The U.S. Navy has announced commissioning date for its newest littoral combat ship, the future USS Cincinnati (LCS 20).
The Navy will commission Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, Oct. 5, 2019 in Gulfport, Mississippi. The commissioning ceremony signifies the acceptance for service and the entrance of a ship into the active fleet of the U. S. Navy.
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker is the ship’s sponsor. As the sponsor, Pritzker leads the time-honored Navy tradition of giving the order during the ceremony to “man our ship and bring her to life!” At that moment, the commissioning pennant is hoisted and Cincinnati becomes a proud ship of the fleet.
Indianapolis, Indiana native Cmdr. Kurt Braeckel is the commanding officer of the littoral combat ship.
Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced LCS 20 would be named for Cincinnati at the Cincinnati Reds baseball game, July 19, 2015.
LCS 20 will be the fifth ship in naval history to be named Cincinnati. The first played an integral part in the Civil War; the second enforced neutrality laws during the Cuban Revolution and saw service during the Spanish-American War; the third acted as a patrol and flagship during World War II; and the fourth, a Los Angeles class submarine, was commissioned in 1978 and served during the Cold War.
LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal and adaptable ship designed to support focused mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions. The LCS class consists of two variants: the Freedom variant and the Independence variant. Indianapolis is a Freedom variant.
The future Cincinnati will be homeported in Naval Base San Diego upon her commissioning.
A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.