The patrol coastal ship Shamal (PC 13) will be commissioned at 10 a.m.,
Saturday, January 27, 1996, at the Baton Rouge dock adjacent to the Naval War
Memorial and USS Kidd Nautical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton will be the ceremony's principal speaker.
Ms. Nora Slatkin, Executive Director, Central Intelligence Agency, and former
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, the
ship's sponsor, will attend the ceremony.
Other distinguished guests will include the Honorable Thomas McHugh, Mayor of
Baton Rouge; Linda Imes, Mayor Pro Tempore of Baton Rouge; the Honorable Steven
S. Honigman, General Counsel of the Navy; Rear Admiral Irve C. LeMoyne, Deputy
Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command; and Rear Admiral Raymond
C. Smith, Jr., Commander, Navy Special Warfare Command.
Shamal is the last of 13 Cyclone Class patrol ships authorized by Congress.
Named for a weather element, the ship's primary mission is coastal patrol and
interdiction surveillance, an important aspect of littoral operations outlined
in the Navy's strategy, "Forward...From the Sea." The ship will also provide
full mission support for Navy SEALs and other special operations forces.
Patrol coastal ships are armed with a Stinger missile station, 40mm grenade
launchers, .50 caliber machine guns and 25mm chain guns. Shamal has a crew of
four officers and 24 Sailors, is 170 feet in length, has a beam of 24 feet, and
displaces approximately 331 tons fully loaded. Lieutenant Commander Paul E.
Flood, USN, from Brooklyn, New York, will be the ship's commanding officer.
Media wishing to attend the ceremony should contact Lieutenant Commander Jim
Fallin, Navy Special Warfare Command Public Affairs Officer, at (504)
356-1369.
