Posted on 06/05/2004 11:14:19 PM PDT by ambrose
Naval submarine Jimmy Carter christened at Connecticut shipyard
GROTON, Conn. (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter was filled with emotion Saturday as the most advanced nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy was named after him at a Connecticut shipyard.
"This is a very wonderful day for me, to see my wife break the champagne on undoubtedly the finest and most formidable ship in the world," said Carter, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the only submariner to be elected president.
Carter's wife, Rosalynn, blessed the Seawolf-class nuclear submarine and its crew, then hesitated for a moment before cracking the bottle of champagne against the sail of the USS Jimmy Carter.
Amid much fanfare and cheers, a crowd of 4,500 Navy personnel, submarine workers and their families gathered at the Electric Boat shipyard for Saturday's christening ceremony. The Carters' daughter, Amy, also attended the ceremony.
Only nine people have had ships named after them while they are still alive in modern times, said Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy.
"President Jimmy Carter has surely earned his place in this elite group of citizens," England said.
Another was former President Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday. The christening ceremony had ended before Reagan's death was announced.
The $3.2 billion Jimmy Carter is the third and last of the Seawolf-class submarine. It has been nearly nine years in the making and still has about a year of finishing on its interior before it can be tested and commissioned.
As the ship's sponsor, Rosalynn Carter has been corresponding with the crew and its families. The Carters were stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton in the early 1950s during Carter's Navy service.
The submarine was built with extra capabilities to perform reconnaissance and surveillance missions, perform research and engage in undersea warfare. It also can handle different weapons and undersea vehicles than other ships in its class.
The ship will be "a needed constituent in the continued dominance of the seas by the United States Navy," said James Schlesinger, secretary of energy under Carter and also director of the Central Intelligence Agency and secretary of defense under President Richard Nixon.
In the war on terrorism, the submarine is a symbol to terrorists of the United States' military domination, Schlesinger said.
Schlesinger recalled Carter's work during his presidency and since he left office in 1981.
Carter was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 2002 for helping solve international conflicts and for working for human rights and economic and social development around the world.
"This powerful instrument of war will be part of a deterrent that maintains the peace that Jimmy Carter has devoted so much of his life to preserve," Schlesinger said.
Vice Adm. Kirkland Donald, commander of Naval Submarine Forces, said the Navy is eager to get the ship into service. The crew already has been training to get ready for its commissioning.
The first ship in the class, the USS Seawolf, was commissioned in 1997. The USS Connecticut was commissioned the following year.
Another affirmation that Saturday was a very bad day.
Is this boat the moral equivalent of a banana? I wouldn't serve this POS for anything...until they rename it.
Any terrestrial rabbits will have to be dealt with by the USMC or the United States Army.
Excuse me. I'd love to continue this stimulating discussion, but I have to take a whiz in a crucial way.
I'll return when I get back from the bathroom.
Perhaps Charles Schulz and Himself were reminiscing today, and sharing a chuckle or two, about the old Charlie-Lucy-and-the-football routine...
To another point what lines will be renumbered from carter's lunacy, or klintoons.
Are there any as the boys of Pont du Huc, tear down this wall or a bright and shining city on the hill.
The coolest feature is that it can submerge and act like a submarine when it's in an area where submarines are more popular.
The only line that comes to my mind is Bill Clinton's "I did not have sex with that woman (dramatic pause), Miss Lewinsky." How's that for a legacy?
History will treat neither man too kindly, or, I should say, any more kindly. Thank you, by the way, for your service in the Army to protect this "Shining City on a Hill." Because of men like you, we remain free.
I realize you have to do what you are told in the military, do to me what they will, insubordinate or whatever, but I would absolutely refuse to serve in any vessel named after J. Carter, or B. Clinton.
I object to the name Jimmy because that is against Navy tradition. I respect his service as a Nuclear Engineer in the Navy, but some of the things he has said about this country and its leaders since his presidency has shown extremely poor judgement. It is hard to overlook.
Why do you think they did that? I know that he's known by the name Jimmy Carter and not James Carter, but it sounds so stupid and informal to be put on a yet-to-be-commissioned United States Ship.
I have no idea. But if I find out I will let you know.
Anybody have the full test of Carter's speech?Did he blame America for anything?How many protester's at the shipyard?Did Carter praise the protesters?
What about the fact that the rudder seems to be jammed to port?
I don't think the honor was deserved. Its not like they could have named the submarine for someone who wasn't completely out of his depth in managing America's affairs in the late 70s. Oh well.
"I agree"
I don't think the honor was deserved. Its not like they could have named the submarine for someone who wasn't completely out of his depth in managing America's affairs in the late 70s. Oh well.
"I agree"
I wouldn't want to be stationed on a submarine that immediately sinks, then takes 20 years to struggle back to the surface again.
Too bad brave and honorable people will sail under such a name as this.
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