U.S. Navy officials have set a March christening and are planning for a mid-2012 commissioning of the USS Arlington, the third Navy ship to carry the county’s name.

Navy Cmdr. Darren Nelson, who has been tapped to serve as the ship’s first commander, on Dec. 11 briefed County Board members on the construction progress.

The 24,900-ton, 684-foot ship was launched Nov. 23 from the Mississippi ship-building facility of Northrop Grumman.

As an amphibious transport dock, the ship’s main mission will be to deliver U.S. Marines and their equipment, including aircraft, to hot-spots around the world. Its crew of 363 officers and men will be augmented with up to 800 Marines.

Five sister ships already have been launched, and have seen action in anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia and in humanitarian missions off of Haiti.

Nelson said he felt like a “proud parent” when the ship was launched, and said he hoped the vessel and its crew would have a strong relationship with the people of Arlington during its expected 40-year useful life.

That was a view echoed by County Board members.

“It makes us all proud,” said board chairman Jay Fisette, the grandson of a Navy admiral. “Arlington County has a long-standing, excellent relationship with the military – we have forged a very trusting, positive relationship.”

The name Arlington was chosen to honor those who died in the 2001 attack on the Pentagon, and the first-responders who helped prevent further calamity as part of the building was engulfed in destruction. Joyce Rumsfeld, the wife of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is serving as the ship’s sponsor.

County officials will travel to Mississippi for the christening, tentatively set for March 26. “We will look forward to being part of every next step,” Fisette said.

Two other Navy ships previously have been named USS Arlington:

* A World War II-era supply ship that served in the Pacific theater during the waning days of the war. After the war, it was part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet until being scrapped in 1964.

* A Vietnam-era communications ship, which previously (as USS Saipan) had served as a light aircraft carrier during World War II and, ironically, was the exact same length as the future USS Arlington will be. The second USS Arlington also participated in several moon-mission recovery efforts, and was scrapped in 1976
Sun Gazzette