Posted on Jan 7, 2017
The Gabby: Navy to commission USS Gabrielle Giffords
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MOBILE, Ala. — A naval program that has become a target for critics is preparing to commission a new vessel named after a well-known shooting survivor.
Constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, the USS Gabrielle Giffords has completed testing in the Gulf of Mexico and is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2017. The company handed over the $475 million ship to the Navy on Friday.
Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head during an assassination attempt in 2011, helped christen the ship in 2015. It's part of a hotly debated program that congressional critics slam as flawed and too expensive but that Navy leaders defend as a critical new step in naval warfighting.
The 421-foot-long Giffords will be the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has cited the $12.4 billion spent for 26 littoral combat ships as the worst example of wasteful Pentagon spending.
The ship's name also has become a target for conservatives who see it as promoting stricter gun laws, a cause Giffords has promoted. Some critics lampooned the ship as being gun-free, a bit of parody and fake news that was debunked on snopes.com.
The Navy said it chose to name the ship in honor of Giffords because of the perseverance she showed after the shooting.
"Courage comes in many, many forms — physical, mental, spiritual and political. Gabby has truly modeled courage and resilience," Vice Admiral Philip Cullom said at the christening ceremony.
Constructed from aluminum and featuring a distinctive trimaran design, the Giffords is armed with missiles, machine guns and fast-firing weapons designed to hit a variety of targets. Its normal crew of 40 sailors and officers can be supplemented as needed for missions.
A sister ship of the Giffords, the USS Montgomery, sustained hull damage in October while navigating the Panama Canal. The same ship was damaged in a collision with a tugboat weeks before.
Constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, the USS Gabrielle Giffords has completed testing in the Gulf of Mexico and is scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2017. The company handed over the $475 million ship to the Navy on Friday.
Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head during an assassination attempt in 2011, helped christen the ship in 2015. It's part of a hotly debated program that congressional critics slam as flawed and too expensive but that Navy leaders defend as a critical new step in naval warfighting.
The 421-foot-long Giffords will be the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has cited the $12.4 billion spent for 26 littoral combat ships as the worst example of wasteful Pentagon spending.
The ship's name also has become a target for conservatives who see it as promoting stricter gun laws, a cause Giffords has promoted. Some critics lampooned the ship as being gun-free, a bit of parody and fake news that was debunked on snopes.com.
The Navy said it chose to name the ship in honor of Giffords because of the perseverance she showed after the shooting.
"Courage comes in many, many forms — physical, mental, spiritual and political. Gabby has truly modeled courage and resilience," Vice Admiral Philip Cullom said at the christening ceremony.
Constructed from aluminum and featuring a distinctive trimaran design, the Giffords is armed with missiles, machine guns and fast-firing weapons designed to hit a variety of targets. Its normal crew of 40 sailors and officers can be supplemented as needed for missions.
A sister ship of the Giffords, the USS Montgomery, sustained hull damage in October while navigating the Panama Canal. The same ship was damaged in a collision with a tugboat weeks before.
The Gabby: Navy to commission USS Gabrielle Giffords
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This is the same idiot who asked the Army how they planned to lower the carbon emissions of their tanks. Is there a procedure to rename a ship?
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1stSgt Eugene Harless
I offhand can't think of any. Captured vessels, of course get renamed. One instance I can think of is that in WW2 after the USS Lexiington CV2 was sunk at the Battle of the Coral sea, the Secnav propsed to name the CV-16 under Construction, which was to be named the Cabot, to the Lexington.
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You're behind the power curve, SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL! SN Greg Wright let us know about this on December 28! :)
https://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/uss-gabrielle-giffords-at-nation-s-service
https://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/uss-gabrielle-giffords-at-nation-s-service
USS Gabrielle Giffords at nation's service | RallyPoint
This sickens me. Of all the worthy Sailors and Marines, Soldiers and Airmen, even, that Mabus could have picked, MoH awardees, combat heroes, etc, he chose to name this ship after a victim who did nothing more than get shot, and he did it because she's female. What, he couldn't name her after one of the many worthy WAVES from WW2?!
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