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COMMENTS

• I recently made a brief trip to San Diego, California to rendezvous with my father where together we boarded the USS Midway. That day before Thanksgiving Day 2009, where the USS Midway is now permanently docked in the San Diego Harbor, I learned, very gratefully, that this aircraft carrier - (now a decommissioned yet valuable museum treasure and often referred to as CVA-41) - while elegant in design, steeped with nautical history and, over its lifetime, rich in mission & service achievements, could also easily serve as a family resolution, rehabilitation and therapeutic vessel for navy family issues as well. My Former Naval Officer (FNO) father served on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1953-55, as a Lieutenant Junior Grade (J.G.) and as a Full Lieutenant at his highest rank. When sitting at the Fantail Restaurant(TM) of the USS Midway, my father revealed shockingly to me that if it wasn't for his Lieutenant Commander superior officer's reprimand ordering him off the F-4 aircraft, he may have expired the next day due to the pilot airman of the F-4 experiencing a nearly fatal malfunction. This malfunction resulted in sending the F-4 aircraft hurling over the bow and into the ocean, the following morning, during the pilot’s failed launch attempt. Fortunately, the pilot was rescued immediately after the incident. But I learned from my father that many airmen were not so fortunate and, as he shared with me in referring to these events, too frequently "ended up in the drink". The "drink" my father is mentioning seems to be a derogatory nautical term and an officer's way of saying, "ocean". In fact, my father went to say, many airmen never were located nor re-surfaced after plunging over the ship's bow. All I can say is, "Thank you, Lt. Cmdr. Ross MacFarland (or is it McFarland?), wherever you are, for ordering my father off the F-4. This was, indeed, a heroic gesture on your part as the next morning's scheduled launch, WITHOUT your timely intervention, very likely would have resulted as a fatal one for my father. Because of you, sir, my father's life was spared from a terrible incident and circumstances, his lesson of flying without permission was learned and I am here now writing this entry to share this outcome as his first-born biological son." Fmr. Navy Officer's Son / Peaceworker Posted December 27, 2009 5:18 PM
• The value of aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy has been proven time and again over the past 7 decades. We need to keep enough carriers in commission to maintain our national security and carry out national policy, which means building new carriers when older ones need to be retired. The fact that the next new carrier won't be ready until 2015 is troubling, because that means that the one after that won't be ready until well after 2020. We need to keep our industrial infrastructure active in order to protect our national security interests, which means giving the few remaining U.S. shipyards with this capability enough work to ensure retention of a skilled workforce. We should be increasing the size of our fleet, rather than allowing it to drop to it's smallest size since just before World War 2. Back then we were lucky enough to have enough shipyards to build a two ocean Navy, as well as thousands of merchant ships. Today, with the closing of most of those shipyards, we would be unable to expand our fleet in times of emergency, which makes it all the more essential to maintain a strong and modern Navy. Just Saying Posted November 24, 2009 11:53 AM
• I think that's great. I was out a few weeks to visit the USS Midway on display in San Diego Harbour. I got to see the USS Reagan pull into the harbour both from the air (about 5k feet when it was about 5 miles out) and I was at the dock level when it pulled in and moored. In the Fall I hope to visit the USS Intrepid on display in NYC. I hope it has a restaurant like the Midway. So, when the USS Ford pulls into a US port someday I'll go visit it, too ! Big Jake Posted November 23, 2009 11:18 PM