^{Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, speaks during the Commissioning Ceremony of the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Cooperstown (LCS 23) in New York City. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kevin C. Leitner)}

USS Cooperstown: It’s Official

By CASPAR EWIG
NEW YORK CITY

With the exhortation “Man Our Ship and Bring Her to Life,” and to the cheers and applause of her crew, Alba Tull commissioned the vessel Cooperstown into the fleet of the United States Navy last Saturday. This introduction by her sponsor means the ship is now official and permitted to carry the title of USS Cooperstown.

At 11:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, the USS Cooperstown, colloquially christened as “America’s Away Team,” joined the approximately 495 ships that comprise the U.S Navy’s active and reserve fleet. She continues the tradition of vessels such as the USS Constitution, which went through the ceremony on October 1, 1797 and has retained her commission to this day.

Living history is also part of the USS Cooperstown, which features memorabilia from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum honoring its 70 members who served in the military.

“I’m not really into decorating the insides of a warship,” honorary sponsor Jane Forbes Clark confessed. “So I was really lucky to have an excellent crew to fulfill that purpose.”

And they lived up to the task. In addition to a display case commemorating Bob Feller, the doors to the living and operating part of the USS Cooperstown have been decorated with copies of plaques from the Hall of Heroes.

Among those representing the Village of Cooperstown at the Commission Ceremony along with Clark were Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, Deputy Mayor Cynthia Falk, and Trustees Richard Sternberg and Joseph Membrino. Cooperstown residents Bill Waller and Gary Kuch wer also in attendance.

The week-long festivities opened after the arrival of the vessel in New York on May 1, when the crew was hosted at a New York Yankee game against the Cleveland Guardians. Fittingly, the ceremonies closed with the crew attending the Mets game against the Oakland Athletics. In between were a “Meet and Greet” between shipboard personnel and guests of the Navy League in the historic Model Room of the New York Yacht Club and a Chairman’s Dinner, where the vessel was presented with various proclamations, awards, and gifts, including a traditional tea set from Lockheed Martin, the ship’s builder.

The ceremonies were chaired by the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States in conjunction with the NBHoF.

“Commissioning of a naval vessel is one of the traditional functions of the Navy League,” said Capt. Frank Russo, president of the New York Council, Navy League of the United States. The Navy League is a civilian non-profit organization that acts as an advocate for American shipping interests and supports education of youngsters with an emphasis on the sea.

Like many maritime observances, commissioning of a naval ship is replete with traditions. As a matter of course, each naval vessel has a female sponsor who has some connection to the ship, but here the USS Cooperstown is unique in that she has two: sponsor Alba Tull, joined by Jane Forbes Clark as honorary sponsor. Because, after all, the vessel not only carries the name of the Village of Cooperstown, but also honors the 70 Hall of Famers who interrupted their baseball careers and who, in the words of Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, “traded flannels for uniforms during times of war” to serve in the U.S Armed Forces.

Another of the traditions is that the ship and her sponsors exchange gifts. In this case, the sponsors gave the vessel an entertainment center with about two dozen baseball movies, including “Fastball”—directed by Tull—and “42” (the story of Jackie Robinson) directed by her husband, Thomas Tull, who is also a member of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors. In return, the vessel presented the sponsors with a pin depicting an eagle sitting on a baseball bat and the slogan, “America’s Away Team.”

Also in accord with Navy tradition, the sponsors are now considered permanent members of the ship, but without the obligation to stand watch.

The final tradition of the Naval Commissioning Ceremony is to establish the First Watch, and the symbol that represents this step is the gift of a spyglass to the vessel’s chief officer. In the instance of the USS Cooperstown, this presentation was made by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench to the Officer of the Deck, Lt. Warner Vanos.

However, there is still a long way to go between being commissioned into the Navy and being certified as combat ready.

“We are still in the warranty period, where we are testing the strength of the construction and the capability of the gear,” said CMDR Patrick Earls, who joined the vessel shortly after the Mast Stepping Ceremony and accompanied her during the 3,500-mile shakedown cruise.

“After we leave New York, there will be further testing of the weaponry and other equipment, as well as further training of the crew,” CMDR Earls explained.

Then the vessel will go into its final warranty drydock from January to April 2024 and become a “fleet asset” of the Navy in September 2024.