Monday, February 21, 2005
"naming ships"
Just received another great e-letter and an anecdotal history lesson from my friend, Capt. Lou Colbus (U.S. Navy, retired). The letter is in response to a question I posed about procedures for the naming of ships in the wake (no pun intended) of the commissioning of USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23), the Navy's newest Seawolf-class attack submarine.
Lou's letter follows:
In my day, it was easy: Battleships were states; cruisers were cities; destroyers were heroes; carriers were battles; LSTs were counties; patrol craft were county seats; minesweepers were words indicating character traits; submarines were fish; etc.;etc.; etc. (Hymie Rickover is credited with changing subs names from fish to congressional leaders for his reasoning that fish don't vote.)
Today there is no such order.
There is a group/department/council in the Pentagon that accepts nominations for ships' names and obtains approval from the Secretary of the Navy.
I would have to imagine that living namesakes are consulted and it is such an honor that it is probably pro forma when President George H.W. Bush was consulted...as well as Hymie Rickover...
My boss in the 1950s was RADM Edward Clarke Stephan who was our congressional liaison before we headed for Trinidad to inaugurate and commission COMSOLANT - Commander South Atlantic Force.
Admiral Stephan told me that as the Navy's Congressional Liaison Officer, it was his duty to escort "Uncle" Carl Vinson to the Navy's Fleet Review in 1957 - I was Admiral Stephan's Aide and Flag Lieutenant from '58 to '60 - which commemorated the Great White Fleet's sailing from Norfolk...
Both of these gentlemen were truly humble and low key. The admiral drove his Studebaker Golden Hawk from DC to Norfolk with "Uncle" Carl riding shotgun. It was in June, I believe, and the Studebaker was not air-conditioned; they left early in the morning, attended all the festivities, and drove back that evening.
As "Uncle" Carl got out of the Golden Hawk, he asked the admiral how often the Navy conducted these commemorations. Admiral Stephan answered that it occurred every 50 or 100 years.
"Uncle" Carl said that that seemed like an appropriate time-frame.
Now, why did I write all the above? Because I am thinking of USS CARL VINSON which was the first ship to be named for a living namesake - I believe.
Anyway, when I was in the shipbuilding programs in the late '60s and late '80s, I sat in meetings where names for new ships (DD-963s/FFG-7s/LHD-1s) were suggested by the Navy staffs/programs and submitted to the Secretary of the Navy.
I can give you actual departments and procedures if you need same.
By the way, clubs and interested, devoted groups may submit suggested names for ships to honor their hero/leader with the use of political clout and perseverance.
Take it on a slow bell,
Lou
MY NOTE: An interesting little piece on "naming ships" also can be found at globalsecurity.org.
Lou's letter follows:
In my day, it was easy: Battleships were states; cruisers were cities; destroyers were heroes; carriers were battles; LSTs were counties; patrol craft were county seats; minesweepers were words indicating character traits; submarines were fish; etc.;etc.; etc. (Hymie Rickover is credited with changing subs names from fish to congressional leaders for his reasoning that fish don't vote.)
Today there is no such order.
There is a group/department/council in the Pentagon that accepts nominations for ships' names and obtains approval from the Secretary of the Navy.
I would have to imagine that living namesakes are consulted and it is such an honor that it is probably pro forma when President George H.W. Bush was consulted...as well as Hymie Rickover...
My boss in the 1950s was RADM Edward Clarke Stephan who was our congressional liaison before we headed for Trinidad to inaugurate and commission COMSOLANT - Commander South Atlantic Force.
Admiral Stephan told me that as the Navy's Congressional Liaison Officer, it was his duty to escort "Uncle" Carl Vinson to the Navy's Fleet Review in 1957 - I was Admiral Stephan's Aide and Flag Lieutenant from '58 to '60 - which commemorated the Great White Fleet's sailing from Norfolk...
Both of these gentlemen were truly humble and low key. The admiral drove his Studebaker Golden Hawk from DC to Norfolk with "Uncle" Carl riding shotgun. It was in June, I believe, and the Studebaker was not air-conditioned; they left early in the morning, attended all the festivities, and drove back that evening.
As "Uncle" Carl got out of the Golden Hawk, he asked the admiral how often the Navy conducted these commemorations. Admiral Stephan answered that it occurred every 50 or 100 years.
"Uncle" Carl said that that seemed like an appropriate time-frame.
Now, why did I write all the above? Because I am thinking of USS CARL VINSON which was the first ship to be named for a living namesake - I believe.
Anyway, when I was in the shipbuilding programs in the late '60s and late '80s, I sat in meetings where names for new ships (DD-963s/FFG-7s/LHD-1s) were suggested by the Navy staffs/programs and submitted to the Secretary of the Navy.
I can give you actual departments and procedures if you need same.
By the way, clubs and interested, devoted groups may submit suggested names for ships to honor their hero/leader with the use of political clout and perseverance.
Take it on a slow bell,
Lou
MY NOTE: An interesting little piece on "naming ships" also can be found at globalsecurity.org.
# posted by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. @ 12:42 PM 
