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The U.S. Navy will christen the future USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12) at Austal USA on Saturday, May 2, at 10 a.m. CDT.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment Brendan Rogers will deliver the principal address. Additional speakers are scheduled to include Daniel Marsden, acting mayor of the Metlakatla Indian Community; Rear Adm. Walter Allman, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command; Capt. Thomas Cunningham, chief of staff, Military Sealift Command; and Gene Miller, interim president of Austal USA.
In keeping with naval tradition, ship sponsors Joann Atkinson, Maria Hayward, and Michele Gunyah—the namesake’s widow and daughters—will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
The ship honors retired U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer 4 Solomon Atkinson, an original member of the first U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team established in 1962. A veteran of the Korean War, he served aboard USS Washburn (AKA-108) and later completed three combat tours during the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with a Combat “V.” He also trained 48 astronauts in the Apollo and Gemini spaceflight programs, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. After leaving active service, he returned to the Metlakatla Indian Community in Alaska, where he served as mayor, sat on the Indian Community Council and the Board of Education, and founded the first veterans organization on Annette Island.
USNS Solomon Atkinson is a Navajo-class rescue and salvage ship, a multi-mission, common-hull platform designed to support towing, rescue, salvage, humanitarian assistance, oil spill response, and wide-area search and surveillance. Ships in the class will be capable of towing U.S. Navy vessels and will feature 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems.
The Navy frames the christening as part of a sustained effort to build the Fleet of the Future and maintain a global, round-the-clock forward presence rooted in 250 years of American naval power, with an operational tempo that requires continuous delivery of new capabilities.
