THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, February 25, 1995            TAG: 9502250004
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   32 lines

SHIP DESERVES BETTER

While Byron Kuhn's letter (Feb. 16) on the use of the USS Missouri as a jail annex, homeless shelter and/or first-class restaurant is thought-provoking, it is totally impractical and unfeasible. Naval ships are built to fight. Cramped quarters and difficult access to various areas are the norm. Without extensive modifications, handicap access would be impossible. Forget the restaurant.

As a jail, the great ship is again impractical. All sailors are trained in combating fires. With steel construction, fire spreads rapidly throughout a ship. Inmates' penchant for starting fires is well-known. Also, close quarters make for the feeling of overcrowding even when a ship is not manned to full capacity.

For the aforementioned reasons, the ship is not suitable for a homeless shelter either.

The Missiouri deserves better than to be relegated to the status of a dumping ground for society's unwanted, in any case. If costs are too high to maintain the ship as a floating museum for Norfolk, let it go to another city that can afford it. The Missouri deserves better.

JOSEPH E. CHRETIEN U.S. Navy

Virginia Beach, Feb. 16, 1995 by CNB