Charles Drew News

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

The U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) completes its largest replenishment-at-sea (RAS) ever with Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10). While RAS's are nothing new to the Sailors aboard George Washington, the ship received nearly 700 pallets of supplies at once, three times the amount of a standard RAS. This produced a unique and rare challenge for the Sailors of the ship's supply department. "The biggest…

The  aircraft carrier 'USS George Washington' and other U.S. Navy ships have been ordered to make best speed for the Republic of the Philippines, and at the same time Britain is deploying a warship & military transport aircraft to help people devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. The aircraft carrier, which carries 5,000 Sailors and more than 80 aircraft, is currently in Hong Kong for a port visit. The crew is being recalled early from shore leave and the ship is expected to be underway soon.

The Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships - the Navy's newest class of logistics ships, also called T-AKEs - grew July 14 when Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of the 10th ship in the class, USNS Charles Drew. The currently deployed T-AKEs operate as part of MSC's combat logistics force - allowing Navy ships to stay at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. "As our 10th ship in the T-AKE class, USNS Charles Drew is another milestone for MSC," said Capt. Jerome Hamel, commander, Sealift Logistics Command Pacific, MSC's office in San Diego.

Following three days underway, the future USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) completed acceptance trials, June 19, departing from and returning to the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Charles Drew is the 10th Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship to be presented to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). Completion of acceptance trials is the final major milestone prior to delivery to the Navy. During Acceptance Trials, the ship successfully demonstrated a variety of systems including main propulsion, engineering, ship control systems, and crew support. "The success of these trials is a credit to the Navy-NASSCO team’s continued focus on affordability and quality…

The Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships — the Navy's newest class of logistics ships, also called T-AKEs — continued to grow with the launch of the 10th ship in the class and the delivery of the ninth to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. USNS Charles Drew was christened and launched during an early morning ceremony Feb. 27, at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. Ship's sponsor Bebe Drew Price, daughter of the ship's namesake, broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow.

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), launched the U.S. Navy’s newest supply ship, USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10), during a christening ceremony at the shipyard. The ship is named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew, the African American surgeon and hematologist who pioneered the procedures for the safe storage and transfusion of blood. Vice Adm. Regina Benjamin, the Surgeon General of the United States, was the ceremony’s principal speaker. Mrs. Bebe Drew Price, the eldest daughter of Dr. Drew and the ship’s sponsor, christened the ship by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the bow before the 689-foot-long ship slid into San Diego Bay. More than 1,300 people attended the ceremony.

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), delivered USNS Matthew Perry (T-AKE 9) to the U.S. Navy. The ship is named in honor of Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), the U.S. Navy officer who established American trade with Japan in the mid-19th Century. NASSCO began construction of USNS Matthew Perry in April 2008. The 689-ft-long supply ship will serve under the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The ship is capable of delivering almost 10,000 tons of dry cargo and petroleum products at one time to U.S. Navy and allied ships underway at sea. Including the Matthew Perry, NASSCO has delivered nine T-AKEs, which are also known as Lewis and Clark-class ships.

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) , on March 17 laid the keel for USNS Charles Drew, the tenth dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program. Construction of the Charles Drew began in October. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2010. The ship is named in honor of the African-American physician who was a pioneer in blood preservation and storage. On March 19, NASSCO will begin construction of USNS Washington Chambers, the eleventh ship of the T-AKE class. The Washington Chambers is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2011. The ship bears the name of the Navy officer who oversaw the early development of U.S. naval aviation.

Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced the names of four new Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE) as Matthew Perry, Charles Drew, Washington Chambers and William McLean. All of the Lewis and Clark ships are named in honor of American explorers and pioneers and are being built by General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif. The selection of Matthew Perry, designated T-AKE 9, honors Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858), who led a squadron of ships to Japan in 1853 with the aim of opening that nation to trade. He served during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, and was sent to suppress piracy and the slave trade in the West Indies. The selection of Charles Drew, designated T-AKE 10, honors Dr. Charles R.