Commissioning Information
IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 9, 1994 (703)697-5737(public/industry)
NAVY TO COMMISSION COASTAL PATROL SHIP SIROCCO (PC
6)
The Department of the Navy will commission the coastal
patrol ship Sirocco (PC 6) in a ceremony to be held
on Saturday, June 11, 1994 at the Washington Navy
Yard, Washington, D.C, commencing at 11 a.m. Secretary
of the Navy John Dalton will be the ceremony's principal
speaker. Mrs. Kathy Smith, wife of Rear Admiral Raymond
C. Smith, Jr., USN, Commander, Naval Special Warfare
Command, is the ship's sponsor. Sirocco is the sixth
of 13 Cyclone class ships scheduled to be commissioned
by the Navy. Each will carry the name of a weather
element. The ship's primary mission of conducting
coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance is an
important aspect of littoral operations outlined in
the Navy's strategy, "...From the Sea."
The ship will also provide full mission support for
naval special warfare forces. The ship's armament
includes one Stinger missile station, 40MM grenade
launchers, .50 caliber machine guns and 25MM chain
guns. Each coastal patrol ship will be manned by a
crew of four officers and 24 enlisted personnel, is
170 feet in length, has a beam of 25 feet and displaces
approximately 331 tons fully loaded. Lieutenant Commander
(Select) David Caldwell, a native of Fairfax Virginia,
is the ship's commanding officer. Sirocco will be
the first U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned at the
Washington Navy Yard is almost 120 years. Media wishing
to attend the ceremony should contact The Naval District
of Washington Public Affairs Office at (202) 433-2218.
-USN-
