Claps for CVN72 and her crew
Everyone on Jeremy-Gilby-dot-com knows I love our super-modern fleet of SuperCarriers. Now in the wake of the Tsunami in Southeast Asia, the World is starting to REALLY appreciate them!
Via (Michelle Malkin)
- A salute to the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln – Michlle Malkin
At the drop of a hat, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group sped from Hong Kong to help survivors of tsunami disaster in southern Asia. How is the unmatched speed, range, and overall mobility of the American super carrier possible? Twin nuclear reactors.
Believe it or not, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln has been banned from docking at certain politically correct ports because of its reactors. For the moment, global environuts have stopped attacking the aircraft carrier over the nuke issue. But you can count on the eco-Luddites returning to their hysterical protests as soon as all the aid has been delivered.
Too much of the world, and too many here at home, take the amazing capabilities of ships like the Abraham Lincoln for granted. The carrier’s 1,092-foot flight deck outperforms some of the best commercial airports, launching and recovering up to 90 aircraft on hundreds of flights every day, according to the Navy. Eight steam turbine generators produce enough electrical power to serve a small city. The ship carries approximately 3 million gallons of fuel, and can stock food and supplies for 90 days.
Oh, and those much-maligned nuclear reactors help turn seawater into more than 400,000 gallons of fresh water daily — clean,safe water desperately needed by survivors. Sailors aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln have reportedly even stopped taking showers to make every last drop of fresh water available to tsunami survivors for drinking.
I’ve tried to point out before that the SuperCarrier is MUCH more than a juggernaught of a naval warfare vessel, surrounded by its own battle/strike fleet.
- Its a military platform; sure. Its got its own army, navy, airforce, and coast guard.
- It is a diplomatic tool. 4.5 Acres of defendable turf is difficult to ignore when its sitting off your coast in international waters.
- As we are seeing today, it is a humanitarian tool. With a staff of thousands, it can put Feet on the ground in the event of a local emergency, like this one. It can provide freshwater, supplies, and everything an effort needs to spearhead recovery.
- It can get places, bringing along people, heavy equipment, and suplpies; Fast!
Then imagine the power and effectiveness of having TWO or more of these wonderful machines/fleets in the area. (like we did in the War in Iraq – we had 5) (Two of them were Diesel Vehicles, while the other 3 were Nuclear Vessels)
No, I’m very thankful for these 12 active Strikegroups. Now, more so than ever.
Completely off the topic, Grillmaster, do you have any special ways of preparing venison? Just curious, since I just acquired some and you said that you have grilled just about anything that could be grilled…
Oh, and how cool is it that my brother used to be stationed on the USS Enterprise? no kidding. Eat that Trekkies… That is one mother of a ship, my dad even got to take the “Tiger Criuse”–it is a two day father son thing that the Navy sometimes allows, but that was in the pre-war-on-terrorism-days.
Comment by joyella — January 5, 2005 @ 7:52:16 PM
I’ve only been on one Carrier and that was the U.S.S. Yorktown. She is parked outside Charlston South Carolina. She was a WWII Carrier.
I’ve never been on a SuperCarrier, but I think when they turn the U.S.S. Constellation into a floating Museum, I’d like to take a tour of “America’s Flagship”
The U.S.S. Enterprise is just neat. The first Nuclear Carrier (And she has the most Nuclear reactors [8]) – The Nimitz Class carriers all have a whopping Two.
Comment by Jeremy — January 6, 2005 @ 5:43:58 AM
Yeah, my brother was a nuclear engineer, worked way down in the “belly” of the ship. (He is a chaplain in the Air Force now-not dead, as I refer to him in the past tense.) I didn’t get to go on board, but it has been dry-docked in Newport News, when it originally docked there, we all greeted him. That ship is so HUGE, it was almost frightening to see how it towered above the water!
Comment by Joyella — January 6, 2005 @ 11:09:49 AM
A note about venison: Joyella, just be sure to whack it really good with a tenderizing hammer before you grill or broil it. Or soak it in a tasty marinade for awhile. :)
Mmmmmmmmmm! Bambi!!
Jeremy–Thank you for the carrier info. I’m really appreciating the posts about them.
Comment by Cindy — January 6, 2005 @ 11:32:25 AM
Joyella, If the venison is ground, not much special you can do. If not, you can cube it, cut off the tallow (tedious but important), marinade (optional) and grill (don’t fry). It’s also desirable to grill it outside.
Comment by Dad — January 6, 2005 @ 12:20:24 PM
Yes, grilling out of doors is less likely to start a fire. What is a tallow? I was given some steaks, some ground, and some sausage.
Comment by Joyella — January 6, 2005 @ 7:32:36 PM
Tallow is the white or yellow stuff on and in the meat. That is where the funny taste comes from. If a professional butchered your venison or if it ate mostly corn, it may be gone.
The reason for grilling venison outside is because of the smell that might be left behind. Of course, that isn’t a problem if there are smokers in the house.
Comment by Dad — January 6, 2005 @ 8:25:02 PM
Thanks for the tip, Dad-o-Jeremy. No smokers here- and I don’t prefer weird smells in my house, and yes, the meat was professionally butchered- so I hope no tallow.
Comment by Joyella — January 6, 2005 @ 10:26:39 PM