Navy to Christen Guided-Missile Destroyer Ted Stevens Saturday

The Navy will christen the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, during a ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 19, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The ship’s namesake, Ted Stevens, was a U.S. Senator from Alaska who served the Senate and the Solicitor of the Interior Department for over 40 years. He was a strong supporter of the Navy and Marine Corps.

This is the first U.S. Navy ship to honor Stevens and will be the third Flight III upgrade ship.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are the backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet, providing protection to America around the globe. These highly capable, multi-mission ships conduct various operations, from peacetime presence to national security, providing a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface, and subsurface domains. These elements of seapower enable the Navy to defend American prosperity and prevent future conflict abroad.

The principal address will be delivered by the Honorable Sean O’Keefe, 69th Secretary of the Navy and 10th Administrator of NASA.  Remarks will also be provided by the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller); Vice Admiral Jeffrey Hughes, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Development; and Kari Wilkinson, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. The ship’s sponsors are Catherine Ann Stevens, Susan Stevens Covich, and Lily Irene Becker, the wife and daughters of the ship’s namesake. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the sponsors will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.