US Navy's newest resupply ship launched

General Dynamics NASSCO has launched the US Navy's newest resupply ship, ‘USNS Carl Brashear’ (T-AKE 7), during a christening ceremony.

The ship is named in honor of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, the first African-American to qualify and serve as a Master Diver in the Navy. Brashear (1931-2006) enlisted in the Navy in February 1948. He was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from the Navy's diving school. While participating in a salvage mission in March 1966, his left leg was nearly severed in an accident. Faced with a serious infection and years of rehabilitation, he chose amputation. In April 1968, after completing a battery of fitness tests, Brashear became the first amputee to be restored to full diving status. In June 1970, he qualified as a Navy Master Diver. He later served in the federal civil service for ten years before retiring again in January 1993. ‘USNS Carl Brashear’ is the seventh ship of the T-AKE class of dry cargo-ammunition ships for the Navy. NASSCO began constructing the ship in May 2007 and is scheduled to deliver it to the Navy in the second quarter of 2009. When the ‘Carl Brashear’ joins the fleet, its primary mission will be to deliver more than 10,000 tonnes of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea.
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