The U.S. Navy will designate a future Virginia-class submarine and guided missile destroyer as USS Barb (SSN 804) and USS John F. Lehman (DDG 137) respectively.
USS Barb is the third submarine to bear the moniker while USS John F. Lehman will be named in honor of the Navy's 65th secretary, the service branch said Tuesday.
"Those two namesakes carry a great legacy that will be continued when these warships take to the fleet," said Kenneth Braithwaite, secretary at the Navy.
Guided missile destroyers are built with defensive and multimission capabilities while Virginia-class vessels are designed to search and destroy enemy surface ships and submarines.
“These naval combatants, and many others named after historic leaders and battle-tested namesakes are one of the key components of our great Naval culture and heritage,” said Braithwaite.
James “Hondo” Geurts, assistant secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN (RD&A)) with the U.S. Navy, delivered his keynote address during Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Navy Forum on September 30th.
If you missed the event, you can still register to watch the footage in Potomac Officers Club’s Event Archive.
Geurts began his keynote address by discussing the current environment of the defense landscape, as well as where he sees the U.S. Navy heading in the future. Within operations, the U.S. Navy has not received more work, and “worked to rapidly adapt” to COVID-19.