US Navy to name destroyer for Jewish senator from Michigan

Carl Levin was key in shepherding through funding for military during his last eight years in Senate

By JTA 13 April 2016, 10:16 pm

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Former senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., left, greets Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as he appears before the committee for a hearing to consider his reappointment to the military's highest post, on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

The US Navy is set to name a destroyer for Carl Levin, the dean of Jewish senators prior to his retirement and once the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“It is a great honor to name this ship in recognition of such a dedicated public servant,” Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, said Monday in a statement.

The next Arleigh Burke class destroyer, DDG 120, will be named Carl M. Levin. According to the release, the destroyer is “capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously.”

Levin, of Michigan, who retired following the 2014 elections after serving 36 years, was key in shepherding through funding for the military during his last eight years in the Senate, when he served as chairman of the committee.

In the statement, Levin said he and his family were “deeply moved by this singular honor.”