Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Navy Once Again in San Pedro

As part of Los Angeles Navy Days 2012, the new guided missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) recently visited San Pedro and docked at the World Cruise Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles. 

The ship is a 509' 1/2" multi-mission vessel designed to operate independently or with an associated Strike Group. The ship's weapons include Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, AEGIS Weapons Systems, and SH-60B/R LAMPS MK 111 Helicopters.

Public tours of the ship were available for free, while on August 18 invited guests were treated to dinner aboard and mingled with Rear Admiral Mike Shatynski, Wayne E. Meyer's Commanding Officer William H. Baxter, Los Angeles Air Force Base Lieutenant General Ellen M. Pawlikowski, other military officers and Navy crew. 

Rear Adm. Shatynski delivered a State of the Navy speech, and discussed the Navy's budgetary challenges, the Persian Gulf, and other topics.  Later, guests enjoyed a thorough tour of the ship from Navy officers.

Many thanks to the Navy League for sponsoring and coordinating such an interesting and educational event. Here are some photographs:



USS Wayne E. Meyer in the Port of Los Angeles. The USS Iowa can be seen in the background.

The bridge

 
The mess hall
One of the ship's weapons systems. The blue lights of the Vincent Thomas Bridge can ben seen in the background.