Posted on 03/16/2012 7:09:51 PM PDT by U-238
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus confirmed Thursday that the cost overrun for the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is projected to reach $1 billion, bringing the ship’s total cost to some $12 billion — but said it’s on track to be delivered on schedule.
The admission took place under questioning from Arizona Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who pointedly asked Mabus “what have you been doing on your watch” to control the costs on the new ship.
Mabus said the Navy’s deal with shipbuilder Huntington-Ingalls Industries is such that the government has “recovered its fee” for the project, and remainder of the money for the ship will only go to cover its costs. He also said the Navy expected to use the lessons learned on the first-in-class Ford to make sure the next ship, the USS John F. Kennedy, would not have the same types of cost problems.
Would the Navy need to ask Congress for permission to go above the cost cap on the ship? McCain asked. Not this year, Mabus said — but next year, the service will probably have to get special authorization to pay to continue building.
Navy officials had said before that their worst-case scenario for the Ford was a $1.1 billion cost overrun, and that’s what they had planned for internally. But they said they thought the previous public number, $800 million, was probably as bad as it would get, leaving some headroom in their plans for the medium term.
(Excerpt) Read more at dodbuzz.com ...
Because he was one of the worse presidents in history. I lived through his tenure. The only reason he is remembered differently is because of the peanut that followed him.
The first ship named after a living person was the USS Carl Vinson
That's only one of the many benefits.
And you are correct.
Gerald Ford is actually one of the few who should have one named for him. He served on aircraft carriers in the Navy in WW2. That is, if we are going to name them after Presidents.
George H. R. Bush was a Naval flier on aircraft carriers in WW2, so I think he qualifies also.
I agree. He is one of the few who I think should have a carrier named after him.
No venom here against Ford but I agree with DM that he isn’t worthy of a CVN. Neither is Bush I. Neither is JFK for that matter. But the Navy’s ship naming has become so political (from both D and R administrations) we are stuck with them.
There is no venom directed toward Gerald Ford. As POTUS, he was rather benign and, IMO, not worthy of a CVN. Perhaps a destroyer or some other vessel.
I’m ex-Navy, I know the criteria for naming ships. I just don’t think that Gerald Ford is worthy of a CVN, just because he was a fill-in POTUS for a couple of years.
He was a nice man but, IMO, didn’t really do anything all that distinguishing for such an honor.
Not many people do not know the criteria of naming ships.So I am informing them. I did’nt.
Thanks, GN, that's the point I was trying to make. You said it much better.
Or major plumbing modifications. CVN-77 was the first to carry a newfangled system aboard that has proven to be a curse.
Here is a link :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/naval-ship-faces-chronic-toilet-outages-at-sea/2011/11/15/gIQALCZ3QN_blog.html
Thousands of men served on carriers during WWII. Not all of them merit a carrier being named after them.
Army AF Col. Jimmy Doolittle took a flight of B-25s off the decks of an aircraft carrier to conduct a bombing run over Japan. Most of the crews either ditched and were killed or captured after the raid or they managed to get to China. I'd name a carrier after Col. Doolittle before I'd name it after Gerald Ford.
A difference in whom ones heroes are, I guess.
I did say “if we are going to name them after Presidents”, and then I said why.
Personally I think Doolittle is an excellent choice myself. I real man among men.
Doolittle deserves it.
The improvements in this new class are going to be very impressive. Was just reading up on the differences tonite.
ping
You can thank former senator John Warner for going to SECNAV to get the naming. He wanted it named after his former boss.
Gee it could have been his pick for VP which sure didn't help matters. What was his name again? Oh yea Nelson Rockefeller?
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