The future USNS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) held a keel laying ceremony Jan. 30, at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, San Diego. A keel laying is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is the joining together of a ship's modular components and the authentication or etching of the ship sponsors initials into a ceremonial plate. "A keel laying is the first major milestone in the construction of a new ship," said Capt. Scot Searles, Strategic Sealift and Theater Read More