Hey, All!
The Boston waterfront has a historic weekend visitor this weekend. The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy made port at Boston's Black Falcon Terminal on Friday, attracting the awed and curious gazes of many a Bostonian. Boston is the last stop for the 1,052-foot JFK before she is decommissioned after almost 40 years of service to America.
The JFK was commissioned in 1968 as CVA 67. CVA means that she was designed originally to support only air combat operations. This designation was changed to CV when she began to support antisubmarine operations as well as air combat. She is also one of only two active carriers in the United States Navy to be powered by fossil fuels. The other is U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, scheduled to be decommissioned in 2008.
Big John saw much service with the United States Navy during her 38 years. This includes regular flight operations as well as patrolling off Lebanon during the crisis there in 1983. Later in the decade, in 1989, JFK launched two F-14 Tomcats to respond to two MIG-23's flying near the battle group, which resulted in the second, and last, air-to-air engagement of the F-14's career. Big John also led the Red Sea Battle Force during Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Twelve years later, she would assist in airstrikes against al Qaeda and Taliban positions in Afghanistan. She will be decommissioned on March 23 in her homeport of Mayport, Florida and transferred to Philadelphia to sit in "mothballs", awaiting the day when she will be called back into service, converted as a museum, or sold for scrap metal.
I personally visited this great ship when she was in Boston in 2000, during the Parade of Sail. I had the opportunity to walk around the ship's flight and hangar decks. This was an exhilirating opportunity for a 13 year old boy who was, and still is, interested in the Navy and its ships. I think that this ship should be preserved for posterity as a museum. Like the battleships and older carriers that populate today's naval museums, the John F. Kennedy is a mark of the power of America on the world stage and should be preserved for future generations. I believe that it would be most appropriate to have this ship moored as a museum in Massachusetts, as this was the homestate of the ship's namesake, President John F. Kennedy.
The Boston waterfront has a historic weekend visitor this weekend. The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy made port at Boston's Black Falcon Terminal on Friday, attracting the awed and curious gazes of many a Bostonian. Boston is the last stop for the 1,052-foot JFK before she is decommissioned after almost 40 years of service to America.
The JFK was commissioned in 1968 as CVA 67. CVA means that she was designed originally to support only air combat operations. This designation was changed to CV when she began to support antisubmarine operations as well as air combat. She is also one of only two active carriers in the United States Navy to be powered by fossil fuels. The other is U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, scheduled to be decommissioned in 2008.
Big John saw much service with the United States Navy during her 38 years. This includes regular flight operations as well as patrolling off Lebanon during the crisis there in 1983. Later in the decade, in 1989, JFK launched two F-14 Tomcats to respond to two MIG-23's flying near the battle group, which resulted in the second, and last, air-to-air engagement of the F-14's career. Big John also led the Red Sea Battle Force during Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Twelve years later, she would assist in airstrikes against al Qaeda and Taliban positions in Afghanistan. She will be decommissioned on March 23 in her homeport of Mayport, Florida and transferred to Philadelphia to sit in "mothballs", awaiting the day when she will be called back into service, converted as a museum, or sold for scrap metal.
I personally visited this great ship when she was in Boston in 2000, during the Parade of Sail. I had the opportunity to walk around the ship's flight and hangar decks. This was an exhilirating opportunity for a 13 year old boy who was, and still is, interested in the Navy and its ships. I think that this ship should be preserved for posterity as a museum. Like the battleships and older carriers that populate today's naval museums, the John F. Kennedy is a mark of the power of America on the world stage and should be preserved for future generations. I believe that it would be most appropriate to have this ship moored as a museum in Massachusetts, as this was the homestate of the ship's namesake, President John F. Kennedy.
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