050113501 |
139k | On 21 November 2019 Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer announced two future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers will be named in honor of the late Sen. Richard G. Lugar and late Sen. Thad Cochran, both Navy veterans.
Cochran was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1959 after graduating from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and completed his service in the U.S. Navy in 1961. He served on the staff of the Commandant of the Eighth Naval District in New Orleans, Louisiana; taught military law and naval orientation at the Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island; and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Cochran went on to serve in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978 and represented Mississippi in the U.S. Senate from 1978 to 2018. He was recognized as the 10th longest-serving senator in the history of the United States. “From his service as a legal officer aboard the heavy cruiser USS Macon, to his dedicated work on behalf of our Sailors and Marines on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Thad Cochran was always a strong advocate for our nation’s defense and a courtly voice for cooperation and civility in American politics,” said Spencer. “We mourned his passing this May, but his legacy will live on wherever this Arleigh Burke-class destroyer may serve.” While serving as Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate from 2005 to 2007 and from 2015 to 2018, Cochran worked to strengthen the Armed Forces by supporting shipbuilding programs for the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, other critical Federal organizations, and the military bases and installations in the State of Mississippi and across the United States.
Undated official photo via Wikipedia.
| Dave Wright |
050113502 |
553k | 231113-N-N2201-001 Mobile, AL, 13 November 2013. THE SUPSHIP Gulf Coast/Ingalls Shipbuilding team celebrated the start of fabrication milestone for the future USS Thad Cochran (DDG 135) on Oct. 13. Code 150 members who took part in the ceremony were, from right, Lt. (AUS) Mitchell Van Donselaar, DDG superintendent; Ray Pelanne, Deputy Program Manager's Representative; and, at left, David Grafton, production controller. US Navy photo by Michael Duhe. | Dave Wright |
