Christenings

Mrs. Martha Puller Downs, daughter of General Puller, christens USNS Lewis B. Puller. (General Dynamics)

From General Dynamics/NASSCO Press Release

SAN DIEGO – General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s newest ship, the USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3 AFSB).  The ship is named in honor of the late U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis “Chesty” Puller, the most decorated Marine and the only one to be awarded five Navy Crosses.

The Saturday morning christening ceremony took place at NASSCO’s San Diego shipyard with the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., as the ceremony’s principal speaker. Ms. Martha Puller Downs, daughter of General Puller, served as the ship’s sponsor. She christened the ship by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the vessel’s hull.

“Today was a proud moment for the thousands of men and women involved with the design and construction of the USNS Lewis B. Puller,” said Kevin M. Graney, vice president and general manager of the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard. “Like its namesake, Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller, the ship signifies strength and increased mobility and capability to support a variety of missions carried out by the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy.”

This third Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) is the first ship of the class to be configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), adding a flight deck, berthing, fuel storage, equipment storage, repair spaces, and accommodations for up to 250 personnel. The ship is capable of supporting missions including counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions and Marine Corps crisis response.

NASSCO Vice President and General Manager Kevin Graney joins MLP 3 AFSB Ship’s Sponsor Martha Puller Downs, Ship’s Matron of Honor Janice Brinkley, Principal Speaker General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and Ship’s Master Captain Jonathan Olmsted on the Striker’s Platform. (General Dynamics)

USNS Lewis B. Puller will be delivered to the Navy in the second quarter of 2015.

Austal USA and the US Navy celebrated the christening of the future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) this morning as ship sponsor, Mary Blackshear Sessions, broke the ceremonial champagne bottle on the bow of the ship in Austal’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

By COMLCSRON ONE Public Affairs Office

The Navy christened littoral combat ship (LCS) Montgomery, Nov. 8, during a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala.

Adm. Michelle Howard, vice chief of naval operations, delivered the principal address at the ceremony. Mary Sessions, wife of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala), served as the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony was highlighted by Mary Sessions breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship, which is a time-honored Navy tradition.

The selection of Montgomery honors the capital city of Alabama, and will be the second ship to bear the city’s name.

“As we christen the future USS Montgomery, we not only celebrate a great Southern capital, but also the highly skilled and dedicated shipbuilders who have worked so hard to bring this day to fruition,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said. “Their efforts have ensured that this great ship, an irreplaceable platform in our future Navy and our eighth littoral combat ship, will represent the city of Montgomery, Alabama, and our nation, around the world for years to come.”

Designated LCS 8, Montgomery is designed to operate in shallow water environments to counter challenging threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, submarines and fast surface craft. The ship is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep. Montgomery will address critical capability gaps in the littorals. Carrying out the Navy’s mission, it will serve to enhance maritime security by deterring hostility in troubled waters, maintaining a forward presence, and by its ability to maintain sea control.

A fast, agile and high-technology surface combatant, Montgomery will be a platform for the launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles. To meet increased demand for mission-tailored packages, its modular design will support interchangeable mission packages, allowing the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine countermeasures, or surface warfare missions on an as-needed basis. The LCS will be able to swap out mission packages pier side in a matter of days, adapting as the tactical situation demands. The modular approach also allows it to incorporate new or improved systems into the fleet as advanced technologies mature, providing flexibility and evolving capability. These ships will also feature an advanced networking capability to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships, submarines and joint units.

Montgomery will be manned by a core crew from LCS Squadron One under the 3:2:1 crew rotation concept: three crews rotate between two ships, one of which is forward deployed for an extended period, while the other ship is stateside for workups and training. These core crews will be augmented by one of the three types of mission package crews as well as an aviation detachment. The prospective commanding officer of Montgomery’s initial crew is Cmdr. Troy Fendrick, from Tempe, Ariz. Upon commissioning in the future, Montgomery will be home ported in San Diego.

Ship sponsor Virginia A. Kamsky christens the USNS Trenton (JHSV 5) Saturday morning, Jan. 10, 2015, at the Austal USA shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala., as her son, Michael Kamsky, background left, and Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA president, look on. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)

By Michael Finch II, Al.com (originally posted to Al.com/Austral News)

MOBILE, Alabama — “Give her a nice hard whack,” was the advice Craig Perciavalle, president of Austal USA, imparted to the sponsor of the USNS Trenton. Standing at the edge of a platform, Virginia Kamsky hurled the champagne bottle against the bow of the ship, breaking it after a second swing.

