[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3808]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMISSIONING OF THE USS ``DEWEY''

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, on March 6, the USS Dewey--DDG 105--was 
commissioned at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, CA.
  The Dewey, an Arleigh Burke-class ship, is the Navy's newest and most 
technologically advanced guided-missile destroyer. The ship's sponsor, 
Deborah Mullen, the wife of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
Admiral Mike Mullen, christened the ship in January of 2008 during a 
ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS. Mrs. 
Mullen recently visited Vermont with Chairman Mullen as they came to a 
deployment ceremony for the Vermont Army Guard 86th Brigade which is 
now serving in Afghanistan.
  The new destroyer honors Navy Admiral George Dewey and is the third 
U.S. Navy ship to be named after him. Admiral Dewey, who is from my 
hometown, Montpelier, VT, became an American hero in 1898 for leading 
his squadron of warships against the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay. Under 
his leadership, the U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet in only 2 
hours without the loss of a single American vessel. Dewey was promoted 
to admiral of the Navy in 1903, a rank which was created for him.
  The new USS Dewey has the ability to conduct a wide range of 
operations. The ship contains a multitude of offensive and defensive 
weapons and will be capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface 
battles simultaneously. The USS Dewey is an example of how naval 
warships have the flexibility to conduct a variety of missions.
  We Vermonters are proud that another ship has been named after 
Admiral Dewey. I wish Godspeed to the ship and its crew.

                          ____________________