Somebody re-post the link to this story, please. I'd like a shot at helping
to sink it.

--Woody


Pensacola beat out a number of communities to land the USS Oriskany, the Navy
and U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller announced Monday.
The aircraft carrier will be sunk in the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles off
Pensacola and become an artificial reef. It is the first time a ship this size
has been sunk deliberately to become a reef.

The ship is in Corpus Christi, Texas, undergoing preparations. It could be
towed here and sunk in three to four months. Preparations include stripping it
of contaminants.
News of the Navy's decision spread quickly Monday afternoon.
Miller was in Pensacola when he received word from the secretary of the Navy.
He immediately notified Jack Fetterman, the retired vice admiral who led
efforts on the federal level to get the Oriskany.
"You are talking to a man who is euphoric," Fetterman said. "The aircraft
carrier longs to be put in a resting place off of Pensacola, the Cradle of
Naval Aviation," said Fetterman, who also is chief executive officer of the
Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
Monday's announcement followed more than a year of lobbying by military, local
and state officials and civic groups.
"There have been many people who have worked long hours to bring this to the
forefront," said Miller, R-Chumuckla, who said Pensacola's rich history in
Naval aviation played a major role in the decision.
The overriding factor, though, was that Pensacola's application provided "the
best value to the U.S. government," said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea
Systems Command Inactive Ships Program, the group that reviewed applications
and made the decision.
Officials reviewed applications from Florida, Texas, Mississippi, South
Carolina and Georgia. There were approximately 10 criteria upon which each
applicant was judged.
The state has a sinking permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. It has an
active reef-monitoring program and the Escambia County site plan showed a high
degree of public support, Dolan said.
The Oriskany was one of the Navy's most heavily used aircraft carriers during
the Vietnam War. Dozens of Oriskany pilots, including U.S. Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., were shot down and held as prisoners of war.
One local, former crewman, retired Navy Cmdr. Robert Price, 57, was a yeoman
onboard the Oriskany in 1966 during a catastrophic fire that killed 44 sailors
including two of his co-workers.
"I don't have the words to describe how happy this makes me feel as an
ex-crewman. To have something that means so much to me so close," said Price,
who lives in South Santa Rosa County, east of Gulf Breeze.
Fetterman, along with other local leaders, said this is a major coup for the
area's economy, its environment and history.
Business and tourism officials say divers and fishermen will flock to the site.
Scuba divers such as Scott Bartkowski are thrilled efforts paid off to get the
vessel.
"It's the greatest thing to happen in this area," said Bartkowski, a reef
engineer, scuba diver and former Navy navigator.
"The ship will have a tremendous impact economically on the county and area
because it will be a fantastic diving venue," said Bartkowski, president of
Gulf Breeze-based Artificial Reefs Inc.
Many of the area's divers, he said, are active-duty and former military who
will jump at the chance to dive the aircraft carrier.
County Commissioner Bill Dickson said it is a great day for the community and
region. Dickson, along with Marine Resources Chief Robert Turpin, began the
process more than a year ago to bring the ship to the area for its final
resting place on the flat, sandy bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
"A reef of this size will attract a quantity and diversity of marine life out
there that we wouldn't see in any other artificial reef in the northern Gulf of
Mexico. This will truly be a world-class artificial reef," Turpin said.
Before anyone is able to explore the Oriskany's watery grave, the county must
make good on its offer to raise at least $1 million to help offset the Navy's
cost of preparing the ship.
A number of unresolved environmental, towing and sinking issues will have a
bearing on the final price tag, he said.
Approximately $370,000 of the $1 million has been raised from the following
sources:
$250,000 from Escambia County marine resources.
$50,000 in private donations.
$50,000 from Okaloosa County.
$20,000 from a federal artificial reef grant.
The rest could come from Escambia County's share of bed-tax revenues, Turpin
said.
"We are committed to $1 million, and no doubt we will go ahead and raise
additional funds because we don't want to be in a situation that we are short,"
he said.
The Navy will pay a bulk of the cost. It has committed $2.8 million to the
project. Of that, $2.1 million has been dedicated to cleaning and preparing the
ship for scuttling.
Larry Wheeler of the News Journal's Washington bureau and staff reporter Sean
Smith contributed to this report.
A brief history of the USS Oriskany, which is to be sunk as an artificial reef
this year off the coast of Escambia County.
1945: Launched, New York Naval Shipyard.
1950: Commissioned, New York Naval Shipyard.
1952: Arrives at new home port, San Diego.
1952-53: Combat operations off Korea.
1953: "The Bridges of Toko Ri" filmed aboard the Oriskany.
1958-59: Angled flight deck added during a major renovation, San Francisco Bay
Naval Shipyard.
1963: President Kennedy witnesses operational readiness demonstration aboard
the Oriskany in San Diego.
1965: First combat operations off Vietnam.
1966: Magazine fire kills 44 crew members off Vietnam; arrives at new home
port, Alameda, Calif.
1967: Assists USS Forrestal when fire strikes that carrier off Vietnam.
1968: Overhaul and repairs, San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard.
1969-1973: Combat operations off Vietnam.
1975-76: Final cruise in western Pacific.
1976: Decommissioned, Alameda, Calif.
1995: Sold for scrap, Vallejo, Calif.
1997: Scrap contractor defaults, repossessed by Navy.
1999: Towed to Beaumount, Texas.
2003: Efforts under way to have Escambia County selected as site for sinking of
decommissioned ship. Cities in other states also make bids.
2004: Towed to Corpus Christi, Texas, to be cleaned and prepared for use as
artificial reef.
2004: Escambia County selected as site for sinking.
Sources: U.S. Navy, Oriskany Reunion Association
New program:
The sinking of the Oriskany is the first in a new Navy program to dispose of
surplus vessels by turning them into artificial reefs.

The Navy has committed $2.8 million to the project. Of that, $2.1 million has
been dedicated to cleaning and preparing the ship for scuttling. That process
is under way in Corpus Christi, Texas. Escambia County officials have pledged
$1 million, including a $50,000 contribution from Okaloosa County, for any
added cleaning costs to meet state regulations and to make the ship safe for
divers.
The decommissioned aircraft carrier will be sunk about 25 miles southeast of
Pensacola Pass. Once on the bottom, the ship will become a habitat for marine
life and is expected to boost fishing and underwater diving activity.
Selection factors:
According to information provided to state reef program managers, Naval
officials weighed many factors before deciding where to sink the USS Oriskany.
Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia also sought the vessel. The
factors depend on:
Potential for improving marine habitat and opportunities for fishing and
diving.
Plans to manage the reefed ship.
Local cost-sharing.
Public support.
The region's Naval heritage.