USS Marinette (LCS-25)

In 2002, the US Navy initiated a program to develop the first of a fleet of littoral combat ships. The Navy initially ordered two monohull ships from Lockheed Martin, which became known as the Freedom-class littoral combat ships after the first ship of the class, . Odd-numbered US Navy littoral combat ships are built using the Freedom-class monohull design, while even-numbered ships are based on a competing design, the trimaran hull from General Dynamics. The initial order of littoral combat ships involved a total of four ships, including two of the Freedom-class design. Marinette is the thirteenth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to be built. == Construction and career ==

Marinette Marine was awarded the contract to build the ship on 31 March 2016 and built at their shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette was commissioned on 16 September 2023, at a ceremony in Menominee, Michigan. In attendance was Honorable Mike Gallagher, U.S. Representative, Wisconsin's 8th congressional district, the Honorable Jennifer Granholm, ship’s sponsor, the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller, VADM Darse E. Crandall, Jr., Judge Advocate General of the Navy, the Honorable Jean Stegeman, Mayor of Menominee, Michigan, the Honorable Steve Genisot, Mayor of Marinette, Wisconsin, and Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors. On October 27, 2023, Marinette's Executive Officer, Lt. Commander Jonathan Volkle, was found dead in a suicide. ==References==