Story highlights Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, retired from the U.S. Senate in January 2015 after serving 36 years

The U.S. Navy's next Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer will bear his name, the Navy announced Monday

(CNN) The U.S. Navy's next Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer will bear the name of a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Monday.

Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, retired from the U.S. Senate in January 2015 after serving 36 years, including nine as chairman of the Armed Service Committee.

"My family and I are deeply moved by this singular honor and to be so wonderfully connected to the men and women of our great Navy," said Levin after Mabus made the announcement in Detroit, where the six-term U.S. senator was born and attended the city's public schools.

"It is a great honor to name this ship in recognition of such a dedicated public servant," Mabus said. "I have no doubt that all who serve aboard her will carry on the legacy of service and commitment exemplified by Carl Levin during his storied career."

Levin, 81, is currently chair of the Levin Center at Wayne State University Law School and senior counsel at the law firm of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP.

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