‘Big dog’ GW begins its new role

[unhappycamper]

An F/A-18 Hornet prepares for a takeoff on the deck of the carrier George Washington in the western Pacific on Oct. 20.


‘Big dog’ GW begins its new role
By Eric Talmadge - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 16, 2008 11:45:27 EST

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON — Rear Adm. Rick Wren’s office is near the flight deck, above the two nuclear reactors. When the mood strikes, he can take a short walk to the bridge and look out at his new neighborhood, though most of the time that’s just blue water from horizon to horizon.

Wren has a unique command.

No country in the world has anything like the aircraft carrier George Washington. It is a floating air base with 67 aircraft ready to fly; it’s a city unto itself, with a population of around 5,000; and it’s an armory carrying about 4 million pounds of bombs.

It is, Wren likes to say, the big dog on the block.

And a big part of being the big dog is being seen.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_george_washington_111608/%2e