SAN DIEGO (October 25, 2024) – The 41st Surface Line Week (SLW) Pacific 2024 came to an end with an award ceremony where USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) was announced as the overall winner, Oct. 25.
The week-long competition highlighted the professional and athletic skills of members of the Surface Warfare community in San Diego while enhancing camaraderie and team building.
“It’s a huge win for the team,” said Capt. Andrew Bucher, DDG 125’s commanding officer. “We’ve done a lot this year, and this was a great opportunity to come together as shipmates and friends.”
As part of the honor, DDG 125 can proudly display the 2024 SLW banner on the ships brow until the 2025 winner is selected.
“Our Navy needs an esprit-de-corps to win and that starts on the deckplates and the athletic fields,” said Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. “We never fight alone. Incredible acts of courage require incredible teams, whether on the soccer field or beyond the horizon. Steel and brass are great, but without combat ready crews to man the ships rails and bring her to life, everything is superfluous. In war and peace, strong teams are what our nation, and what our Navy needs.”
HMAS Brisbane (DDG 41) from the Royal Australian Navy won the 2024 SLW spirit award for small unit commands.
“We were really excited to get the invitation to participate this year,” said Cmdr. Bernard Dobson, DDG 41’s commanding officer. “We threw everything we had at it and it really solidified the interchangeability mission that we have between the Australian Navy and the U.S. Navy, [Surface line week] was like the cream on the cake.”
The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.
For more information from CNSP, visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/.