On the recordMarch 18, 2010
on March 6, the USS Dewey--DDG 105--was commissioned at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, CA. The Dewey, an Arleigh Burke-class ship, is the Navy's newest and most technologically advanced guided-missile destroyer. The ship's sponsor, Deborah Mullen, the wife of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, christened the ship in January of 2008 during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS. Mrs. Mullen recently visited Vermont with Chairman Mullen as they came to a deployment ceremony for the Vermont Army Guard 86th Brigade which is now serving in Afghanistan. The new destroyer honors Navy Admiral George Dewey and is the third U.S. Navy ship to be named after him. Admiral Dewey, who is from my hometown, Montpelier, VT, became an American hero in 1898 for leading his squadron of warships against the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay. Under his leadership, the U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet in only 2 hours without the loss of a single American vessel. The new USS Dewey has the ability to conduct a wide range of operations. The ship contains a multitude of offensive and defensive weapons and will be capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface battles simultaneously.
