USS Shoup (DDG86)
Thanks to a fortuitous contact by Post Member Phil Sacks, the post has been invited to tour USS Shoup (DDG86), one of the Navy’s newer Arleigh Burke class destroyers by her commanding officer, Commander Jason Rodgers, USN. The tour is scheduled for Friday, September 9 at Naval Station Everett .
We must limit attendance to a maximum of 50 and advance registration is required for security reasons. An email will be going out to all members of the post with a form attached which attendees must fill out and return. Registrations will be accepted on a first come first served basis. We plan on an 0930 arrival in Everett and the tour takes about an hour and half.
For parking, the Alfa parking lot located next to the Main Gate is where everyone would park. We would be met there. It’s about a 10 minute stroll to the ship from there. Car pools are recommended. If there are personnel that would require transport to the ship, it can be made available.
Access for disabled veterans is extremely limited. There are no access ramps and unless disabled persons are able to walk, the tour is almost nonexistent. That said, if their desire is simply to come aboard a US Navy Ship, we can figure out a way to accommodate that.
Some ship safety notes: close-toed shoes are required. The tour does transit up and down steep ladderwells and there will be a fair bit of walking.
USS Shoup is named for General David Shoup, UCMC, a World War II veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor and whose final service was as Commandant of the Marine Corps. She is presently at sea for training exercise with the Pacific Fleet and allied navies and is expected home in Everett in mid August.