FORT WORTH -- The USS Fort Worth will never drop anchor in the city it is named for.
But city officials and community leaders, ever more excited about next month's commissioning of the first warship ever named for Fort Worth, chose to symbolically anchor the vessel at Veterans Memorial Park, a site where several generations ago thousands of doughboys were trained before shipping off for trench warfare in Europe.The anchor, manufactured in 1933 and used on several naval ships in the Atlantic, was dedicated Monday morning on the refurbished east end of the park on Camp Bowie Boulevard, where the headquarters of the 36th Infantry Division once stood. The anchor had been acquired in the mid-1990s by officers at Naval Air Station Fort Worth."It doesn't matter where the ship is at sea, the anchor will always be in Fort Worth," said U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, the ship's sponsor.The 389-foot littoral combat ship left its moor in Marinette, Wisc., late Monday afternoon and began steaming for Galveston, where it will be commissioned by the Navy on Sept. 22.The ceremony drew dozens of ship supporters, including Granger, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, NAS Fort Worth Commander Capt. Robert Bennett, horse-mounted police and a fire engine from Station 18 that carries the ship's logo on its side. The idea for the anchor dedication originated with former City Manager Doug Harman, who is known for his love of local history."This is a very significant site," Harman said. "I am hoping that the anchor will renew our city's knowledge of the importance of this place. This park hasn't been as recognized as it should be, and I think this will help."Only the third completed of the new and controversial class of small, fast littoral combat ships, the $480 million USS Fort Worth will join the USS Dallas, USS Houston, USS San Antonio and USS City of Corpus Christi already in the nation's naval inventory.The ship, built by a team of contractors led by Lockheed Martin, is designed for a variety of missions, such as anti-submarine, mine countermeasures, special operations and anti-piracy. Constructed with speed and maneuverability in mind, it will reportedly be able to operate in coastal waters as shallow as 20 feet.With two littoral combat ships already in service and several more under construction, the Navy has committed to buying at least 20 through 2015 at a cost of roughly $7 billion. Ten will be Lockheed Martin versions, and 10 will be a completely different design from a team led by General Dynamics.The ships, conceived of in the aftermath of 9/11, are gaining detractors within the Navy, who contend that the ships are not nearly as versatile as advertised and that they don't carry enough offensive or defensive weapons to operate in the world's most dangerous waters.The Fort Worth has an interesting and long trip ahead -- through all the Great Lakes except Superior, down the St. Lawrence River, into the bay between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, down the Atlantic Seaboard and across the Gulf of Mexico -- before arriving in Galveston where it will be commissioned the USS Fort Worth.The ship will be based in San Diego, but Granger wanted her commissioned in Texas waters.Cmdr. Randy Blankenship, captain of the ship's "blue crew," said in an interview last week that the sailors are ready for their first major test. The captain of the "gold crew," Cmdr. Warren Cupps, was in Fort Worth for Monday's ceremony."It's a nice trip, but it's a hairy trip," Blankenship said of the maiden voyage through the Great Lakes. "It's the first time we as the crew are operating the ship, and we've got some narrow transits to get through. We've had a lot of training and simulations, and simulators are good, but they're not the same thing. We're ready for the challenge."Although expert pilots familiar with the Great Lakes will board the ship during the tricky passages, it doesn't absolve Blankenship of the ultimate responsibility."Myself and the [executive officer] will be on the bridge the entire time," he said. "This ship is unique because of the water jets. Very few people in the world have driven these types of ships."The crew will make several stops along the way -- Detroit and Montreal for resupply and fuel; Halifax, Nova Scotia, for some rest and relaxation; Norfolk, Va., for additional training; and Mayport, Fla., for maintenance and a spruce-up.The crew of 40, with an additional 13 sailors manning the anti-submarine package onboard, intends to pull into Galveston about a week before the commissioning."Galveston will be the first place where we will get to show her off," Blankenship said.After months of being away from their families in San Diego, not unlike a long deployment, the crew is eagerly awaiting the celebration in Galveston, Blankenship said."They're excited for their families to get to see the ship and see the product that they've been working on so hard," he said.Chris Vaughn, 817-390-7547Twitter: @CVaughnFWHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
