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Thursday, June 17, 2004

Naval submarine Jimmy Carter christened

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Former President Jimmy Carter was filled with emotion Saturday as the most advanced nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy was named after him at a Connecticut shipyard.

"This is a very wonderful day for me, to see my wife break the champagne on undoubtedly the finest and most formidable ship in the world," said Carter, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the only submariner to be elected president.

Carter's wife, Rosalynn, blessed the Seawolf-class nuclear submarine and its crew, then hesitated for a moment before cracking the bottle of champagne against the sail of the USS Jimmy Carter.

Amid much fanfare and cheers, a crowd of 4,500 Navy personnel, submarine workers and their families gathered at the Electric Boat shipyard for Saturday's christening ceremony. The Carters' daughter, Amy, also attended the ceremony.

Only nine people have had ships named after them while they are still alive in modern times, said Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy.

"President Jimmy Carter has surely earned his place in this elite group of citizens," England said.

Another was former President Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday. The christening ceremony had ended before Reagan's death was announced.

The $3.2 billion Jimmy Carter is the third and last of the Seawolf-class submarine. It has been nearly nine years in the making and still has about a year of finishing on its interior before it can be tested and commissioned...
More important than being a great President, Carter has proven himself to be a great man.

Carter was not only President of the United States of America and a Nobel Peace Prize winner - but he was also an officer in the US Navy, a submarine commander, and reputedly a damn fine one. He graduated from the Naval Academy, and he was one of the few officers chosen by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to help develop the Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Program.

My father worked for Rickover as a nuclear engineer designing nuclear power plants that would operate efficiently in the restricted environment of a submarine. Rickover isn't much remembered these days outside the navy, but without his insatiable drive for perfection, the dream of nuclear powered naval vessels would never have become reality. Therefore it should be noted that Rickover was fanatically picky about whom he chose to work on this project. In his eyes, Carter measured up to the expected standard. The bestowal of this responsibility on young officer like Carter was a tremendous honor that is nearly unmatched in the annals of naval history. Carter was one of a few very special leaders in the US Navy.

During his time as a nuke bubblehead, Carter was attached to one of the first nuclear submarines, the USS Seawolf. The last of the new Seawolf class of nuclear attack submarines is now being christened with his name some 50 years later, the USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23).

This is only fitting. And considering that Carter is the only President who ever qualified to command a submarine, it is doubly fitting.

No honest man can have anything but the highest respect for Carter. He served his country to a degree that few men can claim the equal of, and any Sailor attached to the USS Jimmy Carter can serve aboard her with the greatest of pride and honor.
Posted by: Zayphar / 6/17/2004 10:37:00 AM
Comments:
Adm. Rickover was a tough man to work for as I can attest to from personal experience.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:56 AM
 
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