US Navy christens final expeditionary sea base

The US Navy christened its final expeditionary sea base (ESB) ship, the future USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr., during a ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego on Saturday, March 7.

The ship is named in honour of US Marine Corps Private Hector A. Cafferata Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient recognised for his heroism at the Battle of Chosin during the Korean War.

The US Navy's ESBs are optimised to support a variety of maritime-based missions including: special operations forces support; airborne mine countermeasures; crisis response force sea basing; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and unmanned aviation systems support.