The City of Fort Worth will soon see its city limits expanded across the globe. On September 22, one of the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced war vessels will be docked at Galveston’s Pier 21 for its official commissioning ceremony as the USS Fort Worth.

The first naval ship to bear Cowtown’s namesake, the USS Fort Worth is the third vessel of its class of littoral combat ships (LCS) designed to be a smaller, faster, more agile class of surface combat ships. The LCS class was devised to meet the need for highly maneuverable vessels that can operate in shallow coastal waters, also known as the “littoral zone,” to counter a growing risk of post 9/11 threats. While the USS Fort Worth is smaller than traditional naval warships, its capabilities are anything but streamlined. With significant technology upgrades, the Fort Worth cuts the traditional crew size from 250 to 40 crew members. The ship can travel speeds of more than 40 knots and is armed with 50-caliber machine guns on both sides, missile systems on the stern and an mk110 57mm naval gun system that fires ammunition at a rate of 220 rounds a minute.

"It's quite a spectacle on the lake here, and it's well known around the area that when she comes out stay out of her way," Chuck Goddard, CEO of Marinette Marine, recently told WFAA following the Fort Worth’s acceptance trials on Lake Michigan. Marinette Marine is part of a team led by Lockheed Martin that began construction on the ship in Marinette, Wisconsin, in July 2009.

On August 6, 2012, the USS Fort Worth set sail on its maiden voyage from its birthplace in Wisconsin to Galveston for its commissioning ceremony, which is expected to draw thousands of spectators including many of the Fort Worth residents who worked for years to secure the namesake.

Perhaps no one worked harder than my friend, Congresswoman Kay Granger, who began the campaign to have the vessel named after the City of Fort Worth in 2006. In a letter to then-Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter, Rep. Granger wrote, “I believe it is time for a Navy ship to be named for Fort Worth in recognition of our long association with the U.S. military, the men and women from Fort Worth who serve in the military and the thousands of Fort Worth residents who work in the defense industry.”

For the next two years, Granger persisted and was supported by thousands of Fort Worth residents, students, and elected officials who joined her in writing to Secretary Winter to voice their support. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram supported the effort with editorials and a ship-naming committee was formed to help organize community efforts. On March 6, 2009, their hard work paid off: Secretary Winter announced the newest LCS would be named the USS Fort Worth.

On September 22 at 10 a.m. in Galveston, the USS Fort Worth will be officially commissioned. While the warship will be based in San Diego, it will have a long-standing relationship with the City of Fort Worth. Crew members will be invited to city events and organized mail campaigns will send letters from Fort Worth residents to crew members at sea.

As Congresswoman Granger recently said, "It doesn't matter where the ship is at sea, the anchor will always be in Fort Worth.”

Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees.  He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.