THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509060436
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
The Navy's newest aircraft carrier hasn't left the piers at Newport News Shipbuilding, but its image can already be seen around the world.
Thanks to the wonders of Internet and the World Wide Web, Navy buffs from as far away as Hong Kong have been able to flip through photographs of the John C. Stennis and scroll through stories about its namesake - simply by calling them up on a home computer.
Hoping to drum up support for the Stennis, crew members assigned to the 1,092-foot platform have launched what in computer lingo is referred to as a ``home page,'' an interactive document that enables anyone, anywhere, at any time to call up photos, graphics and stories.
``As a naval officer, I don't pay for the ship to be built, the taxpayers do,'' said Cmdr. Gregory J. Pitman, the ship's navigator and architect of the home page.
``This provides easy access for them to find out, if they're interested, things about the ship.''
Pitman, who has dabbled in computers since the early 1980s, said he originally designed the page to attract interest in the ship from residents of Mississippi - the home state of Sen. John C. Stennis.
Stennis, a staunch supporter of a strong military, served under eight presidents beginning with Harry S. Truman in 1947. He was called ``the father of the America's modern Navy'' by President Ronald Reagan.
``You can mail stuff, but there's time delays and postage,'' Pitman said. ``This seemed like an opportune way to put the word out to reach residents in Mississippi.''
The home page has also provided Pitman and other crew members a chance to brag about their ship in the days leading up to its scheduled commissioning Dec. 9.
The ship, the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear carrier, is under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding. It is expected to go out for sea trials in October.
It measures 1,092 feet long and will be home to 6,200 crew members when it gets under way, with the air wing embarked.
Pitman said he hopes the home page will serve as a way to link the crew with their families. During deployments, he expects to provide updates on the operations. The updates can help dispel the inevitable rumors that flourish when the ship is deployed.
So far, those who want to call up the carrier can find a biography of the Capt. Robert Klosterman, the commanding officer, as well as a report on Sen. Stennis. There are photographs of the ship moving out of drydock to its pier and articles about different quality of life programs offered sailors.
``Being the first carrier to have a home page simply signifies how this carrier has been operating all along,'' Klosterman said of the home page, in a press release. ``We've been very conscious about bringing this ship to the fleet with the most modern and up to date systems available.
``Since the Information Highway is an emerging technology, we've jumped aboard.''
The home page can be found on the Navy Online web site, http://www.navy.mil/.
``It's fairly easy, you don't have to remember any commands,'' said Pitman. ``You go to what you want, click, and you're there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
U.S. NAVY
Cmdr. Gregory J. Pitman, the carrier John C. Stennis' navigator, is
the architect of the vessel's Internet site. The ship's ``home
page'' is on the Navy Online web site, http://www.navy.mil/.
by CNB