USS Gabrielle Giffords military ship commissioned in her honor

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Saturday, June 10, 2017
USS Gabrielle Giffords military ship commissioned in her honor
The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords military ship was commissioned this weekend in Texas.

GALVESTON, Texas -- The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords military ship was commissioned this weekend in Texas.

Navy officials held a ceremony Saturday in Galveston to commission the warship named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who was shot in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, but survived the assassination attempt.

The $475 million ship was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, and arrived in Galveston last weekend.

Giffords helped christen the ship in 2015. It's the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters.

Giffords' husband is retired astronaut Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain stationed in Galveston County during his NASA service.

San Diego will be its home port.

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