The ceremony held at Austal’s shipyard early Saturday was the fifth such occasion, blessing another one of the U.S. Navy’s joint high speed vessels. Several local and state lawmakers gathered for the ceremony at the shipbuilder’s facility on the Mobile River.

Austal is currently under contract to build ten joint high speed vessels for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, the transportation provider for the U.S. Department of Defense. The construction of aluminum ships — joint high speed vessel and the littoral combat ship — helps employ more than 4,000 people.

Perciavalle said the growth over the last 6 years now leaves the shipyard as the fifth largest in the country, and the largest aluminum shipbuilder in the world. Four joint high speed vessels — Spearhead, Choctaw County, Fall River and Millinocket — have already been delivered.

“The first ship named Trenton had one of the most impacting innovations in naval history, ” Perciavalle said.

A wooden-hulled steamer active in the late 1800s, Perciavalle said the first USS Trenton changed Navy ships forever when it became the first vessel in the Navy to successfully use electrical lighting, leading to the installation of electricity on all new Navy ships that followed.

“I know the ship you see here today will be equally as innovative in its own way,” he said.

Naming Trenton

Eric Jackson, mayor of Trenton, N.J. expressed delight that the vessel was named after the city he was elected to lead. Jackson and other officials got a closer look at the military ship while touring the vessel this week.

Jackson said the experience was akin to what he imagines a spaceship is like with “all the latest technology” on board. “When I was on the bridge it really put me in the mindset of the Enterprise on Star Trek,” Jackson said. “It’s highly technical; it’s just a magnificent piece of highly-advanced technology.”

The joint high speed vessel is designed to transport as many as 600 short tons of cargo at an average speed of 35 knots. The ship is a non-combat vessel that operates with a crew of 22 men and women, carrying supplies to hard to reach locations.

“It’s my hope that some time in the next two years this great ship will find it’s way up the Northeast corridor — even into the Delaware (River) — because it’s a low shallow hull,” Jackson said, “or into the Philadelphia shipyard where we can bring the residents of Trenton to see this great vessel.”

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said when it comes to naming military ships there’s no shortage of recommendations.

“Well, I get a lot of suggestions — I’ll put it that way,” he said. “You try to get diversity and you try to pick places that have not had ship’s named in a while…it’s places that also mean a lot not just to the state, but also to America.”

Three other ships have been named for the capital city of New Jersey. The first launched in 1876, operating primarily in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. The second was a light cruiser launched in 1923. That ship helped to evacuate U.S. citizens from Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

And the third, an amphibious transport dock, was launched in 1968 after which it helped to relocate citizen during the Lebanon War in 2006. That vessel was sold to the Indian Navy for $44 million in 2007 and rechristened the INS Jalashwa.

“I try to look at cities that have meant something in American history,” Mabus said, “places that are very patriotic that send a lot of people to our military.”

Among historians the city is well known as the place where George Washington won his first military victory on December 26, 1776, crossing the Delaware River to defeat the Hessian troops at the dawn of the American Revolutionary War.

“I think it’s fair to say that without Trenton and Princeton later on, the revolution might have gone a little different that day,” Mabus said.

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus delivers remarks during the christening ceremony for the littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Detroit (LCS 7) at Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard in Marinette, Wis. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers/Released)

From Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships Public Affairs

MARINETTE, Wis. (NNS) — The Navy christened the future USS Detroit (LCS 7), the fourth Littoral Combat Ship of the Freedom variant, in a ceremony at Marinette Marine Shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, Oct. 18.

The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus, delivered the principal address at the ceremony, and Mrs. Barbara Levin served as the ship’s sponsor. As ship sponsor, Levin is considered a permanent member of the ship’s crew and is expected to advocate for the well-being of both ship and crew. Levin, wife of U.S. Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, has been a longtime supporter of military families.

“It takes more than just cable and pipe, more than insulation and power panels, more than steel and aluminum — and more than a bottle of bubbly — to make a Navy warship,” said Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, program executive officer for littoral combat ships. “The skill, fortitude, and spirit of this government/industry team are what made this day possible.”

Detroit transferred out of the assembly building at Marinette via several hydraulic transfer lifts and was raised into launch position in late June. A ceremonial mast stepping, a tradition in which the ship’s sponsor and crew place coins and other memorabilia beneath the mast to be permanently sealed in the installation of the mast, took place Oct. 17. A dramatic side launch of the ship into the Menominee River followed the christening ceremony.

Detroit is an innovative surface combatant designed to operate in littoral seas and shallow water to counter mines, submarines, and fast surface craft threats in coastal regions.

The ship’s name recognizes the city of Detroit, Michigan, and honors the state’s deep ties to the U.S. Navy and the shipbuilding industry.

After its launch, Detroit will continue to undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette until her expected delivery to the Navy in late 2015 following acceptance trials. The ship is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep. Detroit will address a critical capabilities gap in the littorals and conduct the Navy’s mission to enhance maritime security by deterring hostility, maintaining a forward presence, projecting power, and maintaining sea control.

The LCS class consists of the Freedom variant and Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team, led by Lockheed Martin, has delivered LCS 1 and LCS 3. The Independence variant team, led by General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works has delivered LCS 2 and LCS 4. Austal USA is the prime contractor for the subsequent even-numbered hulls. There are 12 additional ships currently under construction out of 20 ships contracted under an innovative Block Buy acquisition strategy.

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, with three types of mission packages: Surface Warfare (SUW), Mine Countermeasures (MCM), and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). The Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is responsible for delivering and sustaining credible littoral mission capabilities to the fleet. Delivering high-quality warfighting assets while balancing affordability and capability is key to supporting the nation’s maritime strategy.

Tugboats guide the amphibious assault ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) America (LHA 6) to her berthing place at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The Ingalls-built amphibious transport dock ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Arlington (LPD 24) can be seen in the background. America will be christened Oct. 20. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Ingalls Shipbuilding/Released)

By Ensign Darius A. Radzius, Navy Office of Information

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) — The newest amphibious assault ship America (LHA 6) was christened Oct. 20 at a ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss.

“When America joins the fleet, we’ll be a stronger, more flexible, and a better Marine Corps team. We need this ship,” said Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson during the ceremony.

The 844-foot ship will be a flexible, multi-mission platform necessary to quickly respond to incidents worldwide and provide forward presence and project power as part of joint, interagency, and multinational maritime expeditionary forces.

America also marks the first of the Navy’s newest class of amphibious assault ships replacing the Tarawa class. It is considered to be the next generation “big-deck” amphibious ship. The new ship will be more capable to support current and future aircraft such as the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter.

“It’s kind of like a mini-aircraft carrier,” said Lynne Pace, the ship’s sponsor prior to breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow.

As an amphibious ship, its mission will include embarking, transporting, controlling, inserting, sustaining and extracting elements of a marine air-ground task force, and support forces by helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft.

“To the crew, you are charged with a very special responsibility between now and the commissioning of this ship. You will set the standard of excellence. You will set the personality,” Ferguson told the ship’s crew.

This is the fourth ship in Navy history to be named America. The first was a 74-gun ship-of-of-the-line that was used by the Continental Navy that was then presented to the king of France as a gift in appreciation for his country’s support to the new nation. The preceding America was a Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier that played key roles between the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., laid the keel in July 2009 and plans to deliver the ship in 2013 after conducting a series of sea trials.

USS America will be homeported in San Diego.

Jeanne Warner christens the Virginia-class attack submarine Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) John Warner (SSN 785). (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries by John Whalen/Released)

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jymyaka Braden, Defense Media Activity

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) — Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) John Warner (SSN 785), the first of the Virginia-class attack submarines to be homeported in Naval Station Norfolk, was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Va., Sept. 6.

“The christening of the future USS John Warner is not only a celebration of a dedicated Sailor, Marine and public servant, but also of what has been accomplished in building this powerful warship – of the hard work of the thousands of shipyard workers, engineers, and defense craftsmen who contributed, and of what the future holds for the USS John Warner and the crew who sail aboard her,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

John Warner is the 12th Virginia-class submarine to be built. It is named after John Warner, the five-term U.S. Senator from Virginia who also served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. His wife Jeanne is the ship’s sponsor.

“Today is an exciting day,” Mabus said. “This Virginia-class submarine, built in large degree in Virginia, by Virginians, named after a son and distinguished senator from Virginia, which has a sponsor of Virginia, will also be homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.”

