USS San Diego Arrives at New Home

The latest ship to be named after San Diego pulled into its homeport in its namesake city Friday.

The USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, has been at sea the last three weeks after it departed a shipyard in Mississippi. The vessel made port calls at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Cartagena, Colombia, before it transited the Panama Canal and turned north for its new home.

“For many of my crew, the sail around to San Diego has been something they have longed for,” said Cmdr. Kevin Meyers, the commanding officer. ”We all want to reunite with our families, to become an operational warship of the fleet, and to proudly represent the Navy with the city's namesake.”

The San Diego is scheduled to be commissioned next month, and will be the first ship with the name to actually be ported here.

Once commissioned, the vessel and its crew will begin sea trials to test the ship's systems and complete certifications.

The craft is the fourth named for San Diego, including a light-cruiser that was the second-most decorated Navy vessel of World War II and the first major warship to enter Tokyo Bay after Japan's surrender.