USS ''Frank E. Petersen Jr.'' (DDG-121) is an '' Arleigh Burke-class'' ( Flight IIA Technology Insertion)

Aegis The aegis ( ; ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named Aex, a ...

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

.Alt URL
/ref> The ship was named for

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Frank E. Petersen Jr. Frank Emmanuel Petersen Jr. (March 2, 1932 – August 25, 2015) was a United States Marine Corps Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general. He was the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine ...

the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

Marine Corps

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

and the first African-American Marine Corps

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. The contract for the ship, along with the name, was first announced in a press release from

Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...

on 30 March 2016.

Construction and career

The first "cutting of steel" took place in April 2016 and her keel was laid on 21 February 2017. She was launched on 13 July 2018. and christened on 6 October 2018. The ship was commissioned on 14 May 2022 at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

by Ms. Gayle Petersen, Lt. Gen. Petersen's daughter. USS ''Frank E. Petersen Jr'' returned to their home port,

Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, 12 December 2024, after a five-month maiden deployment assigned to the

USS Abraham Lincoln Three ships have borne the name ''Abraham Lincoln'', in honor of the 16th President of the United States. * , a troop transport that was commissioned in 1917 and sank in 1918 * , a ballistic missile submarine in service from 1961 to 1981 * , an a ...

Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG). Throughout deployment, Frank E. Petersen Jr. completed over 475 hours of flight quarters, 10 hours of small boat operations, conducted 17 replenishments-at-sea, 15 sea and anchor details, qualified 60 Sailors in small craft action team (SCAT) and 17 Sailors in Security Reaction Force Basic (SRF-B). Frank E. Petersen Jr. also welcomed six new chief petty officers, six new first class petty officers and 18 new second class petty officers.

Awards

* Battle "E" – (2024)https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8995284/uss-frank-e-petersen-jr-ddg-121-awarded-2024-battle-effectiveness-e-award

References

External links

Official websiteUSMC History Division, Frank E. Petersen Jr.Marines.mil, Lt. Gen. Frank Petersen remembered, honoredMilitary Times, Frank E. Petersen – Awards and Citations
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 2018 ships Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi {{US-mil-ship-stub