NORFOLK, Va. — Naval Station Norfolk welcomed its newest warship Friday.
USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. arrived, mere weeks after being commissioned and joining the fleet, after completing construction at HII Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
It is the Navy's newest, most advanced amphibious transport dock.
The $1.4 billion McCool, Jr. is equipped with a state-of-the-art radar system and provides its 28 officers and 333 enlisted sailors and 500 embarked Marines with a modern, sea-based platform that the Navy says is "networked, survivable, and built to operate in the 21st century."
"I think it brings the advanced capabilities as an amphibious ship, it's like no other amphibious ship in the world right now in terms of what we can bring to the fight," said Captain Jeff Baker, UJSS Richard M. McCool, Jr. Commanding Officer.
The ship is named after the late then-Lieutenant Richard M. McCool, Jr., who received the Medal of Honor in 1945 for the heroism during the World War II Battle of Okinawa.
"He was known for his humility and not just his courage and his heroism, so we try to instill that in the crew. We make it a point to try to engrain that in the crew from day one and honor his legacy," said Baker.
Anxiously awaiting the ship's arrival on Pier 9 at Naval Station Norfolk were the crew's family member some of whom had not seen their sailors in many months.
They said it has not been easy.
Asked how hard the separation has been, Sophia Espinoza said: "Rough, raising a little one by myself."
The Executive Officer's wife, Maureen Karlo, agreed. "It's been a lot, especially with the kids at a young age," she said.
The ship will still need to undergo extensive training and certification before deployment, which is expected to happen around 2026.
The McCool arrived just days after Naval Station Norfolk said goodbye to another ship--the guided missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin-- which headed out to its new homeport in Rota, Spain.