Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

The Navy's Newest Guided Missile Destroyer Is A Deadly Beauty

IMAGE The U.S. Navy's newest destroyer class warship, the 510-foot USS Michael Murphy, recently laid anchor at New York City's Pier 88 for its commissioning ceremony. Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

On Saturday, the ship will participate in a long standing naval tradition, the commissioning ceremony, which marks the moment a new ship is formally placed in active service. Of course, we will be there tomorrow to cover the action. The US Navy will also be live streaming the event.

The new ship consists of a crew of 290 well-trained Navy service-men and -women led by Commander Thomas E. Shultz. The ship is named after Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, who risked and lost his own life in 2005 in an effort to call for aid for his men and himself after being ambushed by over 50 anti-coalition militia fighters in Afghanistan.

Lt. Murphy and his team were doing reconnaissance as part of Operation Red Wing, 3 members of the 4 person team, including Lt. Murphy, died in an intense firefight, and an additional 8 Navy SEAL and 8 Army Stalkers died when their helicopter was shot down as they rushed to the aid of Lt. Murphy and his team. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell was the lone survivor of the mission.

While ships are usually named for cities or states or notable Americans, this ship was named after Murphy because of the bravery and commitment to others he displayed in the 2005 mission. The ship relies on the Aegis Combat System and is capable of multi-mission, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Anti-Surface Warfare. It is a deadly beauty.

Read more at: http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-uss-michael-murphy-ddg-112-newest-ship-us-navy-2012-10?op=1#ixzz28ZxOitL7