How do you feel about the Navy not willing to put an aircraft carrier at Mayport is it all politics

2013-12-26T01:04:28-05:00

It just seems like the Navy in the Atlantic fleet is making a big mistake by keeping all our aircraft carriers in one port what is your opinion?

Response by CMDCM Gene Treants made Dec 27 at 2013 8:05 PM

2013-12-27T20:05:52-05:00

Mayport is a good fit for an Aircraft Carrier. It is a very good idea to spread out our carriers and not have all of our East Coast assets in one place. Navy is probably willing to do this, the port is there and the area desperately wants more Navy presence to help the economy, but DC is all about saving bucks and cutting the military budget. Look there for your answers. Politics is and always has been the answer to where Military Assets are located. Want Navy to station a carrier in Mayport, get Congress behind the idea.

Response by Sgt Packy Flickinger made Sep 6 at 2014 5:08 AM

2014-09-06T05:08:51-04:00

Don't they remember what happened at Pearl? Had our carriers been there, I'm sure we wouldn't have done so well in the war.

I was stationed at Mayport for a short while. I really liked the base.

Response by Capt Jeff S. made Sep 6 at 2014 9:33 PM

2014-09-06T21:33:57-04:00

Mayport is a shallow port for carriers, which have a very deep draft. While it may have been deep enough for the conventionally powered carriers, the newest supercarriers would require that the harbor be dredged deeper and the cost would be around $75 million. This isn't just a one time expense. You will have to dredge periodically to maintain the deeper channnels so there will be additional maintenance costs involved afterward that occur on a regular basis. Another deep water port may not require as much dredging due to the type of shoreline (rocky vs. sandy) as well as the depth and currents in the harbor that would tend to fill in the channel with material carried by those currents.

It's not as optimal as things appear on the surface. I believe there's more than political reasons for the Navy not wanting to put their carriers there. Nonetheless, I don't think it is a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket, and we should find another suitable deep water port on the East Coast if Mayport doesn't fit the bill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Station_Mayport

Naval Station Mayport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Naval Station Mayport (IATA: NRB,ICAO: KNRB,FAA LID: NRB) is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admiral David L. McDonald Field) with one asphalt paved runway (5/23) measuring 8,001 200ft. (2,439 61 m).[1]

Response by CDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 18 at 2015 7:43 AM

2015-01-18T07:43:24-05:00

Mayport's infrastructure needs to be updated. They cannot handle the electrical load required of a modern CVN. They have been upgrading but have only been able to upgrade to allow a LHD/LHA whose demands are more like that of the old CVs. Also, they don't have the facilities to deal with having a nuke vessel there long term.

Response by PO2 Rev. Frederick C. Mullis, AFI, CFM made Mar 20 at 2017 4:22 PM

2017-03-20T16:22:23-04:00

There are other reasons you do not see a carrier in Mayport but it is NOT spoken about. It Concerns the USS Forestall, a certain Skipper that shall remain name less, and what the ships company did to the local constabulary brig when their Skipper was picked up, and was not turned over to the Shore Patrol as was the agreement. I know this to be TRUE as my Brother was stationed in Mayport and was part of the Shore Patrol when it happened. What happened to the Forestall is, well if anyone has ever seen the movie Mr. Roberts, you will understand what the Ships Company did to get their Skipper back, and the Forrest Fire was Kicked out of Port. I believe the last Carrier that was ever allowed to dock in Mayport was the JFK, and that was only because she was being used as a Training Carrier and did not have a full compliment aboard. As I said This is not spoken of much by the Upper echelon, it looks bad to the Brass. and the pentagon... It looks DAMN GOOD to the enlisted and even better to that Skipper because it shows just how much a Crew will do for him! I know we would have walked through hell barefoot and naked for Captain C.C. Smith (later Vice Admiral) Our Skipper on the Enterprise. He was just that good of a Commanding Officer. and they are few and far between.