Wednesday, January 20, 2016

USS Vicksburg

Yesterday we were actually lucky enough to see the USS Vicksburg heading out for deployment - it's home base is right here at the Mayport. As soon as we got home Mom instantly went online to find out more about it and here is what she discovered.

This is actually the second ship to have this name - the first Vicksburg sailed during WWII. The ship which was built in 1991 and has a crew of nearly 400. It was originally to be named the Port Royal but was changed to USS Vicksburg before it was commissioned. (Mom gave a HUGE sigh of relief when she read that as you may not know this but sailors consider it VERY bad luck to rename a boat after it has been launched).

The USS Vicksburg (CG-69) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser.  She is named for both the land Battle of Vicksburg fought during the American Civil War, and the city of Vicksburg, MS.

This ship along with 11 others in its class were meant to be decommissioned in 2013 thanks to government cutbacks to the Defense Department (each ship cost $1 BILLION to build which also means they mothballed $9 Billion worth of ships) but the Vicksburg and 2 others were thankfully saved. You can read more about that here.  This ship was also featured predominantly in a movie called "Fire of the Raging Dragon" which was released in 2012.


19 comments:

  1. That's interesting about the name. I didn't know it was bad luck to rename a ship after it has been launched! I love the pictures and the video!

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  2. that's impressing, many thanks for sharing such great informations... 400 people... that are more than my granny's village has citizens...

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  3. Neat-o! Those ships are so huge in real life
    Lily & Edward

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  4. Wow, 400 peeps on one ship sure seems like a lot! She is so beautiful!

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  5. OMD OMD Our Dad watched and said he always LIKED standing on Deck when one of the ships he was on... deployed...
    What a COOL video... good that you were there to see it.

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  6. That's pretty neat.

    Aroo to you,
    Sully

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  7. Wow, how cool! BTW, we saw the message about our sister's back and we are sorry to hear this! We hope somehow it gets better! Crossing our paws!

    Keep Calm & Bark On!

    Murphy & Stanley

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  8. Wow! That is a massive ship. I hate to see the government decommission ships and planes that are still able to serve our country.

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  9. Thanks for the history of the ship - your Mom does a great job of keeping us informed. It was great to see the Vicksburg on the move.

    Woos - Ciara and Lightning

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  10. That's so beautiful! Stay safe, sailors!
    Cammie!

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  11. They are soooo big! Thank you for showing it to us and telling us some about it
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  12. Love your boat information. It is interesting and neat!

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  13. Thats cool and loved the video but that means guys are gonna be gone for awhile!!

    Wags
    Oreo

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  14. Wishing all the men and women on board a safe deployment!

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Thank you for woofing at us - we read each and every one of them