WELCOME
The TED STEVENS (DDG-128) Commissioning ceremony is set for October 3, 2026 in Whittier, AK
Countdown to
Commissioning Ceremony
Whittier, Alaska
Request TicketsOctober 3, 2026 · 12:00 PM Alaska Time
Commissioning Week
Events
USS Ted Stevens DDG 128
Tour the Ship
Tour the newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, in Whittier.
- Sep28Mon
- Sep30Wed
- Oct1Thu
1:30 – 5:00 PM each day. Last tour 4:30 PM.
Tours are limited. For groups over 20, email joinus@usstedstevens.org
Meet the Sailors Party
West end of the Park Strip, between 9th and 10th Avenue
PCU USS Ted Stevens DDG 128
Commissioning Day Events
You must have a ticket to attend
- Date
- Saturday, October 3, 2026
- Time
- 12:00 PM
- Location
- Whittier Cruise Terminal 100 W Camp Rd, Whittier, AK
The Alaska Railroad is full. Motorcoach is the only remaining transportation to Whittier. There is no separate booking: you confirm your transportation on the ticket request form under Transportation and Parking.
Getting There
You must travel by motorcoach or Alaska Railroad✱. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel will be closed to private cars due to security measures.
Premier Alaska Tours will take all Alaska Railroad guests to the AKRR terminal, and motorcoach guests to Whittier.
Check-In
All guests will check in and register at the Dena'ina Center at designated times of arrival. Enter via the East Door and follow signage to check-in before boarding the buses to your destination.
Buses depart the Dena'ina Center for the 1.5 hour ride to the ceremony site. First bus 8:00 AM, last bus 9:30 AM.
Guests return by the same mode of transportation they arrived by.
Security Screening
Top security and screening will be in effect. All guests will be screened in Whittier at the terminal. Please travel lightly and prepare as if you are going through TSA at the airport. No guns, knives, flammables, or similar items.
Small or clear stadium bags are preferable due to the large number of people being screened. Please do your best to avoid delays at the security checkpoints.
Parking
Parking is free at the following designated downtown lots, thanks to a generous partnership with EasyPark.
- 6th Avenue EasyPark Garage 700 West 6th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501
- 7th Avenue EasyPark Garage 650 G Street, Anchorage, AK 99501
Questions? Email joinus@usstedstevens.org and someone will get back to you within 24 hours.
OUR MISSION
The USS Ted Stevens Commissioning Committee’s mission is to serve the crew and honor the service of US Senator Ted Stevens in the Navy traditions of the ship’s Keel Laying, Christening, and Commissioning.
"Most Powerful Warship in the World"
About the Ship
The USS Ted Stevens will be the third ship of the Flight III series. The Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer centered around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for Admiral Arleigh Burke, an American destroyer officer in World War II and later Chief of Naval Operations. With an overall length of 505 to 509.5 feet (153.9 to 155.3 m), displacement ranging from 8,300 to 9,700 tons, and weaponry including over 90 missiles, the Arleigh Burke- class destroyers are larger and more heavily armed than many previous classes of guided-missile cruisers…
U.S. Senator Stevens
U.S.Senator Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr., born on November 18, 1923 and died August 9, 2010, was an Alaskan. He served in American Politics and as a lawyer in the U.S. Congress from 1968 to 2009, the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left office.
He gave six decades of grit and effort towards bettering Alaska and the American public sector, beginning as a pilot in World War II. In 1952, his law career took Stevens to Fairbanks, AK where he was appointed the U.S. Attorney the following year by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1956, he returned to Washington, D.C., to work in the Eisenhower Interior Department, eventually rising to be Senior Counsel and Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, where he played an important role as an executive official in bringing about and lobbying for statehood. To learn more about the Senator and his legacy, please visit the Ted Stevens Foundation.
