Admiral Thad Allen has this on his iCommandant blog:
Guardians,
On Wednesday I was pleased to announce the commencement of repair and renovation work which allow the POLAR STAR to commence operations in 2013. The Congress has appropriated $62m to fund the reactivation. I spoke with the caretaker crew and thanked them for maintaining the material condition of the ship while funding issues were resolved. They are anxious to begin the work which will be done at Todd Shipyard in Seattle. We also estimate that this work will result in the employment of 250 people.
This is a significant step in maintaining the readiness of all three of our icebreakers pending further discussion regarding the future of the POLAR SEA and POLAR STAR which are nearing the end of their service lives. Our icebreakers are the only vessels in the US fleet capable of establishing a presence in polar regions. Their endurance, command and control capability, and flight decks allow operations to be conducted in remote locations where there are no forward operating bases and access is difficult.
My thanks to skipper LCDR Jack Jackson and his crew for the visit.
ADM A
