Navy warship named for Alaska statesman Ted Stevens

The USS Ted Stevens, a state-of-the-art destroyer, is set to be commissioned in Whittier in a ceremony that will honor the late senator and his legacy

Visitors on the deck of the USS Ted Stevens brave blustery weather in Whittier to learn about the new Navy warship's features during a media tour on Thursday. The ship is named for the late U.S. senator, who was a decorated World War II aviator before he came to Alaska. The USS Ted Stevens is set to be commissioned in Whittier on Saturday. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

By Yereth Rosen

Alaska Beacon

Before he was known to Alaskans as “Uncle Ted,” Ted Stevens was a decorated war hero, making dangerous missions behind enemy lines as part of the Flying Tigers, a group of American pilots who fought the Japanese in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II.

Stevens represented Alaska as one of the longest-serving U.S. senators in history, and is now being honored by the U.S. Navy with a namesake warship.

The USS Ted Stevens is a brand-new, state-of-the-art guided-missile destroyer, a missile-equipped ship that can conduct warfare at levels ranging from the air to the depths of the sea.

The ship is set to be commissioned in Whittier on Saturday, an event that is expected to draw 3,000 people to the tiny and quirky Prince William Sound town that is home to about 250 people.

The event is filled to capacity, according to the host committee. Those with tickets will travel by train or bus; regular traffic in the single-lane tunnel that connects Whittier to the road system will be halted for the duration of the ceremony. Those without tickets can watch events on a livestream link.

Even though modern Whittier is a military legacy, established to support the World War II effort and defense of Alaska, the USS Ted Stevens is the first Navy warship to visit the town in 80 years, according to military officials.

But it is an appropriate spot for Saturday’s ceremony, said Captain Mary Katey Hays, the ship’s commanding officer.

Doing the commissioning in Alaska was considered a must, Hayes said at a media briefing on Thursday. And Whittier, a deepwater port and transportation hub, was chosen for its proximity to Anchorage and its abundant support facilities, she said.

Before the ship arrived in Whittier on Sept. 27, she and the other senior officials had to prepare the Norfolk, Virginia-based crew of 380 for Alaska conditions, which on Thursday featured a blustery rain-snow mix.

“We had a lot of talks with the crew about bringing all of their gloves, their hats, their winter clothing,” she said.

Despite the weather, the reception in Whittier has been warm, Hayes said.

“Everyone’s so friendly, everyone’s so kind and welcoming, the community has been wonderful,” she said.

During the tour, officers proudly described the attributes of the ship, which measures over 500 feet in length. Those attributes include its 100,000-horsepower engine system, its efficient equipment for hooking up to shoreside electrical power, its accommodations for air crews, its systems for receiving supplies and fuel at sea and its battery gun that can fire off 20 rounds in a minute.

There was plenty of evidence of the ship’s Alaska connection on board.

Alaska flags were draped or displayed at strategic spots. The two small shipboard boats on the USS Ted Stevens are named Denali and Kodiak.

And, most prominently, Stevens’ widow Catherine and two daughters, Susan Stevens Covich and Lily Stevens Becker, are “sponsors” of the ship. That means “they’re kind of like the godmothers of the ship,” Hayes said. “They help bring the ship to life.”

Commander Stephen Roman, the ship’s executive officer, lauded the Steven women’s work.

“The Stevens family has been just phenomenal sponsors,” Roman said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better set of sponsors for the ship. The love and care they’ve shown the crew has been amazing.”

The younger daughter, Lily Stevens Becker, who leads a foundation named after her father, came aboard the ship when it was stopping in San Diego on the way to Alaska, he said.

Stevens, who died in a 2010 plane crash, left a big legacy in Alaska.

He played key roles in the statehood battle, approval of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and other milestones. He was known for securing federal funds for important infrastructure projects and programs, such as the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute, the Denali Commission and transportation facilities throughout the state — a record that earned him the affectionate “Uncle Ted” nickname. The main federal law governing fisheries, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, bears his name, as does the international airport in Anchorage.

He was also instrumental in major legislation with significance beyond Alaska, such as the Title IX antidiscrimination law, the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Roman, as he concluded the tour, admitted that he did not know much about Stevens before being assigned to the ship. Now he is reading about and hearing about the legacy, he said.

“It has been an absolute pleasure and honor to learn more about the man and the things that he did,” said Roman, who grew up in Colorado and found Alaska to be a bit “like home for me.”

Following the Whittier ceremony, the USS Ted Stevens will sail to Juneau for a stop in the capital city, then return through the Panama Canal to its homeport of Norfolk.

The journey after that is yet to be determined.

“We’re just like every other ship in the Navy. We’re able to be deployed globally,” Hayes told reporters. And that will depend on world events, she said.

“Wherever the mission takes us, we’ll be there. Whether it’s here in the snowy part of Alaska or way down south. We can go anywhere and get the job done,” she said.’

• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has been reporting on Alaska news ever since, covering stories ranging from oil spills to sled-dog races. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.