
The USS Bill Clinton?
In a disgraceful departing act, Biden insulted every American Patriot, especially those with any military heritage.
In 2008, I had the privilege of crossing the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to San Diego on the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN76). Christened in 2003, it was one of the two final Nimitz-class carriers and was named for the 20th century’s greatest president, under whom I held an appointment. I was humbled by the opportunity to join the Reagan’s outstanding Ship’s Company and Air Wing for the last leg of Carrier Strike Group 5’s six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The day before boarding the Reagan, I went to the Arizona Memorial to honor and give thanks for the lives of the 2,341 American military souls who perished on December 7, 1941 — and for those who survived to become part of the Greatest Generation’s defenders of American Liberty. Our stars and stripes were flying proudly in the wind above that hallowed Pearl Harbor memorial — and likewise over the towering bridge of the Reagan a few hundred feet across the harbor.
That crossing was the last time I was on a Navy vessel, and it meant a lot to me personally to be in the midst of Naval Aviation at its finest. My grandfather, father, and uncle were all Naval Aviators, and I owe my very existence, in large part, to Naval Aviation.
You see, my dad, a Corsair pilot, took leave in 1945 after the Japanese surrender to visit his sister at her college. Full disclosure: He was actually AWOL from NAS Pensacola, having asked one of his squadron wingmen to complete his PT and flights in his absence. As it turned out, that wingman had a sister at the same college whom my dad met on that visit. Two years later, he married the sister of his wingman — my mother.
Suffice it to say, our family shares a proud military legacy, starting with the American Revolution — and, more specifically, a Navy and Marine legacy over the last hundred years.
Currently, the USS Reagan and nine other Nimitz-class carriers are being replaced over the coming decades by new Gerald Ford-class carriers. The first of those, CVN-78, named for President Gerald Ford, a Navy Veteran, entered service in 2017. The second of the Ford-class carriers, CVN-79, named for John F. Kennedy, a Navy Veteran, will enter service in July of this year. The third, CVN-80, will carry forward a famous name in Naval history, the USS Enterprise, first christened in 1775 and currently in service as the first of the nuclear carriers (CVN-65). The fourth, CVN-81, will be named for Navy Cross recipient Doris Miller for his valorous actions at Pearl Harbor and will enter service in 2032.
You can see the naming pattern here — either Veterans or historical significance.
This week, in yet another of his mindless last-minute presidential awards, Joe Biden, in a disgraceful departing act, announced that he will name one of the next Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers after Bill Clinton.
CVN-82, expected to launch in 2032, will carry the name USS William J. Clinton. Yet Clinton was a protester on foreign soil during the Vietnam War and has no record of military service. Clinton gutted our military capabilities and was widely loathed as commander-in-chief by military personnel and Veterans.
As president, Clinton seeded the degradation of morale that has cyclically plagued our military under Democrat presidents since. He was responsible for the loss of American lives during the Battle of Mogadishu, Black Hawk Down, among other deadly micro-managed military operations. Moreover, he refused to kill Osama bin Laden on at least two occasions before the 9/11 Islamist attack on our nation. The first of those jihadi terrorists entered our country on his watch.
Military service is not a prerequisite for serving as commander-in-chief (CINC) — Donald Trump did not serve — but earning the respect of those serving under you is the most foundational requirement for a CINC. And unlike Clinton, Barack Obama, and Biden, all of whom avoided military service, Trump had in his first term, as he does now, the broad respect and support of our military men and women, as well as Veterans.
That said, honorable military service or distinguished service as CINC certainly should be a prerequisite for the naming of any major military platform, system, or facility.
At the same time he announced the USS Clinton, Biden proclaimed that the next carrier, CVN-83, would be named after George W. Bush, who served as an Air National Guard pilot (F-102s) and was widely admired by our military personnel and Veterans as their CINC.
Making the announcement, Biden declared, “Each knows firsthand the weight of the responsibilities that come with being Commander-in-Chief.” But like Biden, Clinton was totally inept and negligent regarding those responsibilities, and he empowered our enemies.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a political parody of what a SecDef should be, added: “These two future carriers are named after historically significant Commanders in Chief who served our country with determination and dedication. … Like their namesakes, these two future carriers … will serve as lasting tributes to each leader’s legacy in service of the United States.”
Clinton’s “historical significance” is certainly not based on his service to our country, and the USS Clinton will be a tribute to his corrupt legacy and, by extension, that of Hillary Clinton.
I am certain that Biden designated the USS Clinton hoping some future president would overlook his vast record of domestic and foreign policy failures — and all the blood of innocents spilled as a result — and “honor” him by naming a carrier the “USS Biden.”
Trump should scrap this designation and naming tradition and find a far more reputable namesake for CVN-82.
Footnote: Regarding the inspiration for the image we created for this post, you may recall that as Clinton was defunding our military, a military meme circulated depicting a barge with a single antiquated aircraft — bearing the name “USS Clinton.”
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776