Why does the Navy continuously re-use the names of ships?

Well BrokenEye, sometimes it is easier to reuse a name or actually continue to honor a name than come up with the name of someone deserving of having a ship named in their honor. Currently at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia are two aircraft carriers, one the ex-USS Forrestal(CV-59) which is slated to be towed out to a scrapyard in Texas in the near future and the name not likely to be re-used and the ex-USS John F. Kennedy(CV -67) which the Navy has not made a final decision on it's disposition but has already re-used the name and CVN 79 USS John F. Kennedy is already under construction. So many names have been repeated such as the Independence,the Enterprise while others for some reason or another do not get re-used. Some ships are also of enough importance that they are re-used time and again like the Battleship New Jersey which was commissioned and decommissioned four times and is now retired and on display on the Camden,NJ waterfront.

It is with deep regret that I add to this answer that the ex-USS Forrestal(CV-59) departed the NISMF in Philadelphia between 0730 Monday 03 February 2014 and 1030 Tuesday 04 February 2014 and is being towed to a scrapyard in Brownsville,Texas.

Good Luck, keep your chin up and may the sun always shine upon your day.

Names of ships have both history and tradition that connects us to our forefathers and our long legacies and reminds of what those who have come before us did (and the Navy has always been the most traditional and tradition-bound of the branches-even more so than the USMC, really).

And it avoids disasters like the USS GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (LCS 10), USS PAUL IGNATIUS (DDG 117), and USS JOHN P MURTHA (LPD 26). Can't wait for the USS HARVEY MILK and USS LEO J. RYAN.

Edited to add: forgot USNS CESAR CHAVEZ (T-AKE 14) in the list of disasters.

Rather than a cut and paste, here's an interesting article on the topic:

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq63-1.htm

Good question: Concerning ''SHIPS'' names re-used, it seems that it is a known factor that many Navies, not only during War, though during peacetime, do continually re-use ''WARSHIPS'' names; quite the contrary as names of ''WARSHIPS'' concerning ''MAJOR CITIES'', ''IMPORTANT PEOPLES'', ''COUNTRIES'', ''ETC''!!!