Navy to christen USNS Soderman, Military Sealift Command to operate ship

WASHINGTON (USTCNS) --- The Department of the Navy will christen USNS Soderman, its newest roll-on and roll-off strategic sealift ship on Friday, April 26, 2002, in San Diego.

The non-combatant vessel will be crewed by civilian mariners and operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C. MSC is the Navy component to U.S. Transportation Command.

Soderman, a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship, will carry Army equipment, vehicles and supplies, and be strategically prepositioned near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Soderman's roll-on and roll-off design makes her ideal for transporting helicopters; tanks and other wheeled and tracked military vehicles.

Soderman will have a cargo carrying capacity exceeding 394,000 square feet. The ship is 950 feet in length, has a beam of 106 feet, and displaces approximately 63,000 tons when fully loaded.

Two 32,000 horsepower gas turbine engines enable the ship to sustain speeds up to 24 knots.

The ship will be named for Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. William A. Soderman (1912-1980), a native of West Haven, Conn.

Soderman was assigned to Company K, 9th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division during World War II. On Dec. 17, 1944, Soderman defended a key road junction near Rocherath, Belgium, against superior enemy forces before being wounded.

President Harry S Truman presented Soderman the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 12, 1945.

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Serving as ship's sponsor is Virginia Soderman, widow of the ship's namesake.

Kristina Carson Fletcher, niece of the ship's namesake, will serve as matron of honor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, the sponsor will break a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally name the ship.

(FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE)