Naval destroyer to be commissioned in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (AP) - For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, a major naval warship will be commissioned in Baltimore. The USS Sterett, a $1.3 billion missile destroyer, left its shipyard in Bath, Maine, last week for a month of at-sea testing. It will dock in Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia, before sailing up the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, where it begins duty in early August. A week of festivities will precede its official commissioning at the South Locust Point Cruise Terminal. Commander Brian Eckerle, the Sterett's captain and a Charles County resident, says the crew is excited about bringing the ship to "a city with such a rich nautical tradition." The Sterett is named for Andrew Sterett, a Baltimore-born 19th-century naval officer. It is one of 62 Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, considered the Navy's... [read full story]