USNS Carl Brashear

The christening and launch of USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) will take place on Thursday morning, September 18, 2008, at the NASSCO Shipyard in San Diego, CA, and will be open to the public. More details will be provided later.

Secretary of the Navy, Dr. Donald C. Winter, announced the naming of the seventh and eighth Military Sealift Command ships of the Lewis and Clark-class Auxiliary Dry Cargo ships (T-AKE) as Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra.

The selection of Carl Brashear, designated T-AKE 7, honors Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear, who joined the United States Navy in 1948. He was a pioneer in the Navy as the first black deep-sea diver, the first black Master Diver and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. After 31 years of service, Brashear officially retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1979. Brashear was the subject of the 2000 movie "Men of Honor" starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

The selection of Wally Schirra, designated T-AKE 8, was chosen in honor of Captain Walter "Wally" Schirra. Schirra was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Navy test pilot who served in both World War II and Korean War.

He is one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. He holds the distinction of being the only astronaut to fly in each of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Schirra officially retired from the U.S. Navy and NASA in 1969. Schirra and the other original Mercury 7 astronauts are the subject of the 1983 movie "The Right Stuff". In 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space.

The ship's design is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet, and displaces approximately 42,000 tons. Powered by a single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion system, the ship can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the ship will be designated USNS. The term stands for United States Naval Ship. Unlike their United States Ship (USS) counterparts, USNS vessels are manned primarily by civil service and civilian mariners working for the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command.

USNS Carl Brashear being worked on at Nassco-General Dynamics in San Diego, CA.	Rear-view of the USNS Carl Brashear as work is being done.	USNS Carl Brashear stern block designation.