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Charles Hamilton News

01 Jun 2004

USS Pinckney Joins the Pacific Fleet

The U.S. Navy commissioned the newest ship to enter the fleet, the Aegis guided missile destroyer, USS Pinckney (DDG 91). Pinckney honors Navy Cook First Class William Pinckney (1915-1976), recipient of the Navy Cross for his courageous rescue of a fellow crewmember onboard the USS Enterprise (CV 6) during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942. The commissioning took place in a ceremony at Naval Base Ventura County on Saturday. The ship is the 19th Arleigh Burke Class destroyer built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), and the 10th ship to honor an African-American.

21 Dec 2004

Navy Awards Multi Ship/Multi Option Contract

The Navy awarded the East Coast Multi/Ship Multi Option (MS/MO) contract on Dec. 20 to Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation (NORSHIPCO) for DDG docking maintenance availabilities along with their associated non-docking availabilities. The contract is a Cost Plus Award Fee contract type with hull specific maintenance availabilities, as well as Inter-availability Maintenance. "This contract transforms the way the Navy does maintenance and provides the Navy greater flexibility to support surge deployment vice the previous rotational posture," commented Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, Program Executive Officer-Ships. This contracting strategy allows the Navy to align contracting methodologies between coasts and make the most efficient use of current resources by establishing flexible…

11 Jul 2005

LPD 17 Completes Acceptance Trials

Acceptance Trials of the future USS San Antonio, lead ship of the LPD 17 class, were conducted Jun 27-30, and witnessed by the Board of Inspection and Survey. "The completion of Acceptance Trials is a major step towards bringing LPD 17 into the fleet, and we look forward to ship delivery later this month," said Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, the program executive officer for Ships. "LPD 17 and her sister ships will add tremendous capabilities to the fleet for our Sailors and Marines. As the final milestone prior to ship delivery, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) successfully demonstrated a variety of systems including main propulsion, engineering and ship control systems, combat systems, damage control, food service, and crew support.

09 Feb 2007

Subcommittee Calls Public Hearing on LCS

The Navy’s ship for future sea warfare has become so problematic a congressional subcommittee has called a public hearing to get immediate answers. The Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee will hear from those responsible for the Littoral Combat Ship program. In recent weeks, the program to build a fast, flexible and lightly manned warship has been beset with issues. Its advertised price of $220 million per hull rose dramatically to estimates toward $400 million a piece. The Navy wants 55 of the frigate-sized, shallow draft ships, making it a cornerstone of the future fleet. It’s designed to operate close to shore with a ship’s crew of just 40 sailors and a mission crew and air detachment of 35.

31 Jul 2006

NASSCO Lays Keel of T-AKE Ship

General Dynamics NASSCO held a keel-laying ceremony for the fourth ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. The ship is named USNS Richard E. Byrd in honor of the U.S. Navy admiral who explored the South Pole and Antarctica. It will be part of the Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo-ammunition ships. Debbie Hamilton, the wife of Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton II, the Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Ships, was the honoree for the event and welded her initials into the keel. The Richard E. Byrd is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the fourth quarter of 2007. At the ceremony, Rear Adm. Hamilton announced Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter’s decision to name T-AKE 4 after the famed South Pole explorer and to name the fifth ship of the class the USNS Robert E. Peary.

30 Jun 2006

Navy Awards Contract for Third LCS

The Navy announced it is awarding a $197.6 million contract option to a team lead by Lockheed Martin for construction of the third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). LCS 3 will be the second built by the Lockheed Martin team. The contract was announced on June 26, 2006. “This contract award is a testament to the strong resolve of both the Navy and industry to get these highly capable ships into the water as quickly as possible,” said Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, the Navy’s Program Executive Officer for Ships. “LCS will introduce unprecedented speed, agility and flexibility into the littoral battlespace. The Lockheed Martin team will begin construction of LCS 3 in January 2007 at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., and ship delivery is planned for 2009.

02 Jul 2003

The Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System

President Bush's visit with Coast Guard units in the Port of Philadelphia, Pa., in March placed a well-deserved spotlight on their critical role safeguarding the nation's maritime homeland security. Funding increases to the Coast Guard's budget over the past two years have significantly improved the service's current operational posture and readiness. At home, Coast Guard units have been working side-by-side with other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the safety of U.S. ports, waterways, and coastal regions. Operational excellence also characterizes operations in the Coast Guard's other traditional missions. Illegal drug seizures during 2002, for example, ranked as the third largest in history.

30 Jun 2003

Destroyer Christened at Northrop Grumman

The Aegis guided missile destroyer DDG 95 was officially christened James E. Williams here June 28 when more than 1,000 guests attended ceremonies at Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ship Systems sector. The ship honors Boatswain's Mate First Class James Elliott Williams (1930-1999), often referred to as the most decorated enlisted man in U.S. naval history. The late Williams' widow, Mrs. Elaine Weaver Williams of Darlington, S.C., is the ship's sponsor. Two of the Williams' daughters, Debbie Williams Clark of Palm Coast, Fla., and Gail Williams Patterson of Florence, S.C., were on hand as Matrons of Honor for the event. The keynote speaker at the ceremony was Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hansford T. Johnson. Sec. Johnson is a retired four-star U.S.

09 Oct 2002

Family of Ships Employs Spiral Design

The U.S. Navy's Surface Combatant Family of Ships (SCFOS) will employ a transformational acquisition approach and focuses on developing a ship that can accommodate modular combat systems. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) combat systems modules will be developed separately from ship construction and will be integrated in an open systems architecture model. Additionally, early LCS development will heavily leverage pre-existing technologies. By leveraging the existing R&D efforts performed by the Navy and industry and accelerating the timeline for requirement development and acquisition, LCS will keep delivery times significantly shorter than those of traditional ship programs.

16 Sep 2005

DD(X) Completes Design Review

The U.S. Navy successfully achieved a significant milestone for the multi-mission DD(X) destroyer with the completion of a system-wide Critical Design Review (CDR) on Sept. 14. The review represents the culmination of years of design effort that encompassed the ship, mission system, human, and shore designs that now comprise DD(X). DD(X) is the Navy’s next-generation destroyer, tailored for land attack and inland support of joint and coalition forces. It is designed to meet Marine Corps, Army and Special Operations requirements for precision strike ashore, but be able to outmatch current and projected threats in the air, on the surface and under water.