Visits to Naval Bases (pictures from those visits)

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

Su-27 Pilot said:

WOW, nice looking family. I think one of the carrier almost hit the shore dont you think ??

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Thanks. Our families, where ever we live, are one of those things in life that tie all people every where together.

The USS Independence is berthed just like that, right up against the shore.

Just looking at what the US Navy holds in reserve, in mothballs, is pretty impressive...and that's just in that one anchorage.

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

where is Bremerton, big city?Is it one of US Navy reserve port, or all navy reserves are ported there? you got a nice family and your grandson is lovely

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

Bremerton Washington is a medium size city in Puget Sound area located in the most northwestern part of the USA. It is accross Puget Sound fron Seattle WA. There are some active ships there. One being the USS John C. Stennis CVN-74. Not all of the USN reserves are there. They are spread out along the coast of the US.

The carriers held in reserve there, Indpendence,Ranger and Constellation are not in the best of shape. I know that the Constellations catapults were removed before it was placed in reserve. All of those ships have had various major componets removed such as anchors,screws and propellers and most electronics. For the USN to re-activate one of these ships it would cost billions of dollars. They are not for sale.

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

President said:

where is Bremerton, big city?Is it one of US Navy reserve port, or all navy reserves are ported there? you got a nice family and your grandson is lovely

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Thank you for the kind words about the family.

Bremerton is not too big a city, less than 100,000 easily I believe, and is across the sound from Settle (which is a lmuch larger city). Bremerton has a Naval Shipyard and some active ships ported there. There is a Naval Air Station nearby and a large sub base at Bangor/Kitsap not far from there. The reserve fleet there is just one of several anchorages along the west coast, others along the guld coast, and still others on the east coast.

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

As always popeye, thanks for the first hand knowledge.

The Constellation (CV 64) was decomissioned in 2003 and looked in the best shape. The Independence (CV 62) was decommissioned
in 1998. The Ranger (CV61) was decommissioned in 1993 and has been there the longest.

Kitty Hawk CV 63 (one of the last two remaining conventionally powered US carrier in active service) is still out there and going, I guess to be
replaced by CVN 77 George Bush in 2008. Hard to believe that is only a little more than 2 years away. She'll be what? 47 years of active
service at that time. What a tribute to her builders and the naval personnel operating and and maintaining her!

Here she is this year, pulling into Sydney:

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

Sigh...I've never had so much trouble posting in a forum..I've lost probaly 50+ post here. Then half the time the icons don't work for me?? Like right now the only thing I can do is type a post. I think it's a server problem.

Anyway..Jeff posted...""Kitty Hawk CV 63 (one of the last two remaining conventionally powered US carrier in active service) is still out there and going, I guess to be replaced by CVN 77 George Bush in 2008. Hard to believe that is only a little more than 2 years away. She'll be what? 47 years of active service at that time. What a tribute to her builders and the naval personnel operating and and maintaining her!""....

Yes the Kitty Hawk is stil going strong. One of the thinghs that keep it going is the fine work of the Japanese shipyard workers in Yokosuka.

You know it is very expensive for the USN those conventional powered ships going. Just what ship will replace the Kitty Hawk in Yokosuka is unknown. Some think it will be the JFK. Others think it will be a nuclear CVN. The move of a CVN to Japan would have to be negoiated with the Japanese government. it was erronousely reported two years ago that the US and and Japan had reached an agreement on the move of a CVN to Japan.

Personally I think the US will move the entire CVN battle group to Guam if not allowed to place a CVN in Japan. The USN also presently plans on stationing a second carrier in Guam or Hawaii.

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

bd popeye said:

Sigh...I've never had so much trouble posting in a forum..I've lost probaly 50+ post here. Then half the time the icons don't work for me?? Like right now the only thing I can do is type a post. I think it's a server problem.

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i know what you mean, sometimes when i click the icons it doesn't appear or when i post something it just freezes there

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

bd popeye said:

Personally I think the US will move the entire CVN battle group to Guam if not allowed to place a CVN in Japan. The USN also presently plans on stationing a second carrier in Guam or Hawaii.

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I agree. Perhpas the JFK will buy some time for negotiations with the Japanese...Iguess we will wait and see.

But having two forward deployed carrier battle groups in the western Pacific will be a good thing, IMHO, to keep the balance and the peace.

BTW, sorry about your lost posts. I always enjoy you comments and the experience they represent.

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

xcswimmer sez..""know what you mean, sometimes when i click the icons it doesn't appear or when i post something it just freezes there""..

You said it! It's happening to me right now. I'm happy to see I'm not the only one. I too get page freezes.

Jeff mentioned the condition of the Kitty Hawk. You know Jeff a couple of years ago the skipper of the Kitty Hawk was relieved because of engineering problems.



The Kitty Hawks condition has improved greatly since then.

The JFK on the other hand has had two skipper relieved in the past 4 years. One for a collision at sea. The latter for poor material condition of the ship.
The condition of the JFK is questionoble. Presently tyhe JFK is in out of port doing carrier qualifactions. I question the condition of the ship because why was it not used for any hurricane relief efforts?

Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA

Anyway..Jeff posted...""Kitty Hawk CV 63 (one of the last two remaining conventionally powered US carrier in active service) is still out there and going, I guess to be replaced by CVN 77 George Bush in 2008. Hard to believe that is only a little more than 2 years away. She'll be what? 47 years of active service at that time. What a tribute to her builders and the naval personnel operating and and maintaining her!""....

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Kitty Hawk is conventionally powered.... That's a lot of maintenance by itself. Why did the USN choose to park the Kitty Hawk there, instead of a CVN? (The Japanese are still scared of the bomb eh?)

CVN-77 will be called George Bush????!!!!!!!!!!!!! :steaming: You have to be kidding.......