It's Official: The USS Stennis Will Come Home Friday

[Robbien]

Source: Scripps Newspaper Group

Sailors and Marines aboard the USS John C. Stennis garnered several achievements during a seven-and-a-half month deployment that landed them in the middle of two wars and two major training exercises.

The Stennis carrier strike group supported Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Expeditionary Strike Force training and exercise Valiant Shield 2007.

. . .

The battle group spent five months deployed to the Middle East. While there, Stennis and Carrier Air Wing 9 flew more than 7,900 sorties providing more than 22,000 flight hours and dropping nearly 90,000 pounds of ordnance in support of troops operating on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.

. . .

March 27-28

The Stennis participates in the Navy's largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. War planes from the Stennis and the USS Eisenhower fly simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran. U.S. commanders insist the exercises are not a direct response to Iran's seizure five days earlier of 15 British sailors and Marines, but they also make clear that the flexing of the Navy's military might is intended as a warning to Iran.

. . .

May 11

Vice President Dick Cheney visits the Stennis as it steams about 150 miles from the Iranian coast. He warns Iran that the United States and its allies will keep it from restricting sea traffic and from developing nuclear weapons. Cheney is touring the Middle East asking Arab allies to do more to help Iraq and to curb Iran's growing power in the region. Between 3,500 and 4,000 sailors and Marines stand in 100-degree heat to hear Cheney speak.

more . . .

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/26/for-the-uss-stennis-thousands-of-miles-and/

---

So much in this report, much related to intimidating Iran.

One other thing which stands out, 90,000 pounds of bombs dropped on Iraq and Afghanistan in a five month period from this group alone.

[ProudDad]

1. Stennis -- another perfect model to name a carrier after...

"In October 1973, during the Watergate scandal, the Nixon administration proposed the Stennis compromise, wherein the hard-of-hearing Stennis would listen to the contested Oval Office tapes and report on their contents, but this plan went nowhere."

"Stennis' record on civil rights was mixed throughout his long career. As a prosecutor, he sought the conviction and execution of three black men whose murder confessions had been extracted by torture. The convictions were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of Brown v. Mississippi (1936) that banned the use of evidence obtained by torture. The transcript of the trial indicates Stennis was fully aware of the methods of interrogation, including flogging, used to gain confessions.

In the 1950s and 1960s he vigorously opposed such legislation as the Voting Rights Act, as did most of the Southern senators. He also signed the Southern Manifesto of 1956. He openly supported Barry Goldwater's presidential bid in 1964, as did most of the state's prominent Democrats."

"In some ways, Stennis' record on civil rights is similar to those of Goldwater, Robert Byrd, Sam Ervin and J. William Fulbright — all of whom opposed many federal civil rights bills not out of racism (YEAH, RIGHT :sarcasm: ), but because they felt the bills gave the federal government too much power over the states. Still, Stennis shied away from supporting civil rights legislation when there was no political risk in doing so."


White Racist -- like ray-gun and many others...


On Edit: Wow, just checked the list and he's one of the few non-Presidents after whom carriers are named. Bye the Bye, I hope the G.H.W.Bush sinks as soon as it's launched...

Too many fucking carriers...too much fucking money wasted on this shit...

[Robbien]

6. He was part of the Brown v. Mississippi case?

The wrong side of course. The very wrong side.

And this ship which plays war games off the coast of a non-combatant nation is named after him. Figures.

[happyslug]

15. That was Brown vs Topeka, Kansas, if you are talking about the Ruling making segregation illegal

If I remember right, the "sister" cases to Brown were from other States (including, If I remember right Virginia( but NOT Mississippi. The four "Sister" Cases, combined with Brown in the Desegregation decision were as follows:

The case of Brown v. Board of Education as heard before the Supreme Court combined five cases: Brown itself, Briggs v. Elliott (filed in South Carolina), Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (filed in Virginia), Gebhart v. Belton (filed in Delaware), and Bolling v. Sharpe (filed in Washington D.C.).

For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education

[Robbien]

17. The Mississippi case was about torture

That obtaining confessions through torture is not acceptable.

But it wouldn't surprise me if this Stennis creature was on the wrong side of the civil rights cases too.

[saigon68]

26. Stennis was a "Racist Dirt Bag"

From the Brown Case


http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=297&page=278


This deputy was put on the stand by the state in rebuttal, and admitted the whippings. It is interesting to note that in his testimony with reference to the whipping of the defendant Ellington, and in response to the inquiry as to how severely he was whipped, the deputy stated, 'Not too much for a negro; not as much as I would have done if it were left to me.' Two others who had participated <297 U.S. 278, 285> in these whippings were introduced and admitted it-not a single witness was introduced who denied it.

[happyslug]

21. Stennis was the Prosecutor at the Trial Court Level, but not at the Supreme Court

Background on the case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Mississippi

The actual Supreme Court Decision:
http://www.injusticeline.com/brown.html

[Tulum_Moon]

18. G.H.W Bush sinks as it's launched?

What about the men and women on the ship? And why waste money that way? Why not just protest to not build it?

[ProudDad]

24. When they launch the keel

no one's on board.

The whole fucking military is a waste of money...

[rodeodance]

2. iraq is prob. pretty bombed to heck by now. buildings, roads houses. etc.

