Aircraft Carrier

The aircraft carrier USS Forrestal arrived in Philadelphia this morning to await its fate. The ship, which was decommissioned in 1993 in Philadelphia after 38 years in service, had been moored next to the USS Saratoga in Newport, R.I. It left under tow Tuesday and arrived today. The Navy initially had offered the carrier as a possible museum, but withdrew it from the ship donation list when no viable plan emerged. The ship, the first of the post-World War II "super carriers," will now either be scrapped or sunk to become an offshore reef.

President Clinton commissioned the Navy's newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier yesterday, the 97,000-ton USS Harry S. Truman, named after the nation's 33d president. Recalling President Truman's relentless optimism, Clinton told the crowd of a letter that young Harry wrote to his future wife, Bess, in 1913 after some business failures. "My ship is going to come in yet. " "We all know that Harry Truman was a man of his word," President Clinton said. "It took 85 years, but here on July 25, 1998, Harry Truman's ship has come in. " Besides the President, the first commander-in-chief in 23 years to commission a new carrier, the event drew a host of military and political leaders, including a sizable contingent of Missourians.

ON BOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON - A U.S. aircraft carrier group cruised through the disputed South China Sea on Saturday in a show of American power in waters that are fast becoming a focal point of Washington's strategic rivalry with Beijing. Vietnamese security and government officials were flown onto the nuclear-powered USS George Washington ship, underlining the burgeoning military relationship between the former enemies. A small number of journalists were also invited to witness the display of maritime might in the oil-rich waters, which are home to islands disputed between China and the other smaller Asian nations facing the sea. The visit will likely reassure Vietnam and the Philippines of U.S. but could annoy China, whose growing economic and naval strength is leading to a greater assertiveness in pressing its claims there.

Anthony S. Miller Jr. soon will be taking his nine-foot aircraft carrier out for a shakedown cruise on the cranberry bog behind his home in Indian Mills. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower doesn't pull much of a draft. Maybe a few inches, but it looks pretty seaworthy. Miller's naval task force now will consist two ships. They represent the two biggest classes of ships in the U.S. Navy. The other is his six-foot-long battleship, the USS New Jersey, now in drydock in a case in his living room.

The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, overhauled here in the mid-1990s as the final task of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, is returning to the city for long-term storage. Generally, the public is not allowed aboard vessels at the inactive-fleet facility, part of the former Navy Base on the Delaware River. With its 4.6-acre flight deck, the Kennedy would be a visible landmark for planes landing at Philadelphia International Airport and boaters on the river. Lt. Clay Doss, a Navy spokesman, would confirm only that the Kennedy, also known as CV67, would be towed here for "safe storage" pending a decision on its future.

As Kuwaiti tankers and U.S. warships carefully navigate the Persian Gulf, the main element in their defense - the aircraft carrier Constellation - will be silently guarding the gulf from a station hundreds of miles to the south, in the Arabian Sea. The gulf - the international centerpiece of the Iran-Iraq war - will become the focal point for a few highly trained American sailors, who, sitting in the Constellation's air-conditioned combat center,...

NORFOLK, Va. - The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service on Saturday, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the U.S. fleet to 10 until 2015. The USS Enterprise ended its notable 51-year career during a ceremony at its home port at Naval Station Norfolk, where thousands of former crew members, ship builders and their families lined a pier to bid farewell to one of the most decorated ships in the Navy. "It'll be a special memory.

The widow of boxer Beetha-vean Scottland is suing New York City officials, contending they allowed her husband to be beaten to death during a fight aboard an aircraft carrier in the Hudson River. Denise Scottland says in her lawsuit the officials permitted the fighter to be "unreasonably and violently pummeled" during the bout on June 26, 2001. The 26-year-old light heavyweight from North Brentwood, Md., was knocked out by undefeated George Khalid Jones in the last 37 seconds of a nationally televised 10-round fight aboard the Intrepid, a floating air-sea museum.

ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE - The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ended its remarkable career at sea on Sunday when it pulled into its home port for the final time after participating in every major conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USS Enterprise began shutting down its eight nuclear reactors almost as soon as it arrived at its pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, where thousands of cheering family members and friends welcomed the ship home from its 25th and final deployment after nearly eight months at sea. The ship will never move on its own power again and will eventually be scrapped in Washington state.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As Jim Foster grows older, his thoughts often flood back to those he has known who have passed on. Maybe that's expected for a 64-year-old who spent three years in the Army, including 18 months in Vietnam, before a lifetime as a teacher and coach. "As you age, you start to think a little bit more relative to guys who you went to school with and served with that died in the service," he said softly. That his Ohio State team opens its season Friday on an aircraft carrier, surrounded by servicemen and women, enhances his memories.

