The President and First Lady commissioned the latest US Navy vessel to bear the name of their home state, the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine U.S.S. Delaware, at the port of Wilmington, Politico reports.
“As the commander in chief, I believe it is our sacred obligation as a nation to prepare and equip those troops that we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return home,” President Joe Biden said. The First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, was the sponsor of the vessel.
The U.S.S. Delaware has a unique place in naval history: because of the pandemic, the official commission occurred in 2020, while the vessel was submerged and conducting a training run. Today’s ceremony was a formality.