[seriousstan]

5. Yes, perhaps the Dem candidates should talk about the their war crimes

when they pull into port. That should be a pres moment that will make the national news.

[lovuian]

3. Good News

glad the kids are home

[Robbien]

4. These guys had it pretty easy compared to soldiers on the ground

During their seven month duty, the timeline had them partying/resting up in various luxurious ports of call. At least four or five times.

But yes, it is good they are home safe.

[NW_BEAST]

10. AS much as

I HATE the princepals of the location and how they fit into all this...but back when I was on a boat....shit, I've been to Dubai, and I'd go back for leave....in a heart beat.

[olddad56]

7. I would assume that it's replacement is steaming toward the gulf by now.

[ManiacJoe]

8. If not already there, yes. (n/t)

[sanskritwarrior]

9. If the standard munition is a 1000lb

bomb, then that is 90 bombs dropped..........90 bombs in 5 months works out to 18,000 lbs or 18 bombs, but since some bombs were 2000 lb bombs, it is probably less.........

Are you implying that 18 bombs a month from 1500 sorties a month is a lot?

Basically you have a 1% chance of dropping a bomb if you are a pilot

[LeftyMom]

11. One bomb is too many to drop on another mother's children.

And you have to remember the country was already destroyed, many more were used when there was stuff left to ruin.

[sanskritwarrior]

13. I've seen firsthand with my own eyeballs

what Iraq looks like........So we should not frop 89 bombs on actual bad guys (there are a few of those around you know) if we drop one bomb on civilians? Sorry I can never agree to such a ludicrous idea..........

[LeftyMom]

14. If you'd seen any such thing, you'd know the ratio is the other way around.

[Robbien]

16. Occupiers under the Geneva Convention are OBLIGATED to protect the citizens of the occupied country.

not drop bombs on them in the far fetched hope to maybe perhaps get some mystical "bad guy" who may be in the crowd of citizens.

In fact the term “war crime” applies to such breaches of provisions of the Geneva Conventions and Protocols.

And your minimizing the fact that this one group of many dropped "just" 90 bombs on occupied Iraqi citizens is disgusting.

[sanskritwarrior]

19. So are you

calling the troops war criminals

Because I also believe that soldiers have a right to protect themselves........so again I think I'll take the legal justification that we use and drop that bomb.......If a few civilians are intermixed with the insurgents at least we still got some insurgents.......

And don't try and paint me as a repug, it's been tried before and failed everytime on DU. I am incredibly progressive on social issues, and incredibly conservative on military issues and guess what I still pull the lever marked "D" everytime............

[Nihil]

20. Ah, the proud voice of the US Military ...

> If a few civilians are intermixed with the insurgents at least we still
> got some insurgents.

:puke:

It is obvious that the word "civilians" is interchangeable with "Iraqi police"
and "British soldiers". It is also obvious that you haven't realised that
the "some insurgents" that you "still got" are the newly created, live and
angry "insurgents" whose innocent relatives you just murdered & maimed.

[sanskritwarrior]

25. Perhaps, perhaps not

the point is the target would have been elimnated and the mission completed, as long as collateral damage was kept to a minimum that is a win-win scenario for the military. You never want to kill innocents, but you can't avoid it 100% of the time. The best you can do is mitigate while still being able to accomplish the mission.

[Nihil]

27. OK

I can understand your point of view even though I don't agree with it.

[The Magistrate]

23. Have You Thought Through The Full Implications Of this Line, Ma'am?

An occupying power has the obligation to maintain civil order, to safe-guard life and property of persons in the country it occupies. The greatest threat to both at present in Iraq comes from various sectarian and ethnic Iraqi factions attacking other Iraqi citizens. It would be the duty of an occupying power to quash such activities: they occur on such a scale as to be quite beyond the power of ordinary policing, and doing this would require the employment of soldiers as a gendarmerie.

If one takes a strict legal view of the situation in Iraq at present, it is unlikely U.S. forces even meet the legal definition of an occupying power. The government of Maliki is internationally recognized as legitimate, and has agreed to the presence of U.S. forces, and their operations, on its territory. These things are in fact, in my view, entertaining fictions, but entertaining fictions are often the stuff of legal pleadings and judicial rulings.

[jmowreader]

22. There's also a 500-pound bomb

It's being used in theater--they were used to kill Zarqawi, for instance. It's called the Mk.82. They can convert it into any kind of smart bomb just by hanging equipment on it.

If they dropped 90,000 pounds just of Mk.82s on Iraq (they said "munitions" and not "bombs," which indicates missile warheads, gun ammo...lots of things...but let's pretend they're only dropping iron bombs on the Iraqis) that's 180 bombs. Mk.82s are dropped in pairs, which makes 90 bomb runs. You can hang seven bombs (well, six really since they're dropped in pairs) off an F/A-18, but for the purposes of this exercise every pilot who flew off the deck of the Stennis with bombs on his plane only had two bombs.

90 total bomb runs divided by the 20 weeks they were deployed to the Persian Gulf means four and a half runs per week--one bombing Monday through Thursday, plus one every other Saturday.

When you launch fifty sorties every day, like the flight deck of Johnny Reb did, sending one with bombs on it down the rails every day is a bit anticlimactic.

[Lautremont]

12. I don't know what that is.