USS Cooperstown Mast-Stepping Ceremony

Mast Stepping is a ceremonial event where the ship’s mast is raised and set into position. At the same time, mementos are placed into the base of the ship’s mast as a symbolic moment meant to lay the foundational character of the ship and promote good luck. Many historians believe Mast Stepping dates back to ancient Roman times, where coins were often placed under the ship’s mast as tribute to Charon, the mythical ferryman who would transport the souls of the crew across the river Styx to the afterlife.

Announced in 2015 by United States Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the Navy’s 23rd Littoral Combat Ship was named the USS Cooperstown to honor the military veterans who are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Seventy Hall of Fame veterans interrupted their careers for service in the United States Military. Their memories are preserved forever at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., with medallions indicating their service branch adjacent to each of their Hall of Fame plaques.

The Hall of Fame has been asked, and intends, to maintain a strong relationship with not only the ship, but also the officers and sailors assigned to the USS Cooperstown. Information and photos highlighting many of the Hall of Famers who served proudly in the U.S. Navy will adorn the crew areas of the USS Cooperstown.

As an LCS, the USS Cooperstown is designed for operation in near-shore environments, but is also capable of open-ocean operation.

It is engineered to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats, such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.

The Freedom variant ships feature a steel monohull design and are designed and built by a Lockheed Martin-led team.

The ship is capable of traveling at speeds upwards of 40 knots and its modular design will incorporate mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region.

These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea and surface warfare missions.

Secretary Mabus first announced this honor during the Awards Presentation at Doubleday Field on July 25, 2015.

Hall of Fame members who have defended America during times of war:

The American Civil War
Morgan Bulkeley - U.S. Army