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General Dynamics NASSCO Launches USNS Carl Brashear

Thursday, 18 September 2008

Ship is named after "Men of Honor" hero

Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO christened the U.S. Navy's newest supply ship the USNS Carl Brashear today during a morning ceremony attended by hundreds of dignitaries from the Navy, NASSCO and the San Diego community.

The ship is named in honor of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, the first African-American to serve as a Navy master diver and a man described in the ceremony as "a good chief, a proud American and a man of honor." Brashear's military service was the subject of the 2000 movie "Men of Honor."

Among those attending the ship's launch were members of the Brashear family, including his granddaughter, Lauren Brashear, who broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship's bow before it glided into San Diego Bay, and actor Robert De Niro, who starred in "Men of Honor."

Brashear enlisted in the Navy in 1948, becoming one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the Navy's diving school. While working in a salvage mission years later, Brashear's leg was nearly severed in an accident and later it was amputated. Although Brashear faced automatic discharge, he fought to remain in the service. And, after a year undergoing rigorous fitness tests and retraining, Brashear returned to active duty, the first amputee to return to full diving status.

The USNS Carl Brashear is a dry cargo-ammunition ship, which NASSCO is scheduled to deliver to the Navy in the second quarter of 2009. The ship's primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other goods to combat ships at sea.

General Dynamics NASSCO, the only major ship yard on the U.S. West Coast and a Port of San Diego tenant, employs about 4,800 people.

High resolution photos (link)
(Archive video available below and from Ustream.tv.)

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