In what is becoming an annual open house event at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, the USS Gridley welcomes public visitors this weekend. Gregg Smith, Public Information Officer for the base told www.OC180NEWS.com “What we’ve been trying to do over the last few years is have one ship per year that is available to come up and open its doors to the public.”
“We make that request and the fleet looks at its schedule and sees how best to meet that request. In some years, we haven’t been able to get a ship, but this year it was the Gridley,” continued Smith. There will not be another chance “for a year at a minimum because we’re not going to have any more of these than once a year. It all depends on what’s happening in the world and what the fleet’s scheduling is like.”
The guided missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) will be open for weekend public visitation, with Saturday tours given from 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m., and Sunday tours provided from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. Hands-on displays of other Navy and Marine Corps equipment will also be available, including Marine Corps and SEAL vehicles, as well as high-tech motion ride chair simulators with vision goggles. Music will be provided by members of Navy Band Southwest.
“This has been a pretty popular event over the last few years, and the lines can get quite long so we wanted to make sure there were lots of other things happening on our wharf, besides just the ship, to keep people entertained and interested as they are waiting in line,” commented Smith.
Based on prior years, about 10,000 visitors are expected. “We will have a large number of Navy and Marine Corps security personnel available to handle the expected crowds, and are partnering with local law enforcement too. The wait depends on a number of factors, and can be as long as a couple of hours,” said Smith. “Generally speaking the earlier people arrive the better. All parking will be on-base, although local residents can walk in as well.”
In these days of modern warfare, navy ships are not bristling with guns or missiles as in days gone by. That, of course, doesn’t mean they are not armed and dangerous. “I think the interesting thing about these ships is something that you can only see by actually being on the deck, and that is their missile launching systems. Now, the missile launchers are embedded inside the deck of the ship and the only way you can have a look at them is by walking on the deck,” said Smith. “Before, if you saw a ship steaming by, you would see that sort of thing.”
The tour is free of charge and no reservations are required. Cameras are permitted, and walking shoes are highly recommended. No backpacks or handbags will be allowed onboard the ship, and the vessel is not accessible to the handicapped. Public entry will only be available via the station’s Wharf Gate, located on Seal Beach Boulevard, 200 yards south of the Pacific Coast Highway intersection. No access will be available from the station's Main Gate.
The Gridley was commissioned in February 2007. She most recently returned from an overseas deployment to Asia and the Middle East in October 2009. She was part of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group. It was her second deployment.
“Every year, we try to give something back to the community because the community has been incredibly supportive of the base and of our mission here,” said Smith. “We’ve been very lucky in the last couple of years, and hope to continue to be lucky in the future and make this an annual event, but there are no guarantees, it all depends on what is happening in the world.”
