The amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha is scheduled to arrive at her new home port of San Diego on Friday after her maiden voyage.
Following four years of construction and successful sea trials this summer in the Gulf of Mexico, the Navy’s newest amphibious ship set sail in August for San Diego. Along the way, the crew conducted equipment checks, system tests, crew certification and underway training.
The Murtha is the tenth ship in the San Antonio class. It has a flight deck for helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, as well as a well deck that can launch and recover landing craft and amphibious vehicles. It can land 800 Marines during an amphibious assault.
“As we look forward to arriving home in San Diego and reuniting with family and friends, I could not be more proud of this crew,” said Capt. Kevin Parker, the Murtha’s commanding officer. “During our sail around up and down the East Coast and through the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, they have executed every assigned engagement and tasking with professionalism and precision.”
The ship is named in honor of Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Murtha, who served in the Marine Corps for more than 20 years and saw service in Vietnam, a tour that earned him the Bronze Star with Valor, two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.