We would have preferred 'USS McCook'

We would preferred to have it named the USS McCook, and there's already a USS Nebraska nuclear submarine in operation, but is heartening to see a new state-of-the-art Navy ship will be named after Omaha.

The USS Omaha will look kind of like Darth Vader's flagship, a stealthy tri-hulled "Littoral Combat Ship" designed to deploy manned and unmanned vehicles and sensors in support of mine, undersea and surface warfare missions.

It will be 419 feet long and 103 wide at the waterline.

"Naming the ship for our largest city recognizes the commitment Nebraskans have to our men and women in uniform, serving around the world and on the seas," Sen. Ben Nelson said.

There have been three other ships named USS Omaha, the first in 1869, the latest a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine decommissioned in 1995.

There were two destroyers christened the USS McCook, named after Civil War Commander Roderick S. McCook, one of the "Fighting McCooks" and a brother to Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook, for whom our town was named.

The first USS McCook was built in 1919 and was transferred to the Royal Navy where it served as the HMS St. Croix. The second was commissioned in 1943 and decommissioned in 1949.

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