USS SAN ANTONIO
This summer I had the privilege of christening the Navy's newest ship, the USS San Antonio. It is the most high-tech, advanced amphibious ship ever built and appropriately named for the city of the battle of the Alamo.
Naming a ship is serious business. The name the ship carries will be recorded in the annals of our proud naval history. Names like the Constellation, Abraham Lincoln, Kitty Hawk or Enterprise ring with the valor of their crews who defend our freedom wherever it is threatened. Those ships fought with distinction in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the next two years, the officers and crew of the USS San Antonio will be able to stake their claim to a place in naval history as well.
San Antonio boasts an undeniably strong military tradition. It is home to more major defense installations than any other metropolitan city in our country and more than 65,000 military retirees.
And while most Americans recognize San Antonio as a city of charm and grace, Texans know it as the site of the battle that became the rallying cry for our heroic struggle for independence from Mexico in 1836: Remember the Alamo. From the Alamo came the famous letter that Colonel William Travis wrote which embodies honor on the battlefield. An excerpt of that letter:
"To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world: I am besieged by a thousand or more of the
Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours
and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison will
be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot and our flag
still waves proudly from our walls. I shall never surrender or retreat."
Can you think of any words more in keeping with the motto "Semper Fidelis"? Such stubborn courage is the heritage the USS San Antonio will take when it sets sail with U.S. Marines and sailors aboard.
I am honored to sponsor the ship that bears the proud name of San Antonio. Taller than the Tower of the Americas and able to carry up to 800 troops, the ship is the first of a projected 12 new amphibious assault ships in this new class. The succeeding 11 ships will be named for other cities, but they will all be known as part of the "San Antonio class." Its war fighting capabilities include a state-of-the-art command and control suite, substantially increased vehicle lift capacity, and a large flight deck.
The primary task of the USS San Antonio, which will be commissioned in 2005, is to ferry troops and weapons on short notice. It can carry five V-22 Ospreys on the upper deck and Landing Craft Air Cushion vessels carrying tanks and armored trucks on the lower deck.
Navy officials bill the San Antonio as a pioneer in force protection. Its cutting-edge Shipboard Wide Area Network, SWAN, identifies and analyzes threats, then orders a weapons system on the ship - or another U.S. vessel - to fire on the target. It is also the Navy's first stealth ship, using fewer angles from protruding pieces of steel and high-tech twin masts to reduce its radar signature.
The christening culminated when I shattered a bottle of Cap*Rock sparkling Texas wine across the new ship's bow, a time-honored Naval tradition. Whatever adventures lie ahead for the USS San Antonio and its crews, we know they will serve with the same distinction that their forbearers did in the city for which the ship is forever named. With the spirit of the Alamo and the name of a great Texas city, the USS San Antonio will be prepared to sail into harms way when it sets course to defend our freedoms.
For more information about the USS San Antonio, visit: http://www.pms317.navy.mil
July 21, 2003