isthvan, I think many nations do see the value of larger ships that can carry helos for humanitarian or even "Comando" or "Speical Forces" missions. I think the value of this type of ship was shown in the Tsunami relief efforts of the US & other nations in 2004-05. Too bad the PRC did not make a showing
Back to the Kennedy..I found this article...By the way the Kennedy has been sitting at it's homeport in Florida since May this year.
Pitiful showing for the worlds largest navy....Shameful.
Warner changes mind, backs decommissioning JFK
By Mark D. Faram
Times staff writer
The Navy is one step closer to decommissioning the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, and the green light to mothball the ship could come within weeks.
The news comes as Sen. John Warner, R-Va., tacked an amendment onto the current warfare supplemental spending bill that would allow the service to operate only 11 aircraft carriers instead of the 12 currently required by law.
“The purpose of this amendment is to revise the previous legislation such that the Secretary of the Navy can retire this ship,” Warner said April 26 on the Senate floor.
The amendment passed by a voice vote, according to the Congressional Record.
This change of heart comes a year after Warner used a similar amendment to stall the retirement of the 38-year old Kennedy by making it law that the Navy keep 12 carriers operating until six months after the Quadrennial Defense Review was released.
Still, a quick trip to mothballs is far from a done deal. The amendment requires approval of the House of Representatives and the President before becoming law.
Warner based his reversal, he said, on advice from the Navy.
“Subsequent to the legislation by the Congress and the law enacted, the Navy has determined that the USS John F. Kennedy ... in the judgment of the Chief of Naval Operations, is not qualified to perform her primary mission of aviation operations,” he said.
In short, he said, the Kennedy is not safe to operate.
“There are very real concerns regarding the ability to maintain the Kennedy in an operationally safe condition for our sailors at sea,” Warner said.
Repairing it is no longer a viable option, he said, as the price tag to restore the ship to a deployable status would cost “an inordinate amount of money.”
Also, it’s not just the cost of refurbishment that’s out of hand, he said. Simply maintaining the ship in its current state will cost the Navy $20 million a month in operations and manpower costs — money the Navy badly needs for operations and modernization programs.
The toll on the crew was also noted. Warner said JFK’s limbo status “levies an untold burden on the lives of the sailors and families assigned to the Kennedy,” he said.
Those families, he said, need to be able to get on with their lives.
As for the ship, Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Mullen told Navy Times in February he’d like to see Kennedy gone as soon as possible. His preference would be she leave her Mayport, Fla., home port before the start of hurricane season in June.
Warner said the fact the JFK can no longer serve in the fleet is “painful” to him and others, mainly because of the ship’s namesake, the late President John F. Kennedy.
But even those who were closest to Kennedy seem resigned to the fate of the ship.
“It is bittersweet to know that she will be retired,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in a statement.
“But the people of Massachusetts and the Kennedy family are very proud of her service and know she holds a special place in the hearts of the Navy and the Nation.”
