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Masters of Hard Knocks from the University of Gravity
 
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Well guys it's been several years coming by this weekend we (the USA) christened a new class of warship. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom was christened no less then by an Army Wife. The Freedom was christened by Birgit Smith of Tampa, Fla., widow of Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, who was killed in Iraq and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
USS Freedom
Length: 115 meters or 377 feet
Beam (width at widest point of ship): 17.5 meters or 57.4 feet
Draft (depth below water when fully loaded): 4.13 meters or 13.5 feet; the LCS is specially designed to operate in shallower water than conventional naval ships
Top speed: up to 45 knots
Ship's complement: A core rotational crew of about 40 will be supplemented with the three 35-member complement crews designed for specific missions.
Ship's port: San Diego
She wil spend the winter docked at Marinette Marine where outfitting will be completed and crew familiarization will take place next spring. By the end of next year she will be finalizing sea trials and potentially already being readied for deployment.
This is trully a new class of ship. Normally a ship of this size has a crew of between 200-250. Advanced technology and a completely different mission concept allows us to minimize the crew. Additionally, the ships is supposed to have a sale away cost of $220M. Considerably less then any other ship if it's size.
"Si Vis Pacum Para Bellum"
If you want peace prepare for war!
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Hard Charger
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| It's interesting to see the relatively quick transformation from the older DD type destroyers into a mix of amphibious (low draft) and v-hull, high speed class of ships today. Flat bottom gator navy will always have it's place in the overall scheme of things, but it's clear to see things have changed towards producing a versatile combat ship with the capability to accomplish several different types of missions...cool....slimmed down, hard hitting mobility is fast becoming the reality of todays US Armed Services! SMSB
"Let's Go Downtown" - Flight of the Intruder
http://www.327infantry.org/second/c_co Same Mud Same Blood - NBC documentary filmed 1967 RVN, chronicle Frank McGee
IMOFSGT Nelson P. Henry101st 2nd/327th -NO SLACKKIA October 28, 1967 in QuangTin Province RVN
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Ei Temporis Vita Semper Resumo Sese
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| She's going to be a very usefull vessel indeed... fast, flexible, and able to operate in places comperable blue water ships wouldn't dream of entering. 
"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable." Thorax
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