The soon to be commissioned U.S.S. Sioux City added a new crew member Thursday night in Annapolis, Maryland.
Kelsey Ackerman, a future Navy Surface Warfare Officer, selected the Sioux City as the ship she will serve on.
A total of 256 S-W-O’s picked their ship assignment Thursday night at an event billed as the NFL draft for Surface Warfare Officers.
Ackerman, who is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, graduates from the Naval Academy this year, and talked with reporter Donna Cole of WNAV Radio for KSCJ:
OC………Admiral Frank Thorp. :14
Ackerman got the only spot available for the blue crew of the U.S.S. Sioux City.
She says starting her career at the place that developed her into the person she wants to be is wonderful.
Retired Rear Admiral Thorp, chairman of the Littoral Combat Ship’s commissioning committee, was almost as excited as Ackerman:
OC……..here in Annapolis. ;15
Thorp presented Ackerman with a card and a coin.
He says the first ship a Surface Warfare Officer serves on has a bearing on the rest of their career, but doesn’t limit their career in any way.
The Sioux City went through sea trials in December, and will be commissioned this summer.
