Posted on 04/16/2016 12:10:22 PM PDT by DeathBeforeDishonor1
A member of the House Armed Services Committee wants an explanation for why the next Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer will be named for a politician instead of a war hero. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California and a Marine Corps veteran, sent a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus Wednesday, asking him to explain his decision to name DDG-120 after former Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, who retired last January after 36 years in office. The letter was first reported by Defense News. Hunter cited July 2012 Congressional Research Service report to Congress that showed that destroyers are traditionally named for deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, including former secretaries of the Navy. The report, however, notes that exceptions to ship-naming rules can be made by the secretary of the Navy. "A secretary's discretion to make exceptions to ship-naming conventions is one of the Navy's oldest ship-naming traditions," the report found, noting that exceptions in order to name ships for presidents or lawmakers happened often enough to constitute a "special cross-type naming convention." "It is my firm belief that Senator Levin served this country honorably as a member of the United States Senate and was a strong advocate for our men and women in uniform," Hunter wrote. However, the congressman added, "it is important that the Navy adhere to its own ship naming rules and take every effort necessary to avoid politicization of this process." Other recent exceptions to the destroyer-naming tradition have included the Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), the Paul Ignatius (DDG-117), and the Daniel Inouye (DDG-118).
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
If you are going to name a ship for a worthless Senator, why not John McCain? He at least had the distinction of actually BEING a US Naval officer.
Who was Carl Levin anyway?
My point is not that whoever (McCain, or Carter for example) was a naval officer.
I didn’t object to the Nimitz.
After serving as naval officers, they became politicians. It’s THAT that I object to.
You didn’t think the guy who is releasing all the terrorists from Gitmo would dare let Chris Kyle live survive, did you?
Chris Kyle would have been a good choice; and I was thinking it could have been the last names of the two men who rescued 20 people during Benghazi; especially since it has now been revealed that Hillary lied to the families and the rest of America about what happened there. Every time their names were mentioned it would be a wonderful reminder of Hillary treachery.
The USS Midway is docked in San Diego - you can even go aboard; they have a great naval museum aboard.
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