USS Jimmy Carter to be commissioned

Well, unfortunately the Department of the Navy has to play the Politically Correct card once again.  Please do not misunderstand me here, I think Jimmy Carter is an honorable man and is someone we should all respect and admire for the actions he is good at.  Humanitarian activities and causes that Jimmy Carter is a driving force behind are noble endeavors and we could all be better at following his example in this arena.

Jimmy Carter is the third and final submarine of the Seawolf class. As the most advanced submarine in the class, Jimmy Carter will have built-in flexibility and an array of new war fighting features that will enable it to prevail in any scenario, against any threat – from beneath Artic ice to shallow water. Differentiating Jimmy Carter from all other undersea vessels is its multi-mission platform (MMP), which includes a 100-foot hull extension to enhance payload capability. The MMP will enable Jimmy Carter to accommodate the advanced technology required to develop and test a new generation of weapons, sensors and undersea vehicles for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance and mine-warfare operations. (Photo courtesy of General Dynamics Electric Boat)

But, to name a United States WARship after former President Carter is… well… inappropriate.  Jimmy Carter is a man of Peace! Not a man of “Peace through Strength,” but rather a man of “Peace at any cost;” primarily through placation and pacifism.  The Carter Administration knew nothing of “Power Projection” and the use of our Armed Forces to enforce a political means.  He and his administration gutted the US Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army to a level that insured a dramatic reduction in morale and retention.  Ships were literally unable to put to sea due to lack of funding for repairs and upkeep.

And then the terrible Iranian Hostage Crisis.  52 Americans were held captive by Iran, because of the US’s support for the deposed Shah who President Carter felt (IMHO properly so) had earned the opportunity to receive medical treatment in the US (right or wrong he represented an ally in the region).  The USS Midway along with her escorts was dispatched to the Persian Gulf for… what?  Power projection?  Retaliation? Intimidation? Nope!  “We want you to sit around and float!”   “I don’t care that you have a squadron of A-6s (VA-115) and two more of A-7’s (VA-56 & VA-93) loaded and ready to strike!  You will stand down, while we negotiate a settlement.”

Oh yeah and try a hostage rescue mission that was so inconceivably poorly put together, it was doomed from the start!  God bless the brave men who, despite their misgivings on the SNAFU nature of the planning ensuring every service had a piece (the wrong piece) of the pie guaranteeing they wouldn’t be able to coordinate their way into a McDonalds much less an extremely hostile country, went ahead and tried to do their honorable duty and secure rescue of 52 brave Americans.  It ended at Desert One in the deaths of 8 American Service men.

Oh yeah, the US Military just loves Jimmy Carter!  So much so they wanted to name a Submarine after him.  B.S.!  Follow the politics!  Somewhere a deal was struck to even allow a 3^rd Seawolf submarine to be built and I have $20.00 that says part of the bargain proposed (by a Democrat I’m sure) to the Navy was that “If you want your new toy, you have to promise to name it after Jimmy Carter.”  I also have some money on the suspicion that some Admiral somewhere said “Screw that! We don’t need the sub that bad!”

I can only thank God that an aircraft carrier wasn’t named after him!