JULY 6 • 2023 | 21

T

he U.S. Navy commissioned its new-
est Arleigh Burke-class guided-mis-
sile destroyer USS Carl M. Levin 
(DDG 120), June 24 in Baltimore.
“Sen. Levin lived a life of service with 
integrity, and his example inspires us as we 
commission this ship with this crew today,
” 
said Adm. Michael M. Gilday, 32nd Chief 
of Naval Operations. “The men and the 
women of the USS Carl Levin represent 
some of the best and the brightest in our 
Navy. They are ready! They are prepared to 
go into harm’s way if required and they will 
carry out the orders of our nation.
”
The ship’s sponsors are Sen. Carl M. 
Levin’s three daughters, Kate Levin Markel, 
Laura Levin and Erica Levin. All three 
sponsors participated in the keel laying, 
mast stepping and christening ceremonies.
Gilday continued, “To the ship’s spon-
sors, Sen. Levin’s daughters Kate, Laura and 
Erica, thank you for your family’s support to 
our Navy and to our sailors. It is not lost on 
us that the man that we call professor, assis-
tant attorney general and senator, you call 
Dad. Thank you for sharing his legacy with 

us, and we hope that you feel welcome as 
extended members of our big Navy family.
”
Laura Levin spoke on behalf of herself 
and sisters Kate and Erica to recall their 
father’s life of service.
“Dad noted that for more than 50 
years, Senate Armed Services Committee 
members had managed to work through 
their disagreements to pass the Defense 
Authorization bill with bipartisan support 
for a single reason. As Dad put it, those who 
served in the military have inspired us, year 
after year, to come together across lines of 
party and ideology to support them,
” Laura 
reflected. “They not only protect us, they 
unite us. So, as we gather to send off this 
great ship, the three of us remember our dad 
by thanking and congratulating the entire 
crew of the USS Carl M. Levin who protect 
us and also unite us.
”
During the ceremony, USS Carl M. 
Levin’s commanding officer Cmdr. Kelly 
Craft reported the ship ready. Sen. Levin’s 
daughters gave the traditional order to “Man 
our ship and bring her to life!”
The USS Carl M. Levin is the first naval 
ship named in honor of Michigan’s longest 

serving senator, the late Carl M. Levin, for 
his years of service as a longtime member 
and chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee (SASC). 
Levin began his career as an attorney, 
professor, assistant attorney general in 
Michigan, Detroit city councilman and 
was elected to the Senate in 1979. He was 
Michigan’s first Jewish senator and the state’s 
longest-serving senator, serving for 36 years 
before retiring in 2015. In the Senate, his 
top priority was the economic well-being of 
Michigan families. He was a consistent voice 
for support of American manufacturing and 
was one of the Senate’s strongest advocates 
for policies that would help American man-
ufacturers compete globally.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile 
destroyers are the backbone of the U.S. 
Navy’s surface fleet. These highly capable, 
multi-mission ships conduct a variety of 
operations, from peacetime presence to 
national security providing a wide range of 
warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, 
surface and subsurface.
The ship will transit to her homeport at 
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. 

Commissions 
in Baltimore

“THEY NOT ONLY PROTECT US, 
THEY UNITE US.”

— LAURA LEVIN

JN STAFF

