Congratulations on your orders to USS ARLINGTON (LPD 24)! We are home ported in Norfolk, Virginia. We have a great crew and a humble culture that is dedicated to the team meeting the mission, all hands improving the command, and leadership helping you attain your professional and personal goals. Our mission is to transport and deploy combat elements of the Marine Expeditionary force. We routinely deploy in support of maritime security operations around the world. We also commonly support foreign humanitarian assistance and support to civilian authorities.
Every one onboard ARLINGTON is first and foremost a warrior: dedicated to our team and teammates who seek to ensure mission accomplishment by being technically and tactically competent. By maintaining our equipment in a proactive and professional way, and by taking care of each other, the team stays strong and builds morale higher than any other ship on the waterfront. My priority is getting our warship and our warriors ready to win.
Your sponsor will provide contact information to you directly so that you may prepare to join us either at sea or in port. We expect and enforce Navy standards on this ship, so be prepared for that using what you've been taught in the schools and experience leading to your assignment here. If you are having problems contacting your sponsor, or if you don't know who your sponsor is, email us here: cmc@lpd24.navy.mil.
Families are very important to me as your Captain. Without my family, I wouldn't be able to continue to serve as I have for over twenty years. I know what a challenge sea service is for families, whether they are small or large extended families that many lean on for support today. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the resources available for families. We have an incredible Ombudsmen team available via a Facebook group as well as email-Please reach out and connect!
You’ll find that we value respect, honoring commitments, and knowing the plan. I challenge you to learn quickly, work hard, and always strive to be your best. Living up to our legacy on ARLINGTON is a choice we choose to make every day. We earn each others' and the American people’s trust every moment of every day — we must be worthy of it and live with integrity. Life on ARLINGTON can be demanding, both on our families and our Sailors and Marines. But when you step back and look at the big picture: How blessed we are to live in this nation, how blessed we are to be capable of serving in ARLINGTON, and how blessed we are to be serving together with THIS TEAM and THIS FAMILY — all of what comes our way is, not only worth it, but is one of the highest callings in life.