USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr., the U.S. Navy’s penultimate Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, has been commissioned into service.
At the weekend her commissioning ceremony was staged at her home port, Naval Station Norfolk, in Virginia. Attending were a crowd of approximately 1,800 guests, among them Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan and other senior military leaders, as well as Sailors, Marines, veterans and family members.
The new warship was built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (GDBIW) in Bath, Maine across the last five years at an estimated cost of about $644 million.
She is the first ship to bear the name of Vietnam War hero and Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Col. Harvey C. Barnum Jr. He was present at the ceremony and is among the few living namesakes to witness the commissioning of a ship bearing his name.
Secretary Phelan said at the ceremony: “This ship is not symbolic, it is combat power, and today she joins something bigger.
“The ship and her crew join the President’s Golden Fleet, the fleet of the future — rebuilding American maritime dominance by putting more capable ships in the water, strengthening our industrial base, and ensuring we can fight tonight and win tomorrow.
“To be a superpower, one must be a seapower, and USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. represents exactly what that future looks like.”
GDBIW has one more Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class variant under construction; the future USS Patrick Gallagher, which has been launched and is expected to be delivered to the Navy next year.
- You can read more details on the U.S. Navy website