MAYPORT, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2022) — After 15 locks, four Great Lakes, five port visits, and 3,500 nautical miles traveled, the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship Pre-commissioning (PCU) unit Cooperstown (LCS 23) arrived at its homeport, Mayport, Florida Nov. 20, 2022.

Prior to beginning their transit, the crew certified in several mission areas required to safely operate and get underway including: Cyber, Comms, Deck, Medical, Search and Rescue and Navigation. PCU Cooperstown is the quickest Freedom Class LCS to sail away from initial crew move aboard.

“The entire crew of Cooperstown to include our temporary assigned Shipmates and civilian team mates were fully engaged in all aspects of making this a successful sail-around,” said Command Senior Chief Keona M. Johnson. “I am extremely proud to be a “Heavy Hitter”, and look forward to continuing to protect and serve our Great Nation’s waterways alongside the amazing Sailors onboard Warship 23!”

Each evolution, although involving different departments on the ship, required careful coordination and support from each division and Sailor onboard and was necessary for the crew to be able to set sail from Marinette, Wisconsin to Mayport, Florida.

As the ship began its transit eastward, PCU Cooperstown stopped in Cleveland, Ohio, Quebec City, Quebec, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia for refueling, stores replenishment and their Force Protection Exercise.

While in Cleveland, the crew had the opportunity to visit MLB Guardian’s Stadium where the crew was presented a bust of Baseball Hall Fame Veteran and Cleveland native Bob Feller to place in their Chief Petty Officer mess. Bob Feller was a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy during World War II and is one of the Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans the ship is named after.

“I’m extremely proud of my all-star crew, the Heavy Hitters,” said Cmdr. Evan Wright, commanding officer of PCU Cooperstown. “The crew’s professionalism, drive, and approach to service continue to motivate me every day. This crew just executed a challenging nautical voyage – a 3500 nautical mile Sail Around with over 730 miles and 85 hours of restricted waters transits through 4 Great Lakes, 15 locks, The Welland Canal, the St. Lawrence River, out to the Northern Atlantic Ocean and down to Mayport.”

Cooperstown is the 12th Freedom-variant LCS and is the first naval ship named after Cooperstown, New York. Cooperstown honors the 70 Hall of Famers who served the United States during wartime in a range of conflicts that spanned the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats and is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence.