Ship Ceremonies
Navy Christens USS Lyndon B. Johnson DDG 1002
BATH, Maine (April 27, 2019) Capt. Jeremy Gray, left, prospective commanding officer of the the future Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1003); Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb, ship’s sponsors and daughters of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the ship’s namesake; and Dirk Lesko,...
USNS Guam (T HST 1) Christened
Bruni Bradley, sponsor to Military Sealift Command’s high-speed transport USNS Guam (T-HST 1), breaks a bottle during the christening ceremony of USNS Guam, April 27. Bradley, a 25-year Navy veteran, officially declared the Guam christened after breaking a bottle of sparkling wine against the ship’s side railing of the main...
Guided-missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye christened in Maine
Irene Inouye, the wife of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, christens the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer named after the World War II hero and one of the country’s longest-serving senators. (Bath Iron Works photo) (Article Appears Courtesy of UPI) A U.S. Navy destroyer bearing the...
USS Oakland (LCS 24) Christened
Kate Brandt christens the future USS Oakland on Saturday. Courtesy Austel USA (Article Appears Courtesy of NAVSEA) The future USS Oakland (LCS 24) launched July 21 at Austal USA’s ship manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama. This event marked the first time the ship floated in the water as it is...
USS Minneapolis-St. Paul Launched
(Courtesy of Lockheed Martin) (Article Appears Courtesy of CBSLocal Minnesota) The Navy launched the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul into Wisconsin’s Menominee River Saturday morning. A deputy undersecretary of the Navy broke the bottle, launching the ship built by Lockheed Martin north of Green Bay. This is the Navy’s 21st...
USS Tulsa (LCS 16) Commissioned
190216-N-BT947-0538 SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 16, 2019) Ship’s sponsor Kathy Taylor gives the order to “man this ship and bring her to life” during the commissioning ceremony of littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16). LCS 16 is the fifteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and...
USS Charleston (LCS 18) Commissioned
Crew members of the USS Charleston (LCS-18) officially man the ship for the first time at its commissioning ceremony March 2, 2019, in Charleston, S.C. The USS Charleston—a Littoral Combat Ship intended for more shallow waters than typical Navy vessels—is the sixth naval ship named after the city....
USNS John Lewis Keel Laying
Rep. John Lewis (D Ga.) addresses attendees at the keel laying for his namesake ship, Military Sealift Command’s newest fleet replenishment oiler, USNS John Lewis during a ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO Shipyard in San Diego. Military Sealift Command photo. Original article appears courtesy...
USS Richard M. McCool Keel Laying
190412-N-BR740-1054: Left, Shana McCool and Kate Oja, ship sponsors of the future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29), speak about their grandfather during the keel authentication ceremony for the ship at Huntington Ingalls Industries Pascagoula shipyard April 12. Then a Navy captain, McCool received...
USS Marinette Keel Laying
The US Navy held a keel laying and authentication ceremony for the future littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Marinette at Fincantieri Marinette Marine’s Wisconsin shipyard on Wednesday, March 27. (Baird Maritime) Original article appears courtesy of U.S. Navy The U.S. Navy held a keel laying and authentication ceremony...
Austal USA Christens USNS Puerto Rico (EPF 11)
Christening, 10 November 2018, of Puerto Rico (T-EPF-11) by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at Austal USA Shipyard Mobile, AL (Lee Wahler/NavSource) (Article originally appears courtesy of Austal USA, 10 November 2018) Austal celebrated the christening of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) the future USNS Puerto Rico (EPF 11) with...
USS St. Louis (LCS 19) Christened in Marinette
MARINETTE, Wisc. (Dec. 15, 2018) Ship’s sponsor Barbara Taylor christens the future littoral combat ship USS St. Louis (LCS-19) in Marinette, Wisconsin, Dec. 15, 2018. Once commissioned, LCS-19 will be the seventh ship to bear the name St. Louis. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin/Released) (Article originally...
Navy Commissions USS Sioux City
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Nov. 17, 2018) The crew stand watch during the commissioning ceremony of USS Sioux City (LCS 11). Sioux City is the thirteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the sixth of the Freedom variant. It is the first ship named for...
Thomas Hudner Commissioned
BOSTON (Dec. 1, 2018) Crewmembers of USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) man the rails as the ship comes to life during her commissioning ceremony. The guided-missile destroyer is the 66th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and the first warship named for Capt. Thomas J. Hunder, Jr., who earned the Medal...
Navy Commissions USS Wichita (LCS 13)
MAYPORT, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2019) The crew of the Navy’s newest littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13), bring the ship to life during its commissioning ceremony, at Naval Station Mayport, Jan. 12. LCS 13 is the fourteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the...
USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) Commissioned
SAN DIEGO (Jan. 26, 2019) Former members of SEAL Team Three join the ship’s crew to bring the Navy’s newest Zumwalt-class destroyer, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), to life during its commissioning ceremony. DDG 1001 is the second Zumwalt destroyer ship to enter the fleet....
USS South Dakota (SSN 790) Commissioned
(Article originally appears courtesy of Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic) GROTON, Conn., (Feb. 2, 2019) The honorable Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota, delivers remarks during the commissioning ceremony of USS South Dakota (SSN 790). South Dakota is the U.S. Navy’s 17th Virginia-Class attack submarine and the third ship named for the...
USS Bougainville Keel Laying
Ship Sponsor Ellyn Dunford traces her initials before Ingalls Shipbuilding welder Cedric Harman welds them into a steel plate to be fastened to the ship during the keel authentication ceremony of the future USS Bougainville (LHA 8) at Huntington Ingalls Industries Pascagoula shipyard March 14. (Photo...
Future Carl Levin Keel Laying Ceremony
Retired U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., signed a steel plate at the keel laying for the future USS Carl M. Levin, named after him. (Photo courtesy of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works/Facebook) Original article appears courtesy of U.S. Navy The keel of the future USS Carl M....
Keel Laying for USNS Newport
(Twitter/Austal USA) Original article appears courtesy of UPI The U.S. Navy laid the keel for its 12th Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS Newport, at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. During a ceremony, the keel of the fast transport ship was “truly and fairly laid” and...
USS Cooperstown Keel Laying
A welder authenticates the keel of LCS 23, the future USS Cooperstown, by welding the initials of keel authenticator Ellen R. Tillapaugh, Mayor of the Village of Cooperstown, New York. The Keel Laying is the formal recognition of the start of the ship’s module construction process....
Keel Laying for USS Mobile
(Flickr/Austal USA) Original article appears courtesy of NAVSEA The U.S. Navy held a keel laying and authentication ceremony for the future USS Mobile (LCS 26) at Austal USA’s shipyard on Dec. 14. The ship’s sponsor, Rebecca Byrne, wife of Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., authenticated the keel for the...
USS Delaware Christened
(Article originally appears courtesy of the Dover Post) Jill Biden, second lady of the U.S. 2009-17, Sen. Tom Carper and Gov. John Carney celebrated the christening of the USS Delaware on Oct. 22. (Maritime Executive) The USS Delaware is the first Navy ship to be named for Delaware since 1923...
Navy Christens USS Vermont (SSN 792)
(Article appears courtesy of Naval Submarine Support Center, New London) 181020-N-LW591-159 Groton, Conn. (Oct. 20, 2018) Ship sponsor Gloria Valdez, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions), breaks a bottle of wine produced by a Vermont vineyard to christen the Virginia-class,...
USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) Christened
Ship Sponsors Alicia J. Petersen (left) and D’Arcy Neller (right) christen DDG 121, the destroyer named for Petersen’s late husband, Frank E. Petersen Jr. Also pictured (left to right) are retired Gen. Alfred Gray, former commandant of the Marine Corps and keynote speaker at the...
USS Indiana (SSN 789) Commissioned in Port Canaveral, Florida
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2018) USS Indiana’s (SSN 789) chief of the boat, Senior Chief Charles Simonds; the submarine’s sponsor, Diane Donald; and the commanding officer, Capt. Jesse Zimbauer, render honors during Indiana’s commissioning ceremony. Indiana is the U.S. Navy’s 16th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine...
USS Kansas City (LCS 22) Christened
Tracy Davidson christens USS Kansas City (LCS 20) (Photo by Austal USA) (Article originally appears courtesy of Austal USA) MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA proudly hosted the christening of the nation’s 22nd Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the future USS Kansas City, at its state-of-the-art ship manufacturing facility today. Kansas City is...
Keel Authenticated for the Future USNS Puerto Rico
Keel Laying Ceremony 8/9/18 (Austal USA) Original article appears courtesy of the Military Sealift Command A ceremony celebrating the keel authentication of the Navy’s eleventh Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, the future USNS Puerto Rico (EPF 11), was held at Mobile, Alabama, shipyard of Austal USA, the ship’s manufacturer. Puerto...
Keel Laid for USS Oakland
(Austal USA) Original article appears courtesy of Defpost Austal USA has laid the keel for the U.S. Navy’s Independence variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Oakland (LCS 24), during a ceremony at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama on July 20. Ship’s sponsor Kate Brandt ceremoniously laid the...
USS Manchester (LCS 14) Commissioned
PORTSMOUTH, NH (May 26, 2018)The crew of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Manchester (LCS 14) man the rails during the ship’s commissioning ceremony after the ship’s sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) gives the traditional order to ‘man this ship and bring her to life.’...