Naval Station Mayport welcomes new ship USS Beloit
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Another new Littoral Combat Ship joined the fleet at Naval Station Mayport.
The Navy’s latest Freedom-variant LCS, the USS Beloit (LCS 29), arrived in its new homeport on Thursday.
It joins the recent additions of the USS John Basilone, the Navy’s latest missile destroyer, and the USS Nantucket, another LCS.
The USS Beloit was commissioned on Nov. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It’s the 15th Freedom-variant LCS in the Navy’s fleet and the first vessel to carry the Beloit name. Its name honors the city of Beloit, Wisconsin, and recognizes the community’s contributions to the Navy, including the engines manufactured by Fairbanks Morse Defense, which power numerous naval vessels, including Freedom-variant ships and Ford-class aircraft carriers.
Two people waiting for loved ones to come off the ship were mom and daughter Valerie and Hope Antoine. Both hadn’t seen John, Valerie’s husband and Hope’s dad, in months.
“We’ve had a lot of holidays, anniversaries and birthdays away from each other,” Valerie Antoine said. “We just appreciate the time frame that they executed their mission, to get here. I know what it takes for them to meet deadline and I appreciate all of the sailors that made it possible to be here on this pier today.”
John said he was excited to be home because there was a lot of anticipation.
“Everybody was just ready to get home,” he said.
The ship’s commander, LeAndra Kissinger, said they will add so much to Mayport.
“Stability,” Kissinger said. “War-fighting readiness, because we’re warfighters and we’re ready to get our ship out there and deploy.”
Valerie Antoine said in addition to celebrating the holidays, they’ll also be celebrating her husband’s birthday, which happened while he was away.
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