Dear Friends,

The USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship and the first U.S. ship to be named after the city of Fort Worth. One of the greatest honors of my life was being chosen as the sponsor of the USS Fort Worth. Throughout the year, the people of the City of Fort Worth have an opportunity to send care packages, letters of support, and other tokens to show our deep appreciation to the sailors of the USS Fort Worth for their service on this great ship.

I recently visited the ship while it is back in port in San Diego and was able to thank the sailors serving on it. Fort Worth is a city built on our national defense, and our namesake ship does us all proud. The Fort Worth is currently assigned to San Diego, California and is skippered by Commander Colin Corridan and is celebrating its 7th commissioning anniversary.

 

 

Above: Congresswoman Kay Granger with Commander Colin Corridan on the bridge of the USS Fort Worth

 

To celebrate the ship’s “birthday,” on behalf of the USS Fort Worth Support Committee, I presented a Battle Ensign flag to the Commander Corridan and the crew. Below is a picture of the new flag.

 

Above L to R: STGC(Sel) Laura Yocum – (Senior SOQ), BM1 Matthew Weedon, HT1 Tara Wilcox, OS2 Drew Upchurch – (SOQ), ET2 Devin McLean, Congresswoman Kay Granger, CDR Colin Corridan, LT. CDR XO Jason Nelson and CMC Andres Rallojay.

 

The USS Fort Worth is 387-foot ship that can cruise over 4,000 miles with its crew of 50 sailors and provide for the operation of both MH-60 Seahawk Helicopters and MQ-8 Firescout autonomous helicopters. During my visit, I participated in an awards ceremony on the flight deck to recognize outstanding service by several of the sailors. Below are some photos from the awards ceremony where I was honored to present awards to the crew on behalf of the USS Fort Worth Support Committee.

 

Above: Devin McLean with Congresswoman Granger. Devin was recognized as Sailor of the Year and presented with cowboy boots. Devin was fitted for these boots back in May when he visited Fort Worth. Not only is ET2 Devin McLean Sailor of the Year onboard the USS Fort Worth, he is Sailor of the Year for the entire squadron.

 

 

Above: Tara Wilcox with Congresswoman Granger. Tara was recognized as Sailor of the Quarter back in May by the Support Committee.

 

Above: EN3 Zane Alter with Congresswoman Granger. Zane was recognized as Junior Sailor of the Quarter.

 

Above: OS2 Drew Upchurch with Congresswoman Granger. Drew was recognized as Sailor of the Quarter.

 

Above: STGC(Sel) Laura Yocum with Congresswoman Granger. Laura was recognized as Senior Sailor of the Quarter.

The USS Fort Worth and its crew are on the front line in the Pacific against Chinese aggression, and next spring are heading to Hawaii. The Navy’s littoral combat ships, like the USS Fort Worth, are small and light ships designed after 9-11 for speed and agility. The ship’s crew conducts anti-submarine patrols and can go into shallow coastal areas where larger ships cannot maneuver.

It was an honor to spend time on the USS Fort Worth and recognize some of the outstanding soldiers serving on the ship. I will continue to keep you updated on the ship and crew as they move forward with their mission.

 

Sincerely,

Kay Granger

Member of Congress