European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 11, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 5 new destroyer class to be launched hailed As world s most advanced combat ship Bath Maine a the Bath Iron works sat urday launches the Lead ship in the Navy s new class of destroyers hailed As the world s most advanced sur face combat ship and costing 200 times As much As those built Here 45 years ago. Bath built 83 destroyers during world War ii More than All the shipyards of Japan produced in the same period. Sailor turned shipbuilder Bob Bourget spent three years aboard one of the destroyers produced in Bath during Wii so he Speaks from experience when he praises the combat capability of the ships built in this Small City along the Kennebec River. Bourget served on the Stem bal seeing action in the Pacific from Tarawa to Okinawa before returning Home to build ships at big. He says the durable de Stroyer is still in service with the Argentine Navy. That s the same kind of ship they re going to gel there except with a lot More technology Bourget said pointing to the ways cradling the Navy s new destroyer the Arligh Burke. The new ship is to be launched in a ceremony that will focus on one of the legendary leaders of world War 11. Burke an 87-year-old retired Admiral will be guest of Honor at the launching. His wife Roberta will Chris ten the ship and about 400 veterans who served in Burke s world War to destroyer Squadron Are scheduled to join him at a Post launch dinner. Known As "31-knot Burke for the Speed with which he pushed his destroyers in Pursuit of the Japa Nese Burke has kept tabs on the design and construction of the ship that will Bear his name. Wide beamed with a Low profile the 466-foot ship bears Little resemblance to the earlier generations of destroyers. The is billion it Cost to build is More than double the Price of All of the destroyers built Here in world War ii when the Yard turned out one every 17 Days at the height of production. While critics suggest the nation might be better served by a larger number of smaller less expensive ships Navy and big officials maintain the Arligh Burke destroyers arc being built for the Type of warfare in which threats from aircraft submarines and surface ships must be dealt with instantly. It s really the first surface ship that s been designed and built to meet the warfare requirements of the 21st Century said William h. Haggott big chairman and chief executive officer. Much of the Cost is for sophisticated Aegis computers electronics and weaponry including Tomahawk cruise missiles anti aircraft missiles and anti submarine torpedoes. To enhance its prospects of survival the 8,500-ton Arligh Burke was designed with a More expensive All steel superstructure instead of one that was part alumni num which would be More prone to splintering and fire damage. Designers also built in better Protection against nuclear blast radioactive fallout and chemical warfare agents. Haggott says ships of the future must have capabilities far More advanced than those of today s Fleet. They have to be Able to detect engage and eliminate targets that can come from any direction at Al most any Speed and in Large numbers. A lot of inferior ships out there in the kind of Battle a destroyer is designed to engage in would be meaningless. This ship is As capable As perhaps 20 or 40 ships that arc of an older  he said. The Arligh Burke program is also seen As the key to future Prosperity of the 105-year-old shipyard which has found itself competing for a dwindling number of Navy contracts at a time when civilian ship construction is virtually non existent in the United states. While other major Yards have closed or gone into bankruptcy. Bath Anil its archrival Litton s Ingall shipbuilding division in Mississippi arc among a handful of survivors. Thanks to its participation with Ingalls in the Aegis Cruiser program big now has a $2 billion construction backlog and a workforce that remains at a peace time High of 11,000. But with Cruiser construction winding Down the Aegis destroyer program was viewed As vital because it was seen As the last surface ship the Navy plans to build for some time. Unlike the cruisers which combined the Aegis sys tems with the modified design of existing destroyers the Arligh Burke is an entirely new ship designed from the keel up to accommodate the advanced technology. Winning the contract for design and construction of the Lead ship gave big a leg up and the Yard now has contracts for five of the destroyers to Ingalls  said the Navy plans to build five More per year for an indefinite period and his Yard will compete vigorously for its share of the contracts. Haggett said the Arligh Burke scheduled for delivery in 1991, is the kind of ship that would make a potential adversary think twice before challenging it. Probably the greatest value of these Aegis ships is that they arc so Good that they become a very meaning Ful deterrent to any kind of hostilities he said. Newest Trident sub Pennsylvania commissioned new London Conn. A the Navy saturday commissioned its newest Trident nuclear submarine the $1.2 Bil lion Pennsylvania. About 100 anti nuclear activists protested and six were arrested. The 560-foot Long submarine is the Sec Ond ballistic missile armed Craft equipped to carry the Trident 2 missile which is in tended to have a Range of up to 4,000 Miles and accuracy of within 200 Yards. Fleet