Navy to commission new carrier in Norfolk

The Navy's newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the George H.W. Bush, will be commissioned next week at Norfolk Naval Station.

President George W. Bush will deliver the principal address at the Jan. 10 ceremony. Dorothy "Doro" Bush Koch, daughter of the ship's namesake, is the ship's sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

The last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is named to honor World War II naval aviator and America's 41st president, George H.W. Bush.

The George H.W. Bush will be initially homeported in Norfolk and assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

The George H.W. Bush towers 20 stories above the waterline, displaces about 95,000 tons of water, has a flight deck width of 252 feet, and at 1,092 feet, is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall.