Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is leading an effort by Members of Congress to request that the Secretary of the Navy name commissioned U.S. Navy vessels after U.S. Territories and military heroes from the territories.

The letter, authored by Congresswoman Uifa’atali, was joined by all Members of Congress from the territories: Congressman Michael San Nicolas of Guam, Congressman Gregorio Kilili Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands, Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, and Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Hawai’i House delegation also joined the letter in support: Congressman Ed Case (1^st District) and Congressman Kaiali’i Kahele (2^nd District).

A Navy ship is usually named after important places, people, and events in U.S. and Naval history. For example, a Navy ship that honors a President or a naval battle would be named USS Ronald Reagan or USS Bunker Hill. While there have been US Navy ships named for some of the territories, including a USS Tutuila, many of those ships have been decommissioned and the Navy does not currently have ships named for any of the territories except for Puerto Rico. 

The letter included two requests. First, it asked the Secretary of the Navy to name new Navy ships for the U.S. Territories. As a secondary request, the letter also asked the Secretary to name ships after Sailors and Marines from the territories who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award for gallantry and heroism possible.

In their letter, the Members point out that, since the Navy was still in the process of ‘formulating its rule for the naming of several classes of ships, there has never been a more opportune or appropriate moment for the Navy to recognize and celebrate the territories of the United States.’ The Members also pointed out that ‘forty-eight states and the District of Columbia are namesakes to active commissioned ships or ships under construction’ while only one territory has an active ship named for it.

Addressing this imbalance in Naval ship naming policy, Amata wrote, “If the purpose of ship names is to honor important people, places, and events in American history, then the continued omission of the US territories does a gross disservice to the American people and minimizes the contributions of the Territories to the United States.”

The Navy is currently in the process of deciding what to name dozens of new ships that will be delivered over the next few decades. Two classes of ships that were mentioned by the Members were the Columbia-class and the Constellation-class. The Columbia-class is the Navy’s new ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) and is named after the District of Columbia. The Constellation-class is a new class of frigates (FFG-62) for the Navy. Most of the ships in these classes have not been named.

In closing, the Members talked about how they are ‘well accustomed to being asked to explain where we are from or to prove our connection to the United States’ and that ‘it does not need to be this way’ with US Navy ships. They argued that naming US Navy ships after US territories would spur more Americans to learn about the territories, and that ‘such education and recognition would only help American policymaking.’

The Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, has the legal authority to name new Navy ships. Naval tradition and subsequent laws have enforced his power to name ships, which is why the Members wrote to him.

“I am so thankful to my dear friends and colleagues from the territories for coming together on this important issue,” Amata said. “We all represent places that have big veteran populations, higher than all the states in some cases. The fact of the matter is that most of the veterans that have served, especially those from American Samoa, have not served in a Navy that has a ship that bears the name of their home. Together, we are trying to correct that, and I thank Reps. Case and Kahele for joining the territories in our efforts.”

“I hope that Secretary Del Toro agrees with us and moves quickly to honor and recognize the territories and the servicemembers who made heroic sacrifices for the United States. It is my fervent aspiration that, in the coming years, the people of American Samoa and our Samoan Sailors will be able to take pride in a Navy ship that bears our home’s name.”