USS Ronald Reagan
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the ninth Nimitz-class supercarrier, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for President Ronald Reagan.
Template:Livingships Unlike most of the other men honored by inclusion in this group, Reagan was not associated with the United States Navy apart from his term as Commander in Chief.
The contract to build Ronald Reagan was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 8 December 1994 and her keel was laid down on 12 February 1998. She was launched on 10 March 2001, sponsored by Ronald Reagan's wife Nancy, and commissioned on 12 July 2003, with Captain J. W. Goodwin in command. At the commissioning ceremony, Mrs. Reagan gave the ship's crew the traditional first order as an active unit of the Navy: "Man the ship and bring her to life."
President Reagan died eleven months later. At the end of the graveside services, the ship's commanding officer at that time, Navy Captain James Symonds, presented the flag that draped the former president's casket to Mrs. Reagan at her request. This was also the flag that had flown over Capitol Hill on January 20, 1981, when the president was inaugurated. Captain Symonds also presented Mrs. Reagan the flag that had been flying over the Ronald Reagan when the former president died.
Ronald Reagan displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water fully loaded and has a top speed of over 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors driving four screws, and can sail for 20 years before refueling. She is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall at 1,092 feet (333 m) and is 134 feet (41 m) wide at the beam and has a flight deck 252 feet (77 m) wide. The flight deck covers over 4.5 acres (18,000 m²). She carries more than 5,500 sailors and over 80 aircraft.
During her transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific, she transitted the Straits of Magellan. Her homeport is San Diego, California.
On July 6, 2006 the Ronald Reagan returned to her homeport of San Diego from her maiden deployment where she conducted operations in support of the continuing war on terror. During a short stay in Brisbane, Australia an FA-18 Hornet strike fighter was unable to perform a night landing on the ships deck. The pilot ejected safely, but the US Navy has ruled out salvaging the lost fighter, a decision which has angered conservationists. This, combined with an incident involving sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan dumping garbage into Australian waters, has sparked a debate over the prospects of further US vessels being permitted to enter Australian ports.
Iranian UAV Incident & USS Ronald Reagan
The Following are excerpts from an interview with General Yahya-Rahim Safavi, General Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, which aired on Channel 2, Iranian TV on August 27, 2006:
General Yahya-Rahim Safavi: "A few months ago, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, which, to the best of my recollection, was carrying on deck 72 F-18 planes, and which was escorted by several warships, was circled for about 25 minutes by one of our unmanned planes. The unmanned plane filmed and transmitted the footage. Later, its commander ordered all the planes to be removed from the deck of the aircraft carrier. He even gave an order to hit the unmanned plane, but they were unsuccessful. This unmanned plane returned safe and sound to the coasts of the Persian Gulf.
[...]
Obviously, what we did was a response to the fact that more than five unmanned planes were sent into Iran by the Americans or other foreign occupation forces stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We got hold of those unmanned planes. They did not take responsibility for this operation. [Our operation] was a response to their sending unmanned planes into Iran. This is customary, and we did not violate any international law. However, we have shown them that they are very vulnerable. Even their aircraft carriers and other warships are vulnerable." Middle East Media Research Institute
Designation & Details
She forms part of Carrier Strike Group SEVEN (CSG-7) and has Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN (CVW-14) embarked.
CVW-14 is currently, as of January 2006, made up of
- VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks — F/A-18E Super Hornet
- VFA-115 Eagles — F/A-18E Super Hornet
- VFA-113 Stingers — F/A-18C Hornet
- VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet — F/A-18C Hornet
- VAQ-139 Cougars — EA-6B Prowler
- VAW-113 Black Eagles — E-2C Hawkeye 2000
- HS-4 Black Knights — SH-60F / HH-60H Seahawk
- VRC-30 (Det 1) Providers — C-2A Greyhound
CSG-7 comprises CVN-76 and DESRON-7. DEStroyer squadRON 7 consists of:
- CG-57 USS Lake Champlain — Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser
- DDG-73 USS Decatur — Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer
- DDG-85 USS McCampbell — Arleigh Burke Flight IIA-class guided missile destroyer
- T-AOE-7 USNS Rainier — Supply-class Fast Combat Support Ship. Formerly AOE-7 USS Rainier
- EOD-11 Det 15 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit)
Trivia
- On August 11, 2006 the San Diego Chargers held a practice on the deck of the Ronald Reagan to promote their upcoming "military night" preseason game. The carrier was at its home port, Naval Base Coronado. Captain Terry Kraft, the ship's CO, joined the team at quarterback on one play and threw an incomplete pass.
In fiction
- In the computer game, Command and Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour, the USS Reagan is destroyed by the GLA terrorists using a captured US particle uplink cannon during the course of the game's GLA campaign.
- In the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory the USS Ronald Reagan is about to be hit by an incoming missle. When the main character is told that he has to prevent the strike he asks, "Wait a minute... did you just say I have to win one for the Gipper?", referencing the ship and her namesake.
- In the Video Game Janes F/A-18 the USS Reagan is the Aircraft Carrier Depicted.
See also
External links
