TrainTrac
Well-Known Member
Tomorrow, 1 December 2012, the U.S. Navy's oldest active warship, USS Enterprise (CVN-65) will be deactivated in a ceremony in Norfolk, VA after 51 years of service to the Fleet and Nation. It's a bittersweet occasion, about which I have mixed emotions.
Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, with eight reactors on board. Since the rise of Naval Aviation in WWII, pretty much anytime there's some sort of crisis in the world, the first question asked by the President of his military leadership has been, "What's the closest carrier?" For the last five decades, the answer has most often been "Enterprise". Most recently, in 2001, Big E was on her way home from a "routine" deployment. The ship was headed towards the equator for a "crossing the line" ceremony to initiate some Pollywogs into Shellbacks. The crew watched the 9/11 attacks in horror via real-time via satellite TV. As the attacks were occurring and even before receiving any new orders, the captain knew what was coming, so he turned the ship around and headed towards Afghanistan. Enterprise made her mark on history once again as the first ship to launch attack aircraft to begin "payback" on the Taliban and Al-Quaeda in October 2001.
Sadly, there won't be any opportunity for her to become a museum. After inactivation, the reactors will be shut down, de-fueled, and removed from the ship. To do this will mean cutting many holes in her hull in order to get the reactors out. It'll be way too co-prohibitive to patch her back up again to be able to float. So the entire ship will be scrapped.:cry:
I served on three different ships during my 20-year career in the Navy, and I can honestly say there was no other like Enterprise. Even when I was aboard her in 2002-2003, she still had bragging rights as the fastest carrier in the fleet at age 42. There's nothing like being aboard her out for sea trials at flank speed. It's an amazing sight to see a 1/4-mile long, 90,000-ton ship kicking up a rooster tail in her wake while hauling ass at 30-plus knots. And experiencing the same behemoth of a ship going through a high-speed turn is quite the experience also. She shook so bad that we thought she'd fly apart, but the old girl held her own.
We had a great crew of almost 6000, who pulled together to function as a great team. Because Enterprise was the only ship in her class, we often could rely on nobody but ourselves to get the job done when it came to keeping her in fighting shape.
As a Sailor, let me say thanks for allowing me to walk your decks and be a part of your team, Big E. As an American, I say thanks for 51 years of service and a job well done! You leave a tremendous legacy, one which will live on in the next ship to bear the proud name ENTERPRISE!
If you'd like to watch the deactivation ceremony (I'll be watching, probably with a box of kleenex!:cry
, it starts tomorrow at 1300 EST and will be live-streamed at <A HREF="www.navy.mil">www.navy.mil</A>
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Enterprise was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, with eight reactors on board. Since the rise of Naval Aviation in WWII, pretty much anytime there's some sort of crisis in the world, the first question asked by the President of his military leadership has been, "What's the closest carrier?" For the last five decades, the answer has most often been "Enterprise". Most recently, in 2001, Big E was on her way home from a "routine" deployment. The ship was headed towards the equator for a "crossing the line" ceremony to initiate some Pollywogs into Shellbacks. The crew watched the 9/11 attacks in horror via real-time via satellite TV. As the attacks were occurring and even before receiving any new orders, the captain knew what was coming, so he turned the ship around and headed towards Afghanistan. Enterprise made her mark on history once again as the first ship to launch attack aircraft to begin "payback" on the Taliban and Al-Quaeda in October 2001.
Sadly, there won't be any opportunity for her to become a museum. After inactivation, the reactors will be shut down, de-fueled, and removed from the ship. To do this will mean cutting many holes in her hull in order to get the reactors out. It'll be way too co-prohibitive to patch her back up again to be able to float. So the entire ship will be scrapped.:cry:
I served on three different ships during my 20-year career in the Navy, and I can honestly say there was no other like Enterprise. Even when I was aboard her in 2002-2003, she still had bragging rights as the fastest carrier in the fleet at age 42. There's nothing like being aboard her out for sea trials at flank speed. It's an amazing sight to see a 1/4-mile long, 90,000-ton ship kicking up a rooster tail in her wake while hauling ass at 30-plus knots. And experiencing the same behemoth of a ship going through a high-speed turn is quite the experience also. She shook so bad that we thought she'd fly apart, but the old girl held her own.
We had a great crew of almost 6000, who pulled together to function as a great team. Because Enterprise was the only ship in her class, we often could rely on nobody but ourselves to get the job done when it came to keeping her in fighting shape.
As a Sailor, let me say thanks for allowing me to walk your decks and be a part of your team, Big E. As an American, I say thanks for 51 years of service and a job well done! You leave a tremendous legacy, one which will live on in the next ship to bear the proud name ENTERPRISE!
If you'd like to watch the deactivation ceremony (I'll be watching, probably with a box of kleenex!:cry
, it starts tomorrow at 1300 EST and will be live-streamed at <A HREF="www.navy.mil">www.navy.mil</A>[Broken External Image]:
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