ballistic missile submarines and particularly our Trident submarines and the men who take them to sea arc the heart and soul of our deterrent Navy Secretary h. Lawrence Garrett 111told a crowd of about 1,000 at the commissioning. The sub will be based takings Bay naval submarine base ga., located about 40 Miles North of Jackson Villera. About a Quarter of a mile from the ceremony members of the environmental and anti nuclear group Greenpeace formed a flotilla of 10 Small boats in the thames River. Several protesters floated in a wooden replica of the yellow submarine made famous by the beatles. A four piece band on a Sailboat played anchors aweigh and yellow Summa  we re committed to the cancellation of the Trident program. Even though we make Light of the Pennsylvania hts the taxpayers Money that s being wasted said Shannon Pagan a Greenpeace organizer. Six protesters in three inflatable rafts deliberately crossed barriers the coast guard had set up about 50 Yards from the submarine. One of the rafts reached the submarine and protesters were try ing to affix an anti nuclear Flag to its Side when coast guard boats arrived with new London police aboard. Coast guardsmen sprayed the protes ters briefly with water cannons. No one was injured. The six demonstrators were arrested and charged with criminal tres pass and reckless operation of a motor vessel. They were released after posting Bond. West Virginia voters reject state reorganization Charleston . A Vot ers saturday handed gov. Gaston caper ton an overwhelming defeat on three constitutional amendments he said were necessary to Complete his reorganization of state government. With 82 percent of the vote counted Only one of the amendments garnered As much As 17 percent  amendment would have eliminated three statewide elected offices Secretary of state treasurer and agriculture commissioner and placed their duties under the governor s control. The second would have Given the governor greater authority Over the state Pri Mary and secondary education  third would have Given cities and counties the ability to merge or choose new forms of government. The people of West Virginia have scored a great Victory at the polls today said Secretary of state Ken he Chlor a opponent of the amendments. Caperton who took office in january said the voters rejected the proposals be cause the administration failed to full explain them. I believe the defeat of these Amend ments was due in part to the inability to gel our True message about these com plex and complicated amendments across he said in a  had said the elimination of the three offices would save the stat about s3 million annually. Voter turnout for the election was extremely Light said a spokesman for the Secretary of state s office. Clear weather with temperatures in the 80s and College football games apparently proved too at Tractive to the bulk of the state s voters. With 82 percent of the vote counted the constitutional officers amendment was being Defeated 90 percent to 10 per cent. The education amendment was being beaten 89 percent to 11 percent and the City county amendment was being rejected 83 percent to 17  have not been fooled said agriculture commissioner cd Csc  voters have seen through the High powered Media and see they like to run state government themselves and i think that s the Way it ought to  Hechler Benedict opposed the measure on state offices. The third officeholder whose Job would have been eliminated treasurer Thomas Lochs supported the plan. Meeting in special session earlier this year the legislature gave Caperton the most extraordinary Powers since Testate was created in 1863 to reorganize 150 executive offices under seven cab inet secretaries. Opponents said the vote was a referendum on the administration which also had the legislature adopt the largest tax increase in state history. In a debate thursday Lochs predicted defeat for the amendments. I think they re All in trouble Saidlo Chr who was appointed by Caperton in july. People Are fed up with govern ment and that s a shame. This was a Good Opportunity to restructure our stat government in a very positive  several state legislators have been indicted or resigned in recent months and the former treasurer and attorney general resigned recently. Respondents to a Telephone Survey conducted in August indicated residents would approve the amendment to allow the City county government merger while saying they probably won t change the Way education is administered in the state nor would they abolish the elected offices. Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago foday. Sept. 11, 1949 representatives to the Anglo american Canadian financial conference in Washington approved a plan for . And Canadian investment in the Sterling area to Case Britain s Dollar shortage. 30 years ago foday. Sept. Ii 1959 Congress overrode president Eisenhower s veto of the $1.1billion Public works Money Bill which contained construction funds for flood control navigation and reclamation projects for All 50 states. 20 years ago foday. Sept. Ii 1969 Dale Walton a former Kun flux klan official was arrested Infarct the miss., after driving a gun Laden car past a shopping Center owned by the town s Black mayor 10 years ago foday. Sept. Ii 1979 in a front Page editorial in the communist party newspaper pravda soviet officials denied . Government reports that a brigade of soviet troops had been stationed in Cuba