The United States Navy does have an impressive array of ships at its disposal. Some are named after former Presidents such as USS Eisenhower, USS George Washington and USS Harry Truman.
There are others with names such as USS Wasp and USS Boxer which conjure up visions of vicious, stinging insects and tough canines.
So what happened with USS Ponce?
11 comments:
Hahaha! I'd never heard of that. A quick googling suggests that it's correctly pronounced 'pon-say' but I'm all for pronouncing things amusingly rather than correctly.
Is there also a USS Nonce? On permanent secondment to NAMBLA for (hush, hush) top secret 'missions' to third world countries?
Did you hear of the whole fleet named USS Kickin Brit Ass?
Q
Is that why they kill each other with friendly fire so much? With all the boats having the same name, the potential for confusion is considerable....
Only if they think boats with the same name and flag is the enemy...
sadly you are right. there was a water skiing accident in the gulf of mexico and 2 ships were sunk (as you know, bigger than the UK navy)... don't even compare the U.S. navy to the Spanish Armada...
q
"Only if they think boats with the same name and flag is the enemy..."
Or a flock of geese...
"don't even compare the U.S. navy to the Spanish Armada..."
Erm, why would I do that? Has this become a 'my navy is bigger than yours' contest? I thought we were just laughing at a funny name?
Besides, I don't get a warm tingly feeling knowing that the military in the country that I live in sucks up a massive part of the national budget. I'm not knocking those who do, just saying that it does nothing for me. Militarily-speaking, I identify with the kiwi more than the English part of my heritage i.e. i'm prouder of the NZ navy. And that basically consists of two rubber dinghys and a spare outboard motor. But go them! :)
I am glad you and cheezy got a chuckle out of the name of the USS Ponce, and that you are not worried for the safety of those Marines off the coast of Libya fighting to keep the world safe.
Cheezy,
I wasn't quite trying to go where it seemed... but close! The spanish armada was the biggest navy in its time i thought... Our navy is bigger than the next 13 navies combined... i want our military to have the might it needs, but 13x seems a little extreme...
q
ps - anon, i worry about our marines and sailors as much as anybody who isn't related to one can be, but frankly the worriers should be the people that have to face our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines...
If 'ponces' were the only people allowed to join the armies of the world, it would be a far better place.
Chest-beating, terminator-types have had their day! Dying for one's country in a place which is thousands of miles away from one's homeland is not noble.
It is an act of madness.
Is this another one of those differences in humour between Brits and Americans? I found it hilarious while q and Anon seem to take it as a jab at America. I would have laughed if it was the name of a ship in the navy of any country, just happened it is American and it has been sent to the Med. I do think our HMS Cockchafer is funnier though.
"I am glad you and cheezy got a chuckle out of the name of the USS Ponce, and that you are not worried for the safety of those Marines off the coast of Libya fighting to keep the world safe."
Huh? If you think a certain word is inappropriate and funny then you're not allowed to feel human concern for the military? They're mutually exclusive things? Hmmm... Sometimes I think that not having an ideology means I find it hard to understand connections like this...
Make no mistake about it: I always appreciate any sacrifice that someone else makes for my safety and freedom. And I'd estimate that the taking of sides in a civil war in Libya is almost exactly as vital for the world's safety as searching for non-existent WMDs in Iraq was. So let's hope they all come home safe soon eh?
"I do think our HMS Cockchafer is funnier though."
You almost made my morning coffee come straight out of my nose just then...
Jesus some people need to lighten up. The ship is called Ponce so how can that not be funny?
Post a Comment