The Navy will commission the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) as the newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) during a 10:00 a.m. CST ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 16, in Menominee, Michigan.
The Honorable Mike Gallagher, U.S. Representative, Wisconsin's 8th District, will deliver the commissioning ceremony's principal address. Remarks will also be provided by the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller; Vice Admiral Darse E. Crandall, Jr., Judge Advocate General of the Navy; the Honorable Jean Stegeman, Mayor of Menominee, Michigan; the Honorable Steve Genisot, Mayor of Marinette, Wisconsin; and Mr. Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors. The ship's sponsor is the Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy.
LCS 25 is the 13th Freedom-variant LCS, the 25th in the class. She is the first naval warship to bear the name of Marinette, Michigan and the third naval vessel. Marinette (YTB-791) and Marinette County (LST 953) were previously named for the community. Marinette received its name on Sept. 22, 2016. The name recognizes the contributions of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these ships to life, ensuring they are ready to accomplish mission tasking in support our nation's maritime strategy.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom and the Independence, designed and built by two industry teams. Lockheed Martin leads the Freedom-variant team, the odd-numbered hulls, in Marinette, Wisconsin. Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team in Mobile, Alabama, for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls.
Littoral combat ships are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence missions around the globe.
The ceremony will be live streamed at: www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31728. The link becomes active approximately ten minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. CST).
