4June12-The Navy's newest Virginia-class attack submarine Mississippi will be
commissioned Saturday, June 2, 2012, during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony at the Port
of Pascagoula in Pascagoula, Miss.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will deliver the ceremony's principal address.
Allison Stiller, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for ship programs, will
serve as the ship's sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition she will give
the first order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

The selection of Mississippi as the name for the submarine is dedicated to the
state's long-standing tradition of shipbuilding in support of our nation's
defense. It also honors the indomitable spirit of the people of Mississippi, who
have made great strides in recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
This fighting spirit will be an inspiration to all sailors who embark aboard
Mississippi.

There have been four previous ships named Mississippi. The first Mississippi, a
side wheeler, served as Commodore Matthew Perry's flagship for his historic
voyage to Japan and fought with Admiral Farragut's forces on the Mississippi
River during the Civil War. The second and third were battleships, a BB-23 in
World War I and a BB-41 in World War II. The fourth Mississippi, a
Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser, was decommissioned in 1997.

Designated SSN 782, the ninth ship of the Virginia class, Mississippi is built
to excel in antisubmarine warfare; antiship warfare; strike warfare; special
operations; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare;
and mine warfare missions. Adept at operating in both the world's shallow
littoral regions and deep waters, Mississippi will directly enable five of the
six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities -- sea control, power projection,
forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence.

Capt. John McGrath, a native of Neptune, N.J., and a 1990 graduate from the U.S.
Naval Academy, will be the ship's commanding officer, leading a crew of
approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel.

The 7,800-ton Mississippi was built under a teaming arrangement between General
Dynamics-Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industry-Newport News Shipbuilding
and was delivered to the Navy one year ahead of contract schedule and under
cost. Mississippi took just over 62 months to build, which set the record for
the Virginia Class Submarine program's fastest delivery.

The boat is 377 feet long, has a 34-foot beam, and will be able to dive to
depths of greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots
submerged. Mississippi is designed with a nuclear reactor plant that will not
require refueling during the planned life of the ship -- reducing lifecycle
costs while increasing underway time.

The commissioning will be aired live on the U.S. Navy's Facebook page http:
//www.facebook.com/usnavy and Livestream channel http:
//www.livestream.com/usnavy beginning at 10 a.m. CDT (11 a.m. EDT). Join the
conversation on Twitter #NewMiss .

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703-697-5342. For
more information on attack submarines, visit: http:
//www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100andtid=100andct=4 .

LOAD-DATE: June 1, 2012
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Transcript
JOURNAL-CODE: DDD
SECTION: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RELEASES
LENGTH: 547  words