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Page 6. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2014 United States Navy News


she directs the English Licensure Program, works with the South Mississippi Writing Project, and teaches courses in southern literature. “Dr. Cochran is the perfect sponsor for


Jackson”, said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “Following her proud family tradition of service to Mississippi, she has dedicated her life to the education of the youth of Mississippi.”


MOBILE, Ala. (March 22, 2014) The littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Jackson (LCS 6) during its christening ceremony at Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Austal U.S.A./Released)


Austal USA Christens USS Jackson From Austal USA


MOBILE, AL (NNS) -- Austal christened the future USS Jackson (LCS 6) March 22 at its state-of-the-art shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Jackson is the fi rst of 10 Indepen- dence-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) that the U.S. Navy has awarded to Austal as prime contractor.


The 127-meter aluminum trimaran is capable of being outfi tted with recon- figurable payloads (mission packages) which can be changed quickly to support mine countermeasure, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions. The vessel has a maximum speed of more than 40 knots. Jackson was launched in December and is making preparations for trials and delivery by the end of the year.


Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus


offi cially named the ship “Jackson” at a ceremony at Austal USA on March 24, 2011. According to Secretary Mabus, “The selec- tion of Jackson honors the great state capitol Jackson, Mississippi.” This is the fi rst ship


to bear the city’s name. The ship’s sponsor, and today’s guest


of honor, Katherine Holmes Cochran was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up outside of Washington, D.C. She graduated from St. Agnes School for Girls in Alexan- dria, Virginia, where she participated in the Johns Hopkins Gifted and Talented Search and received the Montgomery Award for the Humanities. She studied English and French at the University of Richmond, spending a semester abroad in Strasbourg, France. Kate served as maid of honor when her


mother, Rose Clayton Cochran, sponsored the USS Barry (DDG 52) in 1991. She re- turned to Mississippi to work with the Mis- sissippi Teacher Corps, teaching French at Brookhaven High School and earning a mas- ter’s degree in secondary education from the University of Mississippi. After a year in Mexico teaching English at the American School of Tampico, she completed a Ph.D. in English at the University of Mississippi. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, where


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Over 400 naval and shipyard guests attended the ceremony, which was held on the east bank of the Mobile River at Austal’s waterfront facility. The Honorable Ray Ma- bus, Secretary of the Navy, was the principal speaker at the event. Austal USA President, Craig Percia- valle, praised the ship, saying, “With its immense volume and its inherent design margin, the Jackson’s trimaran seaframe also has the ability, with relative ease, to be upgunned with existing weapons in invento- ry, or future weapons as they are developed.” He also praised the shipbuilders, saying “this is a great ship, built by great Navy shipbuilders, master craftsman who work so hard to bring this revolutionary ship to life. You should take pride in this day, in the product you build, and in the service you’re providing this great nation.”


The LCS program is in full swing at


Austal USA with fi ve ships under construc- tion at this time. Montgomery (LCS 8) is being assembled in Bay 4 in preparation for launch in the spring. Final assembly has begun in Austal’s Bay 5 on Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) and modules for Oma- ha (LCS 12) are under construction in the Module Manufacturing Facility. Fabrication on Manchester (LCS 14) began in January. Coronado (LCS 4) delivered to the Navy in September, and is scheduled to be commis- sioned at a ceremony in Coronado, Calif. in April.


Austal has been contracted by the U.S. Navy to build ten 103-meter JHSVs under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion contract, two of which have already been delivered, and ten 127-meter Independence-variant LCS class ships, eight of which are a part of a 10-ship, $3.5 billion contract.


For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. For the LCS program, General Dynamics is the ship systems integrator, responsible for the design, integration and testing of the navigation systems, C4I, and aviation systems. Austal USA is a full-service shipyard


offering design, construction and high- speed vessel service and repair. As Austal USA continues to expand its service and repair capabilities, the company is well-po-


sitioned for new business with engineering, test and trials capabilities, and a new water- front facility on the Mobile Bay waterfront.


USS Constitution Sailors to Embark USCGC Eagle for Underway By Mass Communication Specialist Sea- man Victoria Kinney, USS Constitution Public Affairs


NEW LONDON, Conn. (NNS) -- Ten USS Constitution crew members are scheduled to set sail aboard USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) March 21.


Eagle, a 295-foot barque used as a training cutter for the U.S. Coast Guard, is scheduled to depart from its berth in New London, Conn. for a 15-day underway with a planned port visit in Morehead City, N.C. Constitution Sailors will be training along- side U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets as they learn how to sail and operate the 77-year-old square-rigger in the Atlantic Ocean.


“I’m so excited for this unreal, once- in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Lt. Julien Geiser, Constitution’s operations offi cer and Eagle participant. “I’m certain there are many who wish they were in my position today.”


Constitution’s crew members will work with cadets to learn many traditional sailing techniques while out to sea, including how to climb rigging, stand a proper lookout watch, haul lines, give line commands, set and furl sails, and navigate the ship by day and celestially at night. The crew’s mission is to take their experiences gained aboard Eagle back to Charlestown to share with fellow crew members of the 216-year-old square-rigger ‘Old Ironsides’. The specialized sail training will help prepare the entire Constitution crew for the ship’s upcoming 2014 under- way season, which will be Constitution’s last prior to entering a three-year dry dock availability in 2015 for restoration work. “It’s our hope that the ‘Old Ironsides’ crew will gain a superior knowledge of tall ships on the Eagle while us junior Sailors will get to learn what it’s like to be on an underway,” said Seaman Wesley Bishop, a Constitution Sailor participating in the Eagle voyage.


Eagle, originally named SSS Horst


Wessel, was built by Blomm and Voss shipyard in Germany in 1936 and used by Nazi Germany as the fl agship of their Kriegsmarine sail training fl eet. The ship was then transferred to U.S. control after World War II as a war reparation, and was renamed and re-commissioned as an Amer- ican training ship in 1946. Today, Eagle is


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