EVERETT — Yet another new ship is coming to Everett.
The USS McCampbell and its crew will be arriving at Naval Station Everett early next year.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer ship has 29 officers and 314 enlistees. It will be coming from Portland, Oregon, where it has undergone over $100 million worth of modernization since summer 2020. Before that, the ship was in Japan for over a dozen years.
Its exact arrival date in Everett is unclear, Navy spokesperson Kristin Ching said. Once here, it will go through another period of extended maintenance.
The McCampbell joins a growing manifest of ships based in Everett. The USS John Paul Jones and its crew of over 330 arrived in August. The USS Kidd and its more than 370 sailors returned in late September after four months at sea. The USS John S. McCain came last month. And there’s the Gridley, Momsen and Sampson.
The base is also home to two U.S. Coast Guard ships.
In June, the Navy announced Everett as the future home port for the first ships of a new generation of guided missile frigates.
“For years Naval Station Everett has been the ‘Sailors Choice.’ Increasingly it has become the Navy’s choice as well,” the base’s commanding officer, Capt. Joshua Menzel, said in a statement Monday. “We look forward to welcoming the crew and families of USS McCampbell not only to Naval Station Everett, but to our amazing and supportive surrounding community as well.”
Local leaders have made the push to get more ships home-ported in Everett. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, authored a report in 2019 making the case for the base due to its modern shipyard and natural deepwater port.
The ship coming to Everett is named after aviator David McCampbell, a Medal of Honor recipient for his service in World War II. In 1944 in the Philippines, he shot down nine enemy planes, an American record for a single mission. The ship’s motto is “Relentless in Battle.”
The destroyer was commissioned in 2002. In 2009, it pursued a North Korean cargo ship. And in 2011, it assisted with relief efforts after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.