Navy Chooses Port Everglades for Commissioning of the Future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), 27 July
The Navy will commission its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, July 27, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The ship is named in honor of Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and later during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration as assistant secretary of defense for installations and logistics from 1964 – 1967, and secretary of the Navy from 1967 – 1969.
Paul R. Ignatius was born in Los Angeles, California, on 11 November 1920, and attended public schools in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles. A 1942 graduate of the University of Southern California, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
During World War II, Mr. Ignatius served as a Lieutenant in the US Naval Reserve, principally as an aviation ordnance officer in the escort aircraft carrier Manila Bay in the Pacific.
Mr. Ignatius holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Harvard University (1947). He was a Research Assistant and an Instructor in Business Administration at Harvard from 1947 to 1950. In 1950, with two of his Harvard Business School associates, he formed the management consulting and research firm, Harbridge House, Inc.
For the next eleven years, he had a major role in the development and expansion of Harbridge House. His efforts were devoted to consulting and research in military supply and procurement, and in the procurement responsibilities of a large segment of defense industry.
Mr. Ignatius was Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations and Logistics) from 22 May 1961 until 28 February 1964, when he became Under Secretary of the Army, On 12 December 1964 he assumed the Office of Assistant secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics) and on 1 September 1967 he became Secretary of the Navy.
Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer, who is also performing the duties of deputy secretary of defense, will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Ignatius’ wife, Nancy, who passed away earlier this year, is the ship’s sponsor. Dr. Elisa Ignatius, granddaughter to the late Mrs. Nancy Ignatius, will serve as the ship sponsor representative. Dr. Ignatius will honor naval tradition when she gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”
“The future USS Paul Ignatius stands as proof of what the teamwork of all our people – civilian, contractor and military – can accomplish together,” said Spencer. “From the start of the acquisition process, to the keel laying and christening, to today’s commissioning and the many kids missions she will fulfill going forward, this destroyer enhances our capabilities for air, undersea, surface, strike and ballistic missile defense.”
The future USS Paul Ignatius will be the 67th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and is one of 21 ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers conduct a variety of missions from peacetime presence and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief to sea control and power projection. Built in the Flight IIA configuration, the ship delivers rapid reaction time, high firepower, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.
The ceremony, using hashtag #USSPaulIgnatius, can be viewed on the Navy Live blog at: http://navylive.dodlive.mil.
Navy Chooses Port Everglades for Commissioning of the Future USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117)
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer has approved Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as the site for the commissioning of the future guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117). The event will take place July 27.
The ship is named in honor of Paul Robert Ignatius, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, as Secretary of the Navy from 1967- 1969, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.
DDG-117 is the U.S. Navy’s 67th Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and will feature the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system that will allow the ship to simultaneously patrol for ballistic missile threats as well as combat traditional air and cruise missiles threats.
19 March 2019 Accepting delivery of DDG 117 represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness.