The Navy has announced the names for the next two Ford-class aircraft carriers: CVN 82 will be known as the USS William J. Clinton; CVN 83 will be known as the USS George W. Bush. The names, honoring the 42nd and 43rd presidents of the United States respectively, follow the Navy’s long-standing tradition of naming aircraft carriers after former commanders in chief.

President Joe Biden, who also has a shot at having a carrier named for him, made the announcement—and also informed his predecessors Clinton and Bush.

Unorthodox Naming

The Clinton and Bush names are consistent with tradition, yet also somewhat unorthodox. Carriers are more likely to bear the names of presidents who served in the Navy (John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, George H.W. Bush), or the military generally. Or alternatively, presidents who were more accomplished (Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Harry Truman).

Clinton never served in the military and was often derided by his political opponents as a hippy, draft-dodging type. Bush, heir to a political dynasty, served in the Air National Guard (a stint that would stir controversy during the 2004 president election). Clinton’s productivity and reputation suffered beneath the weight of scandal, most especially the Monica Lewinsky affair and subsequent impeachment, which left Clinton a somewhat divisive figure—a feeling that Hillary Clinton’s election campaign against Donald Trump would exacerbate.

Bush would serve a tumultuous eight-year tenure, bookended with the 9/11 attacks and the Great Recession. Bush’s reputation would suffer, too, thanks to a misguided invasion of Iraq, built upon a now-infamous pretextual and untrue allegation that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction. Ironically, one of the most enduring images of the Bush presidency was the premature “Mission Accomplished” press conference that took place aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln’s flight deck.

Also, the proximity to both Clinton and Bush’s administration is more likely to elicit stronger feelings about the carrier naming than say the Truman or the Eisenhower.

Still Years Away

Construction has yet to begin on either CVN 82 or CVN 83. Neither ship is expected to sail for another decade or so. Three Ford-class carriers need to be finished before the Clinton or Bush will be next in line. CVN 79, the USS John F. Kennedy, is currently being fitted out while both CVN 80 and CVN 81, the USS Enterprise and USS Doris Miller respectively, are still under construction. The Clinton is expected to join the fleet in 2034 while the Bush is expected to join in 2036—assuming all goes according to plan, which is certainly no guarantee given the complexity and cost of each Ford-class carrier.
The Ford-class is most assuredly the world’s finest aircraft carrier. Costing $13 billion per unit, the Ford-class is also the most expensive warship ever assembled. Loaded with new technology like the EMALS catapult system and the AAG arresting gear system, the Ford is billed as having a higher Sortie Generation Rate (SGR) than the preceding Nimitz-class while being able to operate with a smaller crew. The result is a more effective method for delivering airpower that should, in theory, save manpower costs over the 50-year life of the vessel.

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.