Koch: USS Ronald Reagan comes to life
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The USS Ronald Reagan enters service Saturday.
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U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former first lady Nancy Reagan were among thousands on hand at the commissioning ceremony for the USS Ronald Reagan.
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NORFOLK, Virginia (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS Ronald Reagan, the United States' newest nuclear aircraft carrier, and the first to ever be named after a living president.
Kathleen Koch was at the ceremony and discussed the ship and its importance with CNN's Rhonda Schaffler.
Koch: It's a very exciting day here in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Norfolk Naval Station. This day has been many years in coming.
First of all, the Navy had to change its rules, so it could name the ship after a living president. So, that had to happen first, and then this massive ship had to be constructed. That took five years.
The ship stands at the water line 20 stories tall, constructed of 45,000 tons of steel. The length of the flight deck is massive, 4.5 acres from end to end, just about as long at the Empire State is tall.
This has been an extraordinarily special day, I think, for the crew of the ship, for the people of the city.
Ronald Reagan was a president who was obviously very special to the military, a very strong advocate of Navy sea power, and Vice President Dick Cheney was here. He gave the main address talking about the importance of this aircraft carrier and president Ronald Reagan.
Cheney quoted a speech Reagan gave on the deck of an aircraft carrier when he was president in the '80s. Reagan said the ship would be a powerful force in an uncertain world, and Cheney said that that certainly applies now to this aircraft carrier bearing Ronald Reagan's name.
Former first lady Nancy Reagan directed the order to bring the ship to life, at which point it did very much come to life, with hundreds of sailors racing up on to the flight deck.
The former first lady got tour of the ship yesterday, at which point she said that she was overwhelmed by the beauty of the ship and believed that President Reagan, who planned to watch the ceremony on television today, would certainly be very proud and very pleased.
