NAVY WIRE SERVICE (NWS) - 25 January 1999 - NWS25jan-8. Navy christens guided missile destroyer Roosevelt by Navy Office of Information WASHINGTON (NWS) -- Guided missile destroyer Roosevelt (DDG 80) was christened Jan. 23 during a ceremony at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The ship honors the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). Roosevelt served as the 12th Assistant Secretary of the Navy for seven years before being elected to the first of four terms as President in 1932. He guided the nation out of the Great Depression and through World War II. The First Lady was known as a tireless worker for social causes, serving twice as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations. She chaired the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and was entirely responsible for drafting the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. One previous U.S. Navy ship, named in the President's honor -- USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV 42), served from 1945 to 1977, earning a star for her participation in the Vietnam conflict. Adm. J. Paul Reason, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was the ceremony's principal speaker. Mrs. Nancy Roosevelt Ireland, granddaughter of the ship's namesake, served as the ship's sponsor and, in the time-honored Navy tradition, broke the bottle of champagne across the bow to formally name the ship. Roosevelt is the 30th of 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers currently authorized by Congress. These multi- missioned ships are equipped with the Navy's modern Aegis combat weapons systems, which combines space-age communication, radar and weapons technologies in a single platform for unlimited flexibility while operating "Forward ... From the Sea." The destroyer carries Tomahawk Cruise missiles, as well as Standard missiles to intercept hostile aircraft and missiles at extended ranges. Both Tomahawk and Standard missiles are launched from forward and aft Vertical Launching Systems (VLS). Roosevelt is equipped with the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) and Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles, which have a range in excess of 65 nautical miles and are fired from stand alone launchers. Following the ship's commissioning in the year 2000, it will be homeported in Mayport, Fla., with a crew of 340 officers, chiefs and enlisted personnel. -USN-