The christening of the USS Arlington will be broadcast live on the county’s cable channel on Saturday.
The amphibious transport dock ship, named in honor of the heroes and victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, will be christened at the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.
Arlington County Fire Chief James Schwartz, who was incident commander at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, will deliver the keynote address at the christening. Former County Manager Ron Carlee, current County Manager Barbara Donnellan and several Arlington County Police officers who were first responders on 9/11 will also be in attendance.
“No County taxpayer money will be used to pay travel expenses,” the county noted in a press release.
The proceedings will be broadcast live, starting Saturday at 10:00 a.m., on the county-run Arlington Virginia Network, which is available on Comcast channel 25 or Verizon FiOS channel 40. A webcast of the christening will also be available.
Ship sponsor Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, will christen the ship. See more information about the ship here.
Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman