Navy Captains Lose a Perk.

Commanding Officer's Gigs (boats for personal use) on aircraft carriers are being discontinued:

Carrier skippers are losing a traditional status symbol under a Navy directive issued in January. The captain’s gig, the motorboat set aside to ferry commanding officers to shore when their ships are anchored away from land, is being phased out of the fleet.

Under a directive issued by Naval Air Forces, all 11 carriers will be required to turn in their captain’s gigs before June 30, 2009. “Removal of the captain’s gig will reduce maintenance costs and free up valuable hangar bay space,” the message reads.

Naturally enough, the officers effected aren't particularly happy:

“A gig is not simply for transporting the captain back and forth to the ship. When our ships are in port overseas part of their mission is to show the flag, to increase understanding of the capabilities of our Navy, to generate respect and cooperation,” said retired Vice Adm. Diego Hernandez, former captain of the carrier John F. Kennedy. “Piling distinguished visitors to an aircraft carrier in the local rented ferry will not quite measure up to what the U S Navy should be able to offer.”

What’s more, the captain’s gig is a worthwhile perk for a carrier skipper, Hernandez said, “whose responsibilities are incomprehensible for officers who have not commanded one, and whose compensation is, to put it mildly, modest.”