AUGUST 21, 2025 – The U.S. Navy will commission the future USS Pierre (LCS 38), an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, in Panama City, Florida, Nov. 15.
The naming of LCS 38 honors the legacy of the citizens of Pierre and the state of South Dakota and their support of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Ship sponsor and South Dakota native Larissa Thune Hargens will lead the time-honored Navy tradition of giving the order “man our ship and bring her to life!” during the ceremony. Pierre becomes a proud ship of the fleet at the moment when the commissioning pennant is hoisted.
Pierre is the 19th, and final, Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) constructed. LCS 38 is the third ship named in honor of South Dakota’s capital city, and the second Navy warship to bear the name. The SS Pierre Victory (VC2-S-AP3), a Victory-class cargo ship, distinguished itself during World War II by shooting down a kamikaze plane near Okinawa. The first Navy warship named USS Pierre was a PC-461-class submarine chaser, PC-1141, commissioned in 1943, renamed in 1946, and decommissioned in 1958.
The Pierre will transit to its new homeport in San Diego following commissioning.
LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused warship designed to operate in near-shore environments to counter 21st-century threats. It is a class of small surface combatants armed with capabilities to defeat challenges in the world’s littorals. LCS can operate independently or in high-threat scenarios as part of a networked battle force that includes larger, multi-mission surface combatants such as cruisers and destroyers supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence in key operational theaters.
The mission of Commander, Naval Surface Force, Pacific Fleet is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.
Courtesy Story
Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet