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USS Truxtun Joins the Fleet

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

April 28, 2009

The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Truxtun (DDG 103), was commissioned Saturday, April 25, during a ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C.

The process of commissioning a Navy ship takes many years of trials and training and to finally reach this milestone is very important said Cmdr. Timothy Weber, commanding officer, USS Truxton.

Designated DDG 103, the destroyer honors Commodore Thomas Truxtun (1755-1822) who embarked upon a seafaring career at age 12. When the U.S. Navy was initially organized, he was selected as one of its first six captains on June 4, 1798. He was assigned command of USS Constellation, one of the nation's new frigates. Truxtun put to sea to prosecute the undeclared naval war with revolutionary France. On Feb. 9, 1799, Truxtun achieved one of his most famous victories when Constellation battered the French warship L'Insurgente into submission in one of the most illustrious battles of the quasi-war with France.

The newest ship in the fleet shares its namesake with five previous Navy ships: a brig launched in 1842, two destroyers DD 14 and DD 229, a high speed transport APD 98 (initially designated as destroyer escort DE 282), and a nuclear-powered frigate (DLGN) later re-designated cruiser CGN 35.

The 53rd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Truxtun, is able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Truxtun can also fight air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and she contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to apply maritime power to protect U.S. vital interests in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world.

Carol Leigh Roelker and Susan Scott Martin, descendants of the ship's namesake, served as sponsors of the ship and the ceremony was highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when they gave the first order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

The 9,200-ton Truxtun was built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations, Pascagoula, Miss .and has a crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The ship is 510 ft in length, has a waterline beam of 59 ft, and a navigational draft of 31 ft. Four gas turbine engines can power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots and push her wherever her country needs her next.

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