USS Fort Worth crew wishes city namesake a happy birthday

By Peter Larsen and Justin Frederick

Special to the Star-Telegram

SAN DIEGO -- Happy 162nd birthday, Fort Worth!

Just as the city has been a success because of the grit and tenacity of her residents, the USS Fort Worth and her crew continue to move forward thanks to the efforts of many people in Marinette, Wis., and San Diego.

In recognition of the city of Fort Worth's birthday, members of the Pre-Commissioning Unit Fort Worth flew the city's flag from the yardarm of the future USS Fort Worth in Marinette at 0830 June 6. Additionally, the crew in San Diego celebrated the birth of the best city in Texas with a cake and some history lessons on Fort Worthians and the rise of Panther City.

The USS Fort Worth will be the third of the Navy's littoral combat ships developed to address asymmetric threats in coastal areas. The USS Freedom (LCS 1) and the Fort Worth (LCS 3) are designed by Lockheed Martin; the USS Independence (LCS 2) was designed by General Dynamics.

The last six weeks have seen several exciting firsts in our ship's history. During late April and early May, the shipyard successfully started and tested all four of the ship's diesel generators. We are now testing the switchboards that will distribute that power throughout the ship.

On June 6 -- Fort Worth's birthday -- we started our first main propulsion diesel engine.

By the end of June, all main engines will have been tested and the shafts rolled for the first time in preparation for sea trials in late September.

Back in San Diego, the crew reached a milestone of a different sort. Until recently, the crew was part of a larger group of sailors training to man littoral combat ships. On May 1, PCU Fort Worth officially became our own independent command under the leadership of Cmdr. Randy Blankenship.

While this was an important transformation in the life of the crew, one key thing didn't change: The crew is still working full speed ahead attending technical schools, achieving personal qualifications, and establishing command programs and processes needed to bring the USS Fort Worth to life and to sail her safely down the Menominee River and out to sea by way of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Just as Maj. Ripley Arnold led a small group of 42 soldiers to build a fort on the site that eventually became the city, Cmdr. Blankenship is leading a small crew of only 40 sailors to bring the USS Fort Worth to life. Because we have the same responsibilities as a ship with 300 people, every sailor on the Fort Worth has a major impact on our success, and the crew is excelling at that task.

Blankenship's Blue crew will be joined by that of Cmdr. Warren Cupps, who will lead a similarly sized Gold crew once the ship is commissioned in fall 2012.

The upcoming year will be an exciting one for the USS Fort Worth, her crew and the city of Fort Worth, as well as for our families and friends as the ship is completed and we take her to sea.

For Fort Worth's 163rd birthday celebration, the crew will be celebrating on the ship as we prepare to sail her out of Marinette in late June 2012.

We will continue to keep the residents of Fort Worth updated along the way.

Lt. j.g. Peter Larsen of Monmouth, Ore., and Operations Specialist 1st Class (Surface Warfare) Justin Frederick of Fort Worth are crew members training for service on the USS Fort Worth.

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