The Navy commissioned its latest littoral combat ship during a Jan. 16 ceremony in Mobile, Ala. The new USS Independence is the sixth Navy vessel to bear that name, and becomes the second LCS to join the fleet. The LCS platform is designed to move swiftly through as little as 20 feet of water, with speeds exceeding 40 knots. It can be rapidly configured at pierside to perform a number of antisubmarine, anti-mine, and other surface warfare operations. Independence will be homeported at San Diego Naval Station, Calif.