FARMINGTON — A new class of U.S. Navy towing, salvage and rescue ships will be named Navajo in recognition of the tribe and the contributions the Navajo people have made to U.S. military forces.

"The Navajo people have fought and served our armed forces with honor and valor in nearly every major conflict since the birth of our nation, so it is fitting and right to name a new class of ship in their honor," Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer said in a Navy press release.

The new class will be based on existing commercial towing offshore vessel designs and will replace the current T-ATF 166 and T-ARS 50 class ships, the release states.

"Throughout our history, the Diné people have always been the caretakers and protectors of our land in every branch of the armed services, so we are very grateful that our people are being recognized through this historic announcement from the Navy," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement.

The effort to get the Navy ships named after the Navajo tribe started in 2014 when former Navajo Nation Council Delegate Jonathan Hale introduced a resolution in support of the naming.

It didn't gain momentum until 2015 when former Navajo Nation Speaker LoRenzo Bates was elected into office and tribal lawmakers started working with the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, who helped push a bill containing the naming honor through Congress.

"It was a project that we took on behalf of the nation and the council needed to fulfill," Bates said in a phone interview with The Daily Times. "I'm very thankful that it came to reality."

Cindy McCain released a statement to the Navajo Nation after the naming was announced Tuesday.

“John worked hard to ensure the Navajo Nation's contributions to our security and culture were recognized by the U.S. Navy in the manner in which it traditionally pays tribute to important American communities," Cindy McCain said. "I'm so pleased, and I know John would be very gratified, that the Navy has now officially named a United States Naval Ship Navajo, a deserved and overdue honor.”

After Sen. John McCain passed away in August 2018, newly appointed Sen. Martha McSally took on the naming effort in collaboration with the Navy.

“The Navajo People have an incredibly rich legacy of military service and deserve to have a class of U.S.Navy ships named in their honor," McSally said in a statement. "Arizonans are proud of this recognition of the Navajo Nation which was fought for and secured by Senator McCain. This is yet another example of how his legacy will live on."

Design and construction of the ships will be handled by Gulf Island Fabrication Inc., who was awarded the $63.5 million contract. It is scheduled for completion in March 2021, and the first ship will be built in the company's shipyard in Louisiana.

"The contract includes options for potentially seven additional vessels, and each additional ship will be named in honor of prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes," the release states.The first ship in the class will be named USNA Navajo and designated T-ATS 6, according to the release.

This is not the first Navy ship to be named after a Native American tribe, and tugs were not the only type of vessels named.

There are three fleet ocean tugs named after tribes — USNS Catawba, USNS Sioux and USNS Apache — and are in service, according to the Navy.

In the 1860s, there was the Wampanoag, a steam-powered warship named after a tribe in Rhode Island, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Army also has several helicopters named after Native American tribes, there is the AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook and the UH-72 Lakota.

Reporter Shondiin Silversmith contributed to this report.

Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at nsmith@daily-times.com.