Navy says all aboard to USS Beloit
6 Oct 2024
MARINETTE — The USS Beloit now is officially part of the U.S. Navy.
On Oct. 1, the Navy accepted delivery of the ship from Lockheed Martin at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard. It is the 29th Littoral Combat Ship to be added to the Navy.
If you’ve been keeping track through the USS Beloit Facebook page, the ship and its crew have passed a number of milestones in the past few weeks.
* On Sept. 24, the ship’s galley served three meals for the first time.
On Sept. 28, the crew raised the U.S. flag for the first time.
* On Sept. 29, the ship’s commanders were promoted to Chief Petty Officers.
However a commissioning date for the ship has not been set yet, but that announcement is expected soon. The USS Beloit Commissioning Committee in the meantime is inching towards its goal of raising at least $350,000 to support the commissioning and the ship’s crew.
According to the USS Beloit Commissioning Committee website (ussbeloit.org), it has received 41 donations or pledges for about $331,000.
Fairbanks Morse Defense, which has been a U.S. Navy supplier since World War I, joined ABC Supply and the Ho Chunk Nation as top donors, pledging $50,000. Kunes Auto Group, which bought Finley GMC in Beloit in April, is among the newest donors, making a $10,000 pledge.
In 2002, the Navy began developing a new class of vessel called littoral combat ships. In 2018, the Navy announced that it was naming the next LCS after Beloit in honor of the city’s contributions to the Navy and national defense.
In June, community leaders launched the USS Beloit Commissioning Committee with a goal of raising at least $350,000. The money will go towards a number of things, including supporting the series of events around the commissioning of the USS Beloit, creating a legacy fund to support the USS Beloit crew in times of need years into the future and for properly decorating the ship in the Beloit way. Most recently, the commissioning committee purchased Wi-Fi units so the crew could work more efficiently.
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