Jacksonville Gets New Navy Ships

  Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus recently announced that three new ships will be arriving soon at Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville Florida.      
  The first of the three ships that will constitute an Amphibious Ready Group, or ARG, will be the USS New York and she will arrive in Mayport next year. The USS Iwo Jima and the USS Fort McHenry will follow in 2014. The move will bring about 2,000 sailors and their families to the First Coast. Additionally these ships will require around $75 million a year in maintenance and repair work, good news for the Jacksonville economy.       
  Secretary Mabus also announced Mayport will see the arrival of eight new littoral combat ships by the end of 2019. The decision to homeport these ships at Mayport signals the US Navy's commitment to maintaining a strong presence in north east Florida, and helps cement Jacksonville's reputation as a true "Navy Town."