MAYPORT, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2025) – Sailors assigned to the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Beloit (LCS 29) visited their ship’s namesake city Sept. 3-7.
During the visit, Cmdr. Jason DeJesus, executive officer; Command Senior Chief Matthew Footdale, senior enlisted leader; and USS Beloit Sailors Chief Gunner’s Mate Manuel Gonzalez, Chief Gas Turbine Systems - Electrical Derval Phillips, Operations Specialist 1st Class Fishwick, Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Douglass Her, Machinist Mate Fireman Gutierrez, and Quartermaster Seaman Kelly represented USS Beloit in various local events and met with local citizens in the Beloit area.
“It was an honor to meet with the Beloit community. The mutual trust and shared experiences served as a lasting reminder as to why we do what we do for the mission and for our country,” said Footdale.
The crew began their namesake visit by greeting veterans with VetsRoll.org before attending a Milwaukee Brewers game. The crew’s next stop was Fairbanks Morse Defense, where they toured the facility that assembles USS Beloit’s main propulsion diesel engines, as well as many other engines used across Navy platforms. The crew participated in several local events like a pickleball games at a park along the Rock River, the weekly downtown farmer’s market, a historical cemetery tour, and Stateline YMCA corporate games/5k run.
The crew also set aside some time to visit the Lincoln Academy Navy Junior ROTC unit, where they met with midshipmen, described their jobs in the Navy, and answered questions about life in the Navy. The Ho-Chunk Nation governmental affairs officer invited the crew to one of their construction sites to provide input on a veterans memorial they were building.
The local Veterans of Foreign Wars post hosted the crew for lunch and gave them the opportunity to share experiences with the local veterans of the post. There was a cake-cutting ceremony with the oldest Navy veteran and the youngest service member in the building.
The grand finale of the visit was a trip to ABC Supply Stadium to watch the Beloit Sky Carp play their last Saturday game of the season. One of the crew members threw the first pitch and the crew also had multiple opportunities to interact with the crowd during the game.
“As a huge baseball fan, throwing the first pitch for the Beloit Sky Carp game was an incredible memory and I will carry it forever,” Fishwick said.
“The residents of Beloit welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family. I was eager to see all of the establishments and landmarks that were incorporated into the ship,” said DeJesus. “We are honored to be crew members on the ship named after this prideful city. The purpose of our visit was to continue strengthening our relationship between Beloit and the ship and I believe we accomplished that mission.”
Beloit is the 15th Freedom-variant littoral combat ship commissioned in the U.S. Navy on Nov. 23, 2024. The warship is the first U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Beloit and her homeport is Naval Station Mayport, Jacksonville, Fla. The naming of LCS 29 honors the contributions the people of Beloit have made to the U.S. Navy, such as the Fairbanks Morse plant, which built engines that power many of the Navy’s warships and submarines, including Beloit.
Beloit is a fast, optimally manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. Littoral Combat Ships integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.
For more information about USS Beloit, visit https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/lcs29/ or https://www.facebook.com/p/USS-Beloit-LCS-29-100067506126987/.
Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic (COMNAVSURFLANT) mans, trains and equips assigned surface forces and shore activities, ensuring a capable force for conducting prompt and sustained operations in support of United States national interests. The SURFLANT force is composed of 77 warships and 31 shore commands.
For more SURFLANT news and photos, visit https://www.surflant.usff.navy.mil/ or https://www.facebook.com/SURFLANT/.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2025 09:23 |
| Story ID: | 549258 |
| Location: | MAYPORT, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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