The U.S. Navy's newest littoral combat ship, the USS Gabrielle Giffords, arrived in San Diego Wednesday to complete its first voyage to its homeport.
The USS Giffords was constructed in Mobile, Alabama, and the ship was commissioned June 10 in Galveston, Texas. According to the Navy, the USS Giffords is the ninth littoral combat ship in the fleet.
The ship joins the USS Freedom, USS Independence, USS Fort Worth, USS Coronado, USS Jackson and USS Montgomery as LCS ships based in San Diego. The ship is named after former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011.
Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus chose the name for the ship, saying Giffords' name was "synonymous with courage when she inspired the nation with remarkable resiliency and showed the possibilities of the human spirit."