VA: Navy to christen latest SSN this weekend
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:53 pm
Linkarooni
Navy to christen latest SSN this weekend
Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Dec 10, 2008 14:11:46 EST
The Navy plans to christen its newest Virginia-class attack submarine, the New Mexico, in a ceremony this weekend in Hampton Roads, Va.
Cindy Giambastiani, the wife of retired Adm. Ed. Giambastiani, will swing the traditional bottle of champagne Saturday to officially give the ship its name, according to a Navy announcement. The keynote address at the ceremony is to be delivered by Republican Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico.
New Mexico is the sixth Virginia-class attack submarine, and the latest built half by General Dynamics’ Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Conn., and Northrop Grumman’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. But it’s just the second Navy warship to bear the name. The first New Mexico was a battleship that earned six battle stars for its service in World War II; it provided shore bombardment for the Marine Corps landings at Guam, Saipan, Okinawa and elsewhere.
The New Mexico’s prospective captain is Cmdr. Mark Prokopius.