The U.S. Navy held a christening ceremony Saturday for the second Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1001) at General Dynamics‘ shipyard in Bath, Maine.Ret. Navy Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire acted as principal speaker at the event to mark the USS Michael Monsoor‘s entry into service, the Defense Department said Friday.
The ship is named after Michael Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who was killed during a mission in Iraq and received a Medal of Honor, the Navy noted.
His mother, Sally Monsoor, served as the ship’s sponsor and broke a bottle of wine across the ship’s bow during the ceremony, the service branch added.
USS Michael Monsoor will work to support naval, joint or combined maritime forces through two gun systems, an Integrated Power System and land-attack projectiles that reach up to 63 nautical miles.
Construction work on the destroyer began in March 2010, while the keel-laying ceremony was held in May 2013.