Virginia-class submarines are built to dominate the world’s littoral and deep waters while conducting anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface ship warfare; strike warfare; special operation forces support; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare missions.

Stealth and speed are standard in submarines, but this next generation of attack submarines offers an improved level of capabilities to maintain the nation’s undersea supremacy well into the 21st century.

The Virginia-class submarines are poised to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements from open ocean anti-submarine warfare to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to projecting power ashore with Special Operation Forces and Tomahawk cruise missiles in the prevention or preparation of regional crises.

John Warner will fall in with the 64 ships, 187 aircraft, 18 aircraft squadrons, and 326 tenant commands that are homeported or headquartered in Norfolk.

ANACORTES, Wash. (Aug. 9, 2014) Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy, ship’s sponsor for the auxiliary general oceanographic research (AGOR) vessel R/V Sally Ride (AGOR 28), breaks a bottle across the bow during a christening ceremony at the Dakota Creek Industries, Inc., shipyard in Anacortes, Wash. Joining O’Shaughnessy on the platform are Mr. Dick Nelson, president, Dakota Creek Industries, Inc., Matron of Honor, the reverend Dr. Bear Ride, Matron of Honor, Kathleen Ritzman, assistant director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, Kathryn Sullivan, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research. (U.S. Navy photo 140809-N-PO203-348 by John F. Williams/Released)

This Video shows the twelve ship christenings and commissionings that occurred from May 2013 to April 2014. The Society of Sponsors gratefully acknowledges and thanks our friends at the Naval Historical Foundation who produced the video for us.

https://youtu.be/_Ufj43DeVbM

Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers Christens the guided-missile destroyer Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Zumwalt (DDG 1000) during a christening ceremony 12 April 2014 at Bath Iron Works. The ship, the first of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces and operate as part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. The lead ship and class are named in honor of former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970-1974. (U.S. Navy photo 140412-N-ZZ999-780)

Carol Armstrong, ship’s sponsor for the Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) research vessel (R/V) Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27), breaks a bottle across bow during a christening ceremony. Joining Armstrong on the platform are Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, left, chief of naval research, Mr. Dick Nelson, president, Dakota Creek Industries, Inc., and Kali Armstrong, granddaughter of the late astronaut. (U.S. Navy photo 140329-N-PO203-336)

By Eric Beidel, Office of Naval Research Public Affairs

Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder joined family members of the late Neil Armstrong March 29 to christen the Navy’s newest research ship, named for the legendary astronaut and first man to walk on the moon.

The lead Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) ship in its class, the research vessel (R/V) Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27) began construction in 2012 and will be delivered to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in January 2015 to continue studies in the Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian ocean regions.

“I can’t think of a better name to go on the side of a ship designed for exploration and discovery,” Klunder said. “R/V Neil Armstrong will play a pivotal role in teaching the Navy about the ocean so we can more effectively plan our operations around the world.”

The Navy, through the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has been a leader in building and providing large ships for the nation’s academic research fleet since World War II. The newest addition to the fleet, R/V Neil Armstrong will replace R/V Knorr (AGOR 15), which will be retired at the end of the year after nearly half a century of service.

R/V Knorr was launched during the same decade as President Kennedy’s vow to put a man on the moon and the famed Apollo 11 mission that fulfilled that vision. It is best known for carrying researchers on the 1985 expedition that resulted in discovery of the Titanic. In all, R/V Knorr has traveled more than a million miles-about the same distance as two trips to the moon and back.

“Now the R/V Neil Armstrong will provide a continuum of exploration for the next 50 years,” said Carol Armstrong, the astronaut’s widow and sponsor of the ship.

The new ship is 238 feet long and equipped with the latest technologies, including a high-efficiency diesel engine, emission control for stack gasses, information technology tools for monitoring shipboard systems and communicating with the world, and hull coatings that should result in fewer maintenance issues. It will operate with a crew of 20 with accommodations for 24 scientists who will use the ship and its assets to collect samples and data from both coastal and deep ocean areas.

In addition to officials from ONR, the christening at the Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. shipyard in Anacortes, Wash., was attended by the oceanographer of the Navy and representatives from the secretary of the Navy’s office. Kali Armstrong, the late astronaut’s granddaughter, was maid of honor.