On Saturday morning in Bath, Maine, the daughters of the late Admiral Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. will break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow of the ship that bears their father's name.
The USS Zumwalt is being hailed as the the largest Navy destroyer ever built.
Its new home will be San Diego. The Maine Sun Journal reports during a November 2013 tour of the Zumwalt, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel explained the reason why:
"[The Zumwalt] represents [an] important part in our Navy’s security. That its first assignment will be in San Diego … represents an important shift of our balance and assets and focus in America’s interest in the Asia-Pacific.”
Capt. James Kirk is the ship's commanding officer. I'm sure he's heard enough Star Trek jokes to last a lifetime.
As Home Post reported last year, the Navy was forced to cancel the Oct. 19, 2013, christening ceremony for the Zumwalt because of the government shutdown.
Here's some cool time lapse video, courtesy of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, of the future Zumwalt in December 2012:
