Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus names May 4, 2013 for commissioning of the namesake warship in Anchorage, Alaska.
The commissioning is a formal ceremony in which the ship officially becomes a unit of the operating forces of the United States Navy. It is the final, most significant event, and the occasion when the ship "comes alive" and becomes a United States Navy Vessel.
The USS Anchorage Commissioning Committee welcomes public support of the Anchorage (LPD 23), its crew and their families. During the ship’s ten days in Anchorage, tours will be available for groups and individuals. For those unable to travel to Anchorage, live-streamed and pre-recorded tours are also scheduled.
This is the second ship to bear the name Anchorage. The first Anchorage (LSD 36) served the Navy for 34 years and was decommissioned in October 2003 at the conclusion of a deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Anchorage is the Navy's seventh San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship and was constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Avondale, La. The ship’s homeport will be San Diego, Calif.