Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Naval Cruise Book

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i ' h I i . r, e»4liJ • r ■A , r« »r kiSI Table of Contents Introduction page 1 Ship ' s Company Personnel .. ... page 38 Tribute to Adm. Rickover . page 184 75th Anniversary Of Naval Aviation . page 256 CVN-15 Personnel . page 260 Homeport Alameda . page 364 Sports Clubs Special Events . page 366 Rimpac Operations . page 418 WestPac Track Map . page 424 NorPac Operations . page 432 Ports Of Call . Page 436 Tiger Cruise . page 482 Homecoming . page 486 Memorial . page 492 Cruisebook Staff 494

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' I devoutly hope that the casting of every gun and the building of every ship will be done with a prayer for the peace of America. from Congressman Carl Vinson ' s first speech to the U.S. House of Representatives May 27, 1916 USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70); A GIANT LIKE ITS NAMESAKE The largest mobile manmade structures in the world are the nuclear powered super carriers of the NIMITZ class, of which USS CARL VINSON was the third to be built. The VINSON is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall and from its keel to the top of its mast, it ' s as high as a 24 story building, just fitting under the Golden Gate Bridge, even with 30 plus feet in the water. From port of starboard, the 4.5 acre flight deck stretches 252 feet. Running around the flight deck 4 laps is about one mile. The VINSON is the best protected and least vulnerable carrier ever designed. This protection is provided by the extensive use of armor against bombs and guided missies and the unlimited endurance at high speeds in excess of 30 knots provided by a nuclear powered propulsion plant. Along with electronic deception procedures, speed, and sometimes using weather - a super carrier can actually hide its 95,000 tons from the enemy. The VINSON is equivalent to a small city, with some additional unique features: it has an airport on the roof, it has nuclear power, it floats and can go anywhere it wants over the 75 ' V- of the world that ' s covered with oceans, it has no females or alcohol aboard and, at sea, there are no hassles with driving to work. In common with a small t()wn, the VINSON has most of the usual facilities and services one might expect: hotel rooms and living quarters, dming facilities, that serves 20,000 meals a day, a waterworks plant that makes fresh water as well as steam for powering everything from propellors, to electrical generators, to catapults, a printing shop and photo lab that produce everything from training books to a daily newspaper at sea, a weather bureau, post office, bank, chapel, jail, library, 3 retail stores, laundry, fire stations, fully staffed hospital and dental clinic, and its own TV and radio stations. But it is the crew of 6000 men, who make the VINSON more than a mass of steel plate, electrical cable, pipes, and machinery. People are from every state in the union — officers with decades of military service and others who have just received their college degrees; veteran enlisted men in their 50 ' s and teenage sailors and airman away from home for the first time. The average age of the crew is less than 20, and they do most of the work that make this 1.3 billion dollar ship The Best in the West. P ach man works in one of 17 specialized departments, but with leader- ship and training — the resuh is teamwork that blends nearly 6000 individual personalities toward one common goal — being ever ready to project the awesome potential power of the Battlestar in support of the defense and goals of the United States of America.

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USS Carl Vinson ' s Namesake Rep. Carl Vinson (D-GA.) 1883-1981 iy blvX Vinson was bom in Baldwin County, Ga., Nov. 18, 1883, the son of Edward S. and Ann Morris Vinson. He attended Georgia Military College in Milledgeville and graduated from Mercer University Law School with an LL.B. degree in 1902. Vinson began practice June 5 of that year. Rep. Vinson ' s appointment as Baldwin County Prosecutor in 1904 began a career of more than 60 consecutive years of public service. In 1909, he was elected to the Georgia General Assembly, serving there until 1912. He returned to Baldwin County in late 1912 to serve as County Court Judge. On Nov. 3, 1914, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to fill an unexpired term. He served in Congress for more than 50 years — the longest service of any House member in history. Titles such as Father of our Modem Navy and Aviation ' s Elder Statesman barely describe his contributions, for few others have done so much for the defense of their country. In first major speech on national defense, Rep. Vinson stated his conviction that the nation ' s military needs must be determined without partisan politcal pressure, and he predicted the growth of the world navies. In 1 9 1 7, his interest in sea power earned him a seat on the House Naval Affairs Committee. In 1931, he became chairman of that committee. As chairman, Rep.Vinson guided the passage in Congress of what was then the greatest program of national defense legislation in the peacetime history of the United States. Foremost was a naval construction bill which authorized expenditure of $55 million to bring American sea defense up to parity with the London Treaty. In 1947, when the Naval Affairs Committee and the MiUtary Affairs Committee were joined as the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Vinson became chairman of the new committee. Because of his strong control over naval shipbuilding programs. Rep. Vinson was known as The Admiral. When USS Carl Vinson was christened by the congressman ' s nurse and longtime friend, Molly Snead, March 15, 1980, Mr. Vinson was present, making him the first U.S. citizen to see the launching of a ship named in his honor. It is impossible for me to find words to express my gratitude for the high honor paid me here today, he wrote, in an undelivered statement. No event in my life, no event in my future, can ever equal this day. My cup runneth over. My star has reached its zenith.