Preview: The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul to be commissioned
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The United States Navy’s newest combat ship will be commissioned on Saturday.
RELATED: USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul now in Duluth, to be commissioned Saturday
After five years, the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul is ready to deploy. Sailors say the ship is one of a kind.
It started in pieces but now the Navy warship stretches longer than a football field.
It splashed into the water for the first time in 2019, making waves throughout the country as one of the fastest Navy ships to hit the water.
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul. (KSTP/Brittney Ermon)
“It is definitely cool to drive. Think of a Corvette out on a drag way,” Navy Cmdr. Alfonza White said.
Water moves through the waterjets so fast the ship could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just 20 seconds.
Every corner of the LCS 21 is well-equipped to fit any mission. Flexibility was a top goal so the ship can adapt to any situation.
Navy members say the billion-dollar ship is only as good as its crew.
“Every sailor on board this ship carries their own weight and we can’t just have anybody on board not putting in their full commitment every day,” Navy Command Senior Chief Edward Pare said.
Leaders said the size of the crew onboard is the smallest in the Navy, and if something happens out at sea, they’re on their own.
“The crew is resilient,” White said. “The resiliency has to be above top to bottom and so we took it in stride and now we’re here and that’s what we’re excited about.”
Over 100 Navy sailors will carry out missions worldwide while bringing a piece of the Twin Cities along for the ride.
The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul will officially join the active fleet on Saturday. The ship will be based at a port in Florida.
More information can be found here.