New Navy ship named after Giffords

blankslate

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2008
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-02-10/giffords-navy-ship/53043204/1

I think that this is a good thing. Gabrielle Giffords was very lucky to survive and the doctors who saved her life worked something that could be as close to a miracle as humanly possible.

However, much of her rehabilitation is in her hands and her motivation in that regard is remarkable. I also consider her decision to step down instead of depriving her constituents a representative who could meet the demands of her office is classy.

I think the Navy showed some real class here.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
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These are such tricky issues - several people were killed that day, including a federal judge and others, and it's dicey saying they're 'less important'.

But she was a Congresswoman, and the target, and that deserves some recognition in something like this, it's just awkward regarding the other victims.

I think it's overstated to use the word 'class' for the miitary doing this. It's the sort of thing they just do with naming ships.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
68,852
26,641
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These are such tricky issues - several people were killed that day, including a federal judge and others, and it's dicey saying they're 'less important'.

But she was a Congresswoman, and the target, and that deserves some recognition in something like this, it's just awkward regarding the other victims.

I think it's overstated to use the word 'class' for the miitary doing this. It's the sort of thing they just do with naming ships.

Judge Roll got a court house named after him. The little girl, a park. One of Gifford's staffers, a trailhead.
 

the DRIZZLE

Platinum Member
Sep 6, 2007
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Her recovery is quite impressive and I wish her the best but I would rather them name ships after people who have made more of a contribution or knowing sacrifice. I don't really see how having a crazy person shoot you in head justifies getting a ship named after you. You could argue that she was shot in the service of her country but so are many soldiers who know they are taking big risks everyday rather than just facing the risk of a rare event like Gifford's did.
 

Matt1970

Lifer
Mar 19, 2007
12,320
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0
Oh good, I thought it was going to be named after Frank and Kathy Lee when I saw the title.
 
May 16, 2000
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Not allowed to say 'make a hole' while on it however...or 'shoot to the head'. Still, good for them...I'm gunning for them.
 

feralkid

Lifer
Jan 28, 2002
16,397
4,455
136
Her recovery is quite impressive and I wish her the best but I would rather them name ships after people who have made more of a contribution or knowing sacrifice. I don't really see how having a crazy person shoot you in head justifies getting a ship named after you. You could argue that she was shot in the service of her country but so are many soldiers who know they are taking big risks everyday rather than just facing the risk of a rare event like Gifford's did.

Right. Thanks for being "That Guy".

D:
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
8,999
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I'm glad to hear this. On a related note, did they ever fix the rust/corrosion problem on those LCS ships being built?
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,365
475
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that's a badass looking ship.

(general dynamics + austal)
USS_Independence_LCS-2_at_pierce.jpg


...so uh is it that or this
(lockheed + austal)
US_Navy_090928-N-7241L-232_The_littoral_combat_ship_USS_Freedom_%28LCS_1%29_conducts_flight_deck_certification_with_an_MH-60S_Sea_Hawk_helicopter_assigned_to_the_Sea_Knights_of_Helicopter_Sea_Combat_Squadron_%28HSC%29_22.jpg


or does the navy not even know yet?
 

QuantumPion

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
6,010
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Since when did being a victim make one a hero? Oh right, I forgot, since the liberals took over in the 60's.
 

feralkid

Lifer
Jan 28, 2002
16,397
4,455
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Since when did being a victim make one a hero? Oh right, I forgot, since the liberals took over in the 60's.

Coupled with her work on the House Armed Services Committee, that bastion of "librulz".


Why do you hate our servicemen?
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,265
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Leave it to you to minimize a good gesture by a branch of the military. Do you really hate the military that much?

Guaranteed you never served in any branch of the military.

He's compared troops to inner city drug dealers and guess which he approved of more?
 

tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,477
6,898
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An honor bestowed is an honor that should be taken with the intent that it was given.

In this sense, props to Gifford for the honor given and the honor received.

Now, who'd like to discuss in another thread the differences between naming a ship after her as compared with naming an aircraft carrier after Ronnie Reagan?
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
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Here is some interesting background information on ships named after women.

USS HOPPER is named for Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, whose pioneering spirit in the field of computer technology led the Navy into the age of computers. During her career, she was know as the "Grand Lady of Software," "Amazing Grace" and "Grandma Cobol" after co-inventing COBOL (common business-oriented language). COBOL made it possible for computers to respond to words instead of just numbers, thus enabling computers to "talk to each other."

Rear Adm. Hopper retired from the Naval Reserve in January 1967, but was recalled to active duty in August 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson because of her much-needed expertise in applied computer science. Rear Adm. Hopper retired a second time in August 1986. She passed away on Jan. 1, 1992. This is the first time since World War II, and only the second time in Naval history, that a warship has been named for a woman from the Navy’s own ranks.


A list of other US ships named after women.
USS Queen of France (1777), a frigate in the Continental Navy named for Marie Antoinette.
USS Pocahontas (YT-266), a harbor tug commissioned in 1942 and named for Pocahontas.
Five transports commissioned in 1942:
USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67), named for Dorothea Dix
USS Elizabeth C. Stanton (AP-69), named for Elizabeth C. Stanton
USS Florence Nightingale (AP-70), named for Florence Nightingale
USS Lyon (AP-71), named for Mary Lyon
USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72), named for Susan B. Anthony
USS Sacagawea (YT-326) (later designation of YTM-326), a harbor tug that served in Charleston harbor from 1942 to 1945.
USS Watseka (YT-387), a 1944 harbor tug named for a Potawatomi woman.
USS Higbee (DD-806), 1945 a Gearing-class destroyer named for Lenah S. Higbee, Superintendent of Navy Nurse Corps 1911–1922, Higbee served in Fast Carrier Force. She was the first ship laid down, christened, and commissioned for a woman who had served in the U.S. Navy, and the first to see combat so named.
USS Hopper (DDG-70), 1996. Built and commissioned at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is named for RDML Grace Murray Hopper, a computer technology pioneer who led the Navy into the digital age.
USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) is explicitly named for both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt
USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE-2) was announced in 2000. She is the second of a new class of replenishment ships.
USNS Mary Sears (T-AGS 65), an oceanographic survey ship, was launched in October 2000 and is still active as of 2007. She was named for Commander Mary Sears.
USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE-6) is a sister ship of Sacagawea and launched in 2008.