The Navy’s newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Sioux City (LCS 11) arrived in Annapolis this morning and will be commissioned at 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 17 at the United States Naval Academy. Commissioning is free and open to the public, but tickets are required.

Free tours of the USS Sioux City will be offered daily. They are free and open to the public at the seawall along the Severn River on the grounds of the United States naval Academy. Proper ID will be needed to enter the academy grounds.

Tours will be offered during the following times:

Tuesday, November 13 — 1pm to 3pm

Wednesday, November 14 — 1pm to 3pm

Thursday, November 15 — 1pm to 3pm

Friday, November 16 — 1pm to 5pm

Saturday November 17 — 1030am to 3pm

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Mrs. Mary Winnefeld, the wife of former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld, will serve as sponsor of the ship. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when Mrs. Winnefeld will give the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

Listen to our podcast with RADM Frank Thorp (Ret) who is the Chairman of the Commissioning Committee discuss what will be happening this week as the ship is in Annapolis.

Cmdr. Randy Malone, a native of Holly Grove, Ark., is the commanding officer of the ship and leads the core crew of 70 officers and enlisted personnel. The 3,500-ton Sioux City was built by Lockheed Martin-led Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. The ship is 378 feet in length, has a beam of 57 feet, and a navigational draft of 14 feet. The ship is powered by two gas turbine engines, two main propulsion diesel engines, and four waterjets to speeds up to 40-plus knots.

LCS 11 is the thirteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the sixth of the Freedom variant. It is the first ship named after Sioux City, the fourth-largest city in Iowa.

The littoral combat ship is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments. It is capable of open-ocean tasking and winning against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft, and capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.

USS Sioux City will be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

For more information about commissioning events, visit usssiouxcitylcs11.org. For those unable to attend the event, the ceremony will be live-streamed at: www.navy.mil/ah_online/live/ah-live.asp. The link will become active approximately five minutes prior to the event (8:55 a.m. EST).

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