Aircraft Carrier

While we were in Bali, Jeremy was sent an invitation to a reception on an aircraft carrier, the John C. Stennis.  It was in port in Singapore, with the reception on Monday (April 1)...the day after arriving home.  This is usually a big deal (both the reception and the leaving children melting down from the first day back to school).  As many as 1,000 civilians from around Singapore accept and show up.  Those receiving invitations are those who we want to build international relationships with, do liason work, or have a connection to the Navy.  There is no other country in the world that has these type of ships.  Sarah got her name on the list with Jeremy's response!  I did not take my big nice camera with me and Jeremy's phone camera doesn't take very good outdoor night pictures...so I grabbed some other people's from earlier in the day and am posting them:

The carrier is HUGE.  It was commissioned in 1995 and its home of port is Bremerton, WA.  It cost $4.5 billion to build. It's overall length is 1,092 feet and overall beam (height) is 252 feet.  It carries officers and crew of 6,500.  It is named after a Senator from Mississippi. 

We were fed a standing room only dinner in the main hanger bay with choices of shrimp, small burritos, roast beef, rolls, etc.  There were many small tables filled with tiers of cookies, brownies, and small muffins.  It being Singapore, it was hot.  The closer you stood to the big open spaces in the walls (where the aircraft elevators lift), the more of a breeze you felt.  We ran into a lot of people from the office both here and elsewhere.  We also recognized a few people from passing at school, too.  We did not go on the guided tour.  I did refrain from taking pictures of the enlisted soldiers standing post/guard at all other doorways.