KINGSVILLE, TEXAS, UNITED STATES

The Sailors of the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36), an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, visited the ship’s namesake city on August 21 to engage with the community, talk about the Navy, and learn more about the historical connection to their vessel’s namesake.

During the visit the crew interacted with the mayor of Kingsville, commissioning committee members and public figures including the ship’s sponsor, Ms. Kathy Kline, and her parents Dr. Rich and Mrs. Sue Sugden. Sailors also had the opportunity to hear more of the history of the ranch from other members of the King Ranch family including Mr. and Mrs. Richard “Tres” and Olive Kleberg, Mr. and Mrs. Tio and Janell Kleberg, and Mr. and Mrs. James and Paige Clement.

Crew members of the future USS Kingsville were provided lunch at the King Ranch and Henrietta Memorial Museum while hearing from Robert Hodgens, the President and CEO of the historic King Ranch.

“My hope for our time with you today is that you are able to learn a little bit about the ranch, deep heritage of not only captain King’s legacy-but his family and the strong business that they and the King Ranch employees have built together,” said Hodgens.

Sailors also had the opportunity to learn about the legacy of the namesake Mr. Richard King, as they toured the King Ranch, hearing stories of the origin of the ranch in 1853 and its nearly 830,000 acres it operates on today. The King Ranch provided a live demonstration of their quarter horses and described the vigorous process that encompasses managing both their horses and cattle.

The future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) will commission on Saturday, August 24 in Corpus Christi, Texas. To watch the commissioning ceremony on livestream please visit: www.dvidshub.net/webcast/34091.

LCS 36 will be the 18th Independence-variant littoral combat ship.

Kingsville is a fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS like Kingsville will integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

For more news from Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/.

DVIDS - Images - The Future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) Visits Namesake [Image 6 of 7] (dvidshub.net)