The Navy will christen the Expeditionary Sea Base future
USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) during a 10 a.m. PDT ceremony, Saturday,
Oct. 21, at General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego.
The future Hershel “Woody” Williams is the first ship to
bear the name of Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Hershel Woodrow Williams,
the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient recognized for heroism at the
Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
Maj. Gen. Eric M. Smith, commanding general, 1st Marine
Division, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Williams’s daughters,
Tracie Jean Ross and Travie Jane Ross, who serve as the ship’s sponsors, will
break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to formally christen the ship,
a time-honored Navy tradition.
“This ship honors a man who dedicated his life to
service—heroic service as a Marine, and continued service to his fellow
veterans,” said the Honorable Richard V. Spencer, Secretary of the Navy. “This
dedication will live on in USNS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams as the ship is
deployed around the world bringing additional capability to our growing fleet.
The ceremony on Saturday will also represent the dedication to service
demonstrated by the men and women who worked tirelessly to build this ship and
their commitment to quality and innovation.”
The future Hershel “Woody” Williams is optimized to support
a variety of maritime-based missions and designed around four core
capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and
command and control assets. ESBs can be enhanced to meet special operations
force missions through increased communications, aviation and unmanned aircraft
system support.
Built by General Dynamics NASSCO, the Montford Point-class
is comprised of five ships across two variants: Expeditionary Transfer Docks
and Expeditionary Sea Bases. USNS Montford Point (ESD 1), USNS John Glenn (ESD
2), and USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) have been delivered to the fleet. ESB 4 is
planned to join the fleet in 2018, with ESB 5 to follow in 2019.
The platform has an aviation hangar and flight deck that
include two operating spots capable of landing MH-53E equivalent helicopters,
accommodations, work spaces, and ordnance storage for an embarked force. The
platform will also provide enhanced command and control, communications,
computers, and intelligence capabilities to support embarked force mission
planning and execution. The reconfigurable mission deck area can store embarked
force equipment including mine sleds and rigid hull inflatable boats.
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