Wichita City Hall and Sedgwick County government are moving full steam ahead on a plan to donate $50,000 of public money to the commissioning of a new Navy warship that will bear the city’s name on its stern.
The USS Wichita recently passed its initial sea trials and is scheduled to be commissioned as an official Navy warship in January.
The city and county money is to be combined with private donations from local companies and service clubs to help outfit the vessel to be more accommodating of the approximately 100 sailors who will be its crew. “When the Navy builds a ship they build it to be a war-fighting ship, but don’t put anything else on the ship to make it so that it’s really conducive to having a crew on board,” said County Commission Chairman David Dennis.
The Wichita is a “littoral combat ship,” a small but muscular vessel planned to deliver firepower in shallow water near coastlines. The design is modular, so it can be easily refitted for different missions.
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