Re: My trip to the US Navy Reserve Fleet in Bremerton, WA
The Long Beach, sans her superstructure, is still afloat. The South Carolina is still in mothballs, although she's planned for disposal. There are a couple of Belknaps left which are planned for disposal as well. There is also a Knox FF and 4 Forrest Sherman DDs in mothballs, as well as two BBs. This includes ships stricken but still maintained by the US Navy. also, I believe there are still a cuple of Gearings mothballed and planned for disposal.
As for subs, there is a sub reserve fleet, but it is shrinking and has been shrinking for some time. There are over a dozen SSNs (LA-class and 1 Sturgeon-class, and 1 Nautilus-class) in reserve, along with two SSBNs. There are still a couple of conventional attack subs in mothballs as well.
Nuke ships are placed in Category Z Reserve.
The Reserve Categories are:
Category A: Ships which are in commission, in reserve (such as ships in the Naval Reserve force, which today includes 9 OHPs and some mine warfare vessels).
Category B: Ships which are decommissioned, but maintained in the highest level of readiness, and can be reactivated in 90-120 days, and have flooding and fire alarms installed, cathodic protection for the hull, and are sealed up and dehumidified, and maintained by naval personnel.
Category C: These ships are similar to category B ships, but they are not regularly maintained and sometimes have fewer protections against the elements. They also have lower readiness standards. All service craft which are maintained, and priority ships for sale to other countries are maintained in this category as well.
Category D: This includes ships stricken and disposed of to private entities which are still considered eligible for reactivation, and have to meet certain maintenance and readiness standards, as well as ships planned for similar fates or disposal to other government agencies in category X. It is partly a subcategory of category X.
Category L: Ships preserved well and retained for logistics purposes, such as being used as a source for spare parts for ships still in the fleet.
Category X: Ships which have been stricken, but are still in USN custody, including some category D ships. These ships are planned for disposal or sometimes have not had plans made for them. They are not maintained, and preservation systems come as is. They are fitted with alarms and a place to dock.
Category Z: All nuclear powered vessels, and associated ships such as sub tenders, whether to be disposed of or retained, are kept in this category, and preserved to category B or C standards, depending on their planned disposition, and also include nuclear vessels which are being recycled.
