Congressman Tom Graves Questions Navy’s Ship Naming Decision
Congressmen Tom Graves (R-GA-14) and Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) and Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Bob Corker (R-TN) had asked the Navy to christen a ship the USS Chattanooga in memory of the servicemen who died in the attacks last July.
The Navy has decided to name the new DDG-120 destroyer after former Senator Carl Levin. In a letter to the Department of the Navy, Congressman Graves expressed his concern:
“I am writing today to express concern with recent U.S. Navy ship naming decisions and to again respectfully request that you give all due consideration to honoring the five service members killed in the terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 16, 2015 by naming an appropriate naval vessel the USS Chattanooga… There is clearly ample justification for honoring these five service members. That is why I was surprised and disappointed when it came to my attention that the decision has been made to name DDG-120 after retired Senator Carl Levin,”
You can read the letter in its entirety. The Congressman also mentions that the new name doesn’t conform to the Navy’s policy of naming destroyers after deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard and points out the fact that Senator Levin didn’t serve in the military.
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nsmith
Father. IT Geek. Former 14th District GOP Chairman (2015-2017). Former Walker GOP Chairman (2009-2013). Resident of Chamblee. American. Georgian. Conservative.
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No mystery here. Levin is former chair of the Armed Services Committee. Designating the destroyer in his honor has probably been in the works for some time.
Yeah, what goes around comes around. Not like Georgia’s Carl Vinson ever served in the military either, but we named a whole Supercarrier after him, because Congressional oversight and support of the military provides a valuable public service, even by a non-veteran. Also, I thought there was a different class of ship that we name after cities. Attack submarines, maybe?