US Navy to Christen Delbert D Black Today
The Navy will christen the newest guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), Saturday, Nov. 4, during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The future USS Delbert D. Black is the first ship to bear the name of a master chief petty officer of the Navy (MCPON) and is named for the first person to hold that office. Black began his 30-year Navy career in the spring of 1941. After completing recruit training, he reported to his first assignment, USS Maryland (BB 46) in Pearl Harbor, where he witnessed the Japanese attack that drew the United States into World War II. Over the next 26 years, he rose through the ranks to Gunner's Mate Master Chief before his selection in 1967 to serve as the first MCPON.
Keel Authenticated For Next US Navy Destroyer
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) on June 1. The ship, named in honor of the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, will be the 32nd Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Ingalls has built for the U.S. Navy. “This ship’s name carries a special meaning,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said at this morning’s keel-laying ceremony. “Destroyers are traditionally named after great men and women in the history of our Navy…