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH - The Navy for the first time Tuesday launched an unmanned aircraft the size of a fighter jet from a warship in the Atlantic Ocean, as it wades deeper into America's drone program amid growing concerns over the legality of its escalating surveillance and lethal strikes. The drone, called the X-47B, is considered particularly valuable because it is the first designed specifically to take off and land on an aircraft carrier, allowing it to be used around the world without needing the permission of other countries to serve as a home base.

WASHINGTON - The United States is at risk of becoming a second-rate power if automatic budget cuts go into effect, plunging the armed forces into the most significant readiness crisis they have faced in more than a decade, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned Thursday. Panetta, who is retiring soon from his post, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the reductions are allowed to stand he would have to throw the country's national defense strategy "out the window. " But he also assured lawmakers the Pentagon would take the steps necessary to deal with possible threats in the Persian Gulf region after he approved the Navy's request to halve its aircraft carrier presence in the area.

NORFOLK, Va. - The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service on Saturday, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the U.S. fleet to 10 until 2015. The USS Enterprise ended its notable 51-year career during a ceremony at its home port at Naval Station Norfolk, where thousands of former crew members, ship builders and their families lined a pier to bid farewell to one of the most decorated ships in the Navy. "It'll be a special memory.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As Jim Foster grows older, his thoughts often flood back to those he has known who have passed on. Maybe that's expected for a 64-year-old who spent three years in the Army, including 18 months in Vietnam, before a lifetime as a teacher and coach. "As you age, you start to think a little bit more relative to guys who you went to school with and served with that died in the service," he said softly. That his Ohio State team opens its season Friday on an aircraft carrier, surrounded by servicemen and women, enhances his memories.

ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE - The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ended its remarkable career at sea on Sunday when it pulled into its home port for the final time after participating in every major conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USS Enterprise began shutting down its eight nuclear reactors almost as soon as it arrived at its pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, where thousands of cheering family members and friends welcomed the ship home from its 25th and final deployment after nearly eight months at sea. The ship will never move on its own power again and will eventually be scrapped in Washington state.

ON BOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON - A U.S. aircraft carrier group cruised through the disputed South China Sea on Saturday in a show of American power in waters that are fast becoming a focal point of Washington's strategic rivalry with Beijing. Vietnamese security and government officials were flown onto the nuclear-powered USS George Washington ship, underlining the burgeoning military relationship between the former enemies. A small number of journalists were also invited to witness the display of maritime might in the oil-rich waters, which are home to islands disputed between China and the other smaller Asian nations facing the sea. The visit will likely reassure Vietnam and the Philippines of U.S. but could annoy China, whose growing economic and naval strength is leading to a greater assertiveness in pressing its claims there.

When the usual suspects complain that President Obama is "politicizing" the anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, I can only marvel at their willful amnesia. History didn't begin when this president was sworn in. Presidents in the midst of politicking have long sought to tout their track records abroad. And why shouldn't they? Any president who scores on the military front is going to claim credit at the ballot box. That's democracy. It's easy to understand why Republicans are upset that Obama has repeatedly invoked Osama.

NEW YORK - In a city understandably wary of low-flying aircraft, New Yorkers and tourists alike watched with pure joy and excitement Friday as the space shuttle Enterprise glided over the skyline on its final aerial journey before it becomes a museum piece. Ten years after 9/11, people gathered on rooftops and the banks of the Hudson River to marvel at the sight of the spacecraft riding piggyback on a modified jumbo jet that flew over the Statue of Liberty and past the skyscrapers along Manhattan's West Side.

NEW YORK - In a city understandably wary of low-flying aircraft, New Yorkers and tourists alike watched with pure joy and excitement Friday as the space shuttle Enterprise glided over the skyline on its final aerial journey before it becomes a museum piece. Ten years after 9/11, people gathered on rooftops and the banks of the Hudson River to marvel at the sight of the spacecraft riding piggyback on a modified jumbo jet that flew over the Statue of Liberty and past the skyscrapers along Manhattan's West Side.

You think you have pressure? Imagine you are the three players at the end of the North Carolina bench, probably the most famous scrubs in college basketball. You have your own nickname - Blue Steel - taken from male model Derek Zoolander's trademark pose in the Ben Stiller movie Zoolander .   You have over 13,000 fans on Twitter. You tweet incredibly clever things like: "Every time blue steel has gotten in the game we've won. Coincidence? I think not. " Blue Steel usually gets in the game when there is absolutely no chance they can blow the lead.