Great Navy Museums

Monday, May 9, 2011

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead, and his wife, Ellen, right, pose for a photo with Lt. Murphy's mother and ship's sponsor Maureen Murphy,

BATH, Maine (May 7, 2011) Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead, and his wife, Ellen, right, pose for a photo with Lt. Murphy's mother and ship's sponsor Maureen Murphy, during the christening ceremony of the Arleigh Burke-Class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) in Bath, Maine. (U.S. Navy photos Chief Mass Communication Specialist Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst/Released)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

For Immediate Release

The Navy League of the United States, Twin Cities Council announces the Keel Authentication Ceremony for the future

USS Minnesota SSN 783!

On Friday, May 20, 2011 at 12:00 noon the Keel Authentication Ceremony will take place at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Newport News, VA www.huntingtoningalls.com.

In July 2008, the United States Navy announced that our state would be honored by having a warship named ‘Minnesota.’ Not since 1922 have we had a US Navy warship named after our state.

Officially known as Precommissioning Unit (PCU) Minnesota, the Virginia-class fast attack submarine will receive its ‘USS’ designator once commissioned (estimated in June 2013).

The Keel Authentication Ceremony is a time-honored tradition that includes having the signature of the Ships Sponsor welded into the keel of this ship. The Sponsor then announces that ‘the keel is truly and fairly laid.’

This ceremony marks the first in three major milestones of bringing PCU Minnesota to the fleet.

PCU Minnesota is being built in the same shipyard as the previous two USS Minnesota’s, and just five miles from one of the most famous naval battles in history that prominently featured the first USS Minnesota in the Civil War (the famed ‘Minnesota’ connection we see in many news stories).

Please visit the new website www.ussminnesotassn783.com (the commissioning committee website) for additional information.

Attending the ceremony from the Twin Cities Council:

Dave Hutton, USN Ret., President, Twin Cities Council, and Co-Chair of USS Minnesota Commissioning Committee (USMCC)
Brian Skon, Vice President, Twin Cities Council, Vice Chair USMCC
Mike Alteri, USN Ret., Board of Directors, Twin Cities Council and member USMCC
Jim Sillman, USN Ret., member Navy League and USMCC

Please contact President Dave Hutton (hutton@commandstrategies.com) or Vice President Brian Skon (bdskon@fedex.com) if you have additional questions

Thursday, May 5, 2011

100 Years of Naval Aviation – WWII

100 Years of Naval Aviation – WWII

A GREAT story on the Thach weave.....................

‘A Navy SEAL walks into a compound’: bin Laden jokes start

The Scoop Deck – Bush to make first-ever overseas deployment

The Scoop Deck – Bush to make first-ever overseas deployment

Time to make some history!

Nimitz Sailors Celebrate Ship's Birthday

Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group Reunites For Final Push Home

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Inside bin Laden’s lair with SEAL Team Six - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Inside bin Laden’s lair with SEAL Team Six - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Second Sub in 2011 Ordered By U.S. Navy - Defense News

Second Sub in 2011 Ordered By U.S. Navy - Defense News

It's been said that the key weapon system in our military will be the fast attack sub in the 21st century. This is a weapon system we need more of.

We need a balance in our Navy - LHD's, CVN's, DDG's, cruisers, SSN's, SSBN's, and SSGN's.

But our fast attack submarine force should be as large as the DDG force, now at about 60 copies.

We need to be as hidden under the sea as we need to be visible on the surface with the DDG's playing 'gunboat' diplomacy.