[By: Port Everglades]
Port Everglades will be the host site for the official commissioning of the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, on Saturday, July 30 in its namesake city, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It will be the first U.S. Navy ship named for the City of Fort Lauderdale and the seventh U.S. Navy vessel to be commissioned at Port Everglades.
The ceremony will be webcast live at www.dvidshub.net/webcast/28949
"The commissioning of USS Fort Lauderdale is the result of many years of coordination and hard work by our lawmakers, commissioning committee, civic leaders, contractors, industry specialists, and especially our sailors," said Commanding Officer Capt. James Quaresimo. "I couldn't be prouder of the uniformed men and women who gave a mountain of cold steel form and a heartbeat. And in turn they should be proud of what they've done."
The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Miss. As an amphibious transport dock ship, USS Fort Lauderdale, with a motto of "Together We Fight," is designed as a warship to embark, transport and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions.
LPDs are used to transport and land Marines, their equipment, and supplies by embarked Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) augmented by helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft (MV 22). The ships support amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions and serve as secondary aviation platforms for amphibious operations.
The ship's naming was in large part the brainchild of the late retired Senior Chief Petty Officer Charles "Chuck" Black, who led a years-long effort to get the U.S. Navy to name a ship "USS Fort Lauderdale." Black, who passed away in 2016, served 20 years in the U.S. Navy and was involved in several of the annual Broward Navy Days Fleet Week activities at Port Everglades. He served on the Navy League's national board of directors. The U.S. Navy announced in March of 2016 that it would name an amphibious transportation dock vessel for the City of Fort Lauderdale.
The USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) Commissioning Committee is coordinating its efforts with the Navy League of the United States Fort Lauderdale Council. The Commissioning Committee is chaired by Fort Lauderdale resident Patricia Du Mont, who is overseeing involvement of the South Florida community in all commissioning activities.
"Commissioning of the future USS Fort Lauderdale is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring South Floridians together to celebrate and salute a powerful bond between the U.S. Navy and the City of Fort Lauderdale," said Du Mont. "We're organizing meaningful events leading up to the Commissioning on July 30, and we plan to continue to support the ship and its crew as it goes into service with the U.S. Navy."
