MILTON, Ga. — Milton resident and business owner Christina Calhoun Zubowicz is heading to South Carolina April 20 to commission the U.S. Coast Guard’s new national security ship, USCGC Calhoun.
The $468 million ship is the Coast Guard’s 10th Legend class cutter, the branch’s largest series of national security ships.
The ship was named after Zubowicz’s grandfather Charles L. Calhoun, who served as the Coast Guard’s first master chief petty officer from 1969 to 1973. Calhoun established the Coast Guard senior enlisted advisors’ program. He also supported the creation of the Cutterman insignia and the Coast Guard uniform.
Before enlisting in the Coast Guard in 1946, Calhoun served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946, when he was honorably discharged as a torpedoman second class. He died Feb. 24, 2002.
“He taught the men and women of the Coast Guard to always keep the lines of communication open with the various levels of command and crew, while embracing admirable qualities of respectfulness to oneself and to others,” Zubowicz said.
Zubowicz will serve as the ship’s ambassador for the remainder of its life, which averages between 50 and 60 years.
She previously participated in the USCGC Calhoun’s keel laying in July 2021 and its christening in June 2022. Zubowicz will now visit the ship’s homeport in Charleston for the commissioning ceremony, where the crew will take possession of it and receive their orders. The ceremony is scheduled for April 20, Calhoun’s birthday.
Zubowicz said her initials are engraved at the bottom of the ship, and there are coins in a capsule that commemorate her grandfather’s career medals, his birth, his rank as master chief petty officer, her marriage and the births of his grandchildren.
The ship also shares Calhoun’s personal motto, “Never give up,” which will serve as…
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