15 December 2019 — 1956 mst
After 26 years, Corey Stapleton
finally makes his port of call in Israel
UPDATE
At the Great Falls Tribune, Phil Drake has additional information on Stapleton’s visit to Israel.
In 1993 Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton was a surface warfare officer on the USS John F. Kennedy, the last oil-powered American aircraft carrier built. He anticipated making a port of call in Israel (probably Haifa), but as he told the story in an email this morning, geopolitical considerations diverted his ship.
I was supposed to visit Israel back in 1993, while I was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). But the Balkans were in a civil war, and our port call to Haifa, Israel, was cancelled because our carrier had to maintain proximity to Bosnia so that our fighters could fly close-air support to Air Force cargo planes dropping humanitarian aid.
So, after all these years, I’m finally making a port call to Israel.
Stapleton’s John F. Kennedy, decommissioned in 2007, is scheduled for dismantling. Her replacement, CVN-79, also named USS John F. Kennedy, was christened on 7 December 2019, with Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline, who christened the first USS John F. Kennedy, sponsoring the ship.
Former U.S. ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the ship’s sponsor and daughter of President Kennedy, smashed a bottle of American sparkling wine across the bow to christen the ship. During her remarks, she reflected on christening the first aircraft carrier named in her father’s honor.
“This ship will represent the ideals he lived by – courage, sacrifice and belief in freedom – and it will help make real his vision of a more just America and a more peaceful world,” Kennedy said. “I’m so proud to be sponsor of this ship and to join with all of you to bring her to life. I look forward to being part of her odyssey and of her extended family. Most of all, I hope she will carry my father’s spirit with her as she sails, his leadership in wartime, his courage in crisis and his commitment to the hard and steady work of building peace.”
Stapleton is in Israel with several fellow secretaries of state. He’s not running for re-election as MT SecST, an office in which his tenure has not received universal admiration, but is running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives. His announced opponents thus far are Matt Rosendale, Joe Dooling, Deborah Lamm, and Tim Johnson.
Stapleton’s press release was distributed this morning from news@email.sosmt.gov, with the text below the Great Seal of Montana and a photograph of Stapleton in the Montana Capitol. The release is written carefully to not violate prohibitions against using official state resources for a political campaign. I was surprised to receive it, but appreciate the courtesy.
Here’s the full text:
STAPLETON VISITS ISRAEL
I’m honored to be travelling to Israel this week, with several other Secretaries of State from our country. If you’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on over there, it should be a pretty insightful trip! In a historic stalemate, Israel’s current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to form a government because he can’t get a majority of lawmakers to join him—so Israel may be headed into its third straight election.
Unlike the United States, parliamentarian governments don’t always have predictable election calendars. In order to govern, prime ministers have to put together coalition majorities if their own party doesn’t gain an outright majority. While I like some of the features of multi-party systems, I prefer our American two-party system which promotes stable terms in office, and gives closure to elections. I’m looking forward to learning about Israel’s elections, institutions, governing and people.
Israel is 71 years old, in its current state. Geographically it’s located on the most contested, controversial, and historic real estate parcels the world has ever known. I was supposed to visit Israel back in 1993, while I was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). But the Balkans were in a civil war, and our port call to Haifa, Israel, was cancelled because our carrier had to maintain proximity to Bosnia so that our fighters could fly close-air support to Air Force cargo planes dropping humanitarian aid.
So, after all these years, I’m finally making a port call to Israel.
Cheers!
Corey Stapleton
Montana Secretary of State
This email is being sent by
Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton.