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Board of Directors Meeting
The Board of Directors of the USS America Carrier Veterans Association All CVA Board of Directors Meetings are open to the CVA membership. Hotel Website: http://www.sovereignhotels.com
Tom Trujillo Visits LHA-6 America
5/14/10
Tom Trujillo toured the USS America LHA-6 earlier today.
Here are the highlights of his visit
Captain Riedell who is the USN manager for the ship is transitioning his command to Captain Murcer. There is an aluminum Navy style flag pole on the bow of the ship which always flies a U.S. flag and due to the command change that initial flag was requested by Captain Riedell to fly over LHD 8 USS Makin Island for a week. It has since been encased in a shadow box and is being presented to Captain Riedell who was manager for both Makin Island and LHA6.
45 of 170 ship sections have been erected including two of the three superlifts. It looks like a ship with the bulbous bow section all the way just short of the fan tail in place. Amid ship the two outer sections containing the fuel and ballast tanks have yet to be installed, however, I visited both sections which are being constructed and well along.The bridge, made of aluminum, is sitting here and there in many sections.
America is being built in three super modules while Makin Island was built with five. Lessons learned from Makin will make America easier to build including requirements for cabling of which 30,000 miles have already been installed.
Marines and Senators toured last week and were impressed, however, still gripping about the lack of a well deck. Ship is to far along to change or cancel now.
LHA 6 America and LHA 7 (yet to be named) will be the same. They are currently trying to close the contract on LHA 7 and expect it any day. They expect LHA 7 to be named after Marine battles or original carrier names.
Gas turbines, generators and reduction gears are in place as are both fore and aft engine and machinery rooms. Saw these though most were under protective cover. Starboard shaft tube is in place, didn’t get to the port side. The ship is 26% erected today and sits next to LPD24 which is farther along in construction, next to the water. Soon America will take her place. According to the project schedule, on 1/7/11 America should be 70% erected with all hull sections completely joined.
Other notes.
They invite anyone to visit with prior clearance, however, I told them to send me requests if things get out of hand with frequent visits so we can work to plan them and not impact their busy schedules.
We are obviously invited to the christening which will happen within a few days of her hitting water in March / April 2013.
Lots of recent photographs on the way for the reunion including digital versions for the website and Facebook. They are also sending me a cutout of steel cut from the initial cut at the keel ceremony. They are going to see if they can get me more for the association. The size and thickness is similar to the original America steel mounted on the plaques for crewmembers and plank owners.
They expect to be able to send someone to the reunion in Kentucky. Might even be Kevin Jarvis himself.
It’s amazing how clean the ship is compared to LPD 24 next door. No cigarette butts or plastic bottles laying around etc! Everyone takes care of this ship. Jarvis said that everyone is still in a little bit of awe that we were able to get her named.
I guess I can now hold the celebratory title of the first CV66 vet to scamper aboard our ship
NEWSLETTER
IN OUR ONGOING EFFORT TO PRODUCE A NEWSLETTER THAT IS OF HIGH QUALITY AND CONTENT, THE CVA BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS ASKING FOR YOUR HELP. SEND US YOUR STORIES AND PHOTO'S REGARDING YOUR TIME ABOARD USS AMERICA CVA/CV-66 OR YOUR THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE SOON TO BE USS AMERICA LHA-6. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE MARCHING UP 5TH AVENUE IN THE NYC VETERAN'S DAY PARADE, THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR AMERICA IN PHILA. OR FINDING A LONG LOST SHIPMATE. WE MAY NO LONGER HAVE AMERICA, BUT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE OUR STORIES AND EXPERIENCES. SHARE THEM WITH THE ENTIRE CVA BY WAY OF THE NEWSLETTER. SEND THEM TO THE ADDRESS BELOW, AND AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
A note from Brookwood Elementary
Thank you so much for all of your support. The USS America CVA really does make a difference in our children’s lives. Our school changed a lot this year. We added about 200 students and now have about 100 staff members, since becoming a Title I school. I am still running the after school art/self esteem group with our art teacher. We ran two sessions this year and Mickey was kind enough to give us a little money so we could buy supplies. Thank you for your kind offer, I will speak to Mickey in the fall to see if there are any extra funds available. With the economy the way it is these days we have many struggling families and many families in shared housing situations, which is an added stress for all. The support of the USS America CVA throughout the years has made a great impact on so many of our students. Thank you and may God continue you watch and guide over all of you. Sincerely,
Gaye Reid
Gaye G. Reid
Professional School Counselor
Brookwood Elementary School
PLANKOWNER AND CREWMEMBER PLAQUES
These Plaques are available to Plankowners and Former Crewmembers who are members of the CVA only. The Plaques feature the ship name USS America CVA 66 and Plankowner or Crewmember engravings. To order your plaque, contact Rich Fleischer, the ship store manager.
SALES FROM THESE VENDERS HELP SUPPORT THE CVA
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USS America Carrier CVA, INC.
P.O. Box 1239
Hopewell Junction, New York
12533
1-888-391-CV66 (2866)
Copyright © 2003 USS AMERICA Carrier Veterans Association, INC.
The USS America Carrier Veterans Association, INC.( An NYS Tax-Exempt Corporation) is a Tax Exempt Organization, under IRS Code 501(c)(19).
(Payments made to this association may be tax deductible. Kindly consult your tax advisor.)
