville, Florida, the Virginia delegation let out a collective howl. Since the John F. Kennedy was retired almost two years ago, all of the carriers in the Atlantic Fleet have been stationed at Naval Station Norfolk. It's the kind of monopoly that any Congressman or Senator would fight to preserve.

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Future USS George H.W. Bush To Transit

This is the last of the Nimitz carriers that will ever be built.

From Military.com:

WASHINGTON - The future USS George H.W. Bush, (CVN-77), will transit from the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News shipyard to Norfolk Naval Station on Dec. 22.

This transit will enable the ship to begin preparation for its commissioning on Jan. 10, 2009. Following commissioning, USS George H.W. Bush will remain at Norfolk Naval Station to prepare for builder's and acceptance trials in early 2009.

"The ship and its crew have worked and trained hard and are on course for commissioning and delivery", said Capt. Frank Simei, program manager for in-service aircraft carriers.

"As the most powerful warship in the world USS George H.W. Bush will be a tremendous asset to our nation over its fifty years of planned service."

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