Navy's Newest Guided-Missile Destroyer Commissioned
Navy NewStand
Story Number: NNS030415-07
Release Date: 4/14/2003 9:12:00 PM
By Chief Journalist (AW) Suzanne Speight, USS Mason Public Affairs
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. (NNS) -- The Navy's newest guided-missile destroyer, USS Mason (DDG 87), was commissioned here in a April 12 ceremony.
Cmdr. David Gale of Lebanon, N.Y., took command of the ship. As Mason's first commanding officer, he will lead a crew of 365 officer and enlisted men and women.
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller Dionel M. Aviles delivered the principal address at the ceremony.
The ship takes its name from John Young Mason, Secretary of the Navy for Presidents John Tyler and James K. Polk, and Distinguished Flying Cross winner Ensign Newton Henry Mason, who died in aerial combat during World War II's Battle of the Coral Sea.
The name Mason also honors the gallant crew of USS Mason (DE 529), the Navy's first and only all African-American crew, who distinguished themselves in the face of steep odds and a determined enemy. Aviles took the opportunity to recognize several former crew members of USS Mason (DE 529) who attended the commissioning.
Mason is the 37th ship of the 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers currently authorized by Congress. These highly capable, multimission ships can conduct a variety of operations, using a sophisticated and lethal combination of advanced radars and cutting-edge weapons systems.
Mason will be homeported in Norfolk, Va.
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