USS New York

It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center .

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up." "It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."

The ship's motto? "Never Forget"

I'm glad all the steel didn't go to China. I hope that it was subjected to full forensic testing before being released for re-use.

What good is a warship against terrorists?

Good police work is far more likely to be effective.

Sue N

quote:

Good police work is far more likely to be effective.

Terrorist acts are not merely 'police matters' but are matters of national security and world wide security from jihad.

Terrorists frequently do not sail the high seas or operate conveniently within reach of them. The navy was not sent after the IRA, the Rot Armee Faktion, or many other terrorist groups. Most were apprehended using police methods, backed up by armed forces where necessary for the arrests.

Terrorists tend to form small groups which infiltrate the civilan population. It would not be easy to storm the places where they are with troops without harming civilians too.

Ships may occasionally have their uses in anti terrorism work, for transporting troops to civilain-free places like training camps or intercepting radio messages. But how many such ships could be used? Couldn't the money be better used for other methods?