The USS Enterprise CVN 80 is seen in the Newport News Shipbuilding yard on Aug. 26, 2022, ahead of a keel-laying ceremony. (Kendall Warner/Daily Press/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
TNS
The United States Navy has yet to issue a full-scale construction contract for the future USS William J. Clinton (CVN-82), the fifth Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered carrier, but last Friday Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding Division was awarded a $336 million contract to begin procuring long-lead-time materials. The undefinitized contract award will allow NNS to initiate its advanced procurement of propulsion plant materials for the warships.
“Ordering the materials necessary to build the world’s mightiest aircraft carriers is a critical first step as we begin planning for CVN 82,” said Bryan Caccavale, NNS vice president of program management. “This contract sends an important demand signal to the thousands of suppliers across the nation who make up the aircraft carrier industrial base.”
Current plans call for the warship to be laid down next year, with a planned launch date of 2032, and a commissioning four years later.
The Future USS William J. Clinton – The Latest Naming Controversy
The future CVN-82 will be the first carrier to honor former President Bill Clinton and use his full formal name. President Joe Biden announced the naming of CVN-82 for the 42nd president and CVN-83 for the 43rd president, George W. Bush, just prior to his leaving office in January 2025.
The choices weren’t entirely unexpected given that the two final Nimitz-class supercarriers were named in honor of Presidents Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).
However, critics have argued that neither Clinton nor the younger Bush fit the traditional mold of naval heroes or wartime leaders traditionally honored with capital ships. Moreover, detractors viewed the choice as politically motivated and legacy-cementing.
CVN-82 and CVN-83 will follow the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the USS Enterprise (CVN-80), and the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81). CVN-79, which is now set to be commissioned in March 2027, will be the second aircraft carrier named for the slain U.S. president; and CVN-80 will be the ninth USS Enterprise, paying homage notably to the famed World War II flattop, CVN-6, and the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, CVN-65.
Past And Current Naming Controversies
Nearly all recent supercarriers have been named for former presidents, with only three of the 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered named for other men – including USS Nimitz (CVN-68), named for the famed World War II U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz; USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), which honored Congressman Carl Vinson of Georgia, a staunch supporter of the U.S. Navy; and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), named for the Mississippi senator, who championed a large and powerful U.S. Navy, earning the title “Father of America’s Modern Navy.”
There have been calls for CVN-74’s name to be changed, as Stennis was an ardent segregationist, fought against civil rights legislation, and voted against making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a national holiday. Its unofficial nickname, “Johnny Reb,” is also connected to the historical term associated with Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War.
Last month, there were reports that the U.S. Navy was considering renaming the future USS Doris Miller, possibly instead to honor President Donald Trump. Doris “Dorie” Miller was an African American mess attendant who displayed extraordinary valor during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, becoming the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross. As it stands, CVN-81 would be the first capital aircraft carrier to be named for an enlisted sailor and an African-American.
Relatives of Doris Miller, who was killed in action in World War II, expressed shock and disappointment upon learning of the potential change through news reports rather than direct communication from the U.S. Navy. Lawmakers, civil rights organizations like the NAACP, and retired military leaders have criticized the move, calling it disrespectful to the legacy of diverse service members and deck-plate sailors. It has also been noted that naming an active aircraft carrier after a sitting president would be an unprecedented move in U.S. history.
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