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Naval Forces News - USA |
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Navy Christens Future USS America (LHA 6), first of the America-class
amphibious assault ships |
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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 Tawara 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.
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PASCAGOULA, Miss. (June 5, 2012) 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)
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"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.
The USS America will be homeported in San Diego.
By Ensign Darius A. Radzius, Navy Office of Information
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