More than 3,000 guests attended the commissioning ceremony for USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19).

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (Dec. 15, 2007) More than 3,000 guests attended the commissioning ceremony for USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19). Mesa Verde is the third amphibious transport dock of the San Antonio class and will support the Marine Corps mobility triad, which consists of the landing craft air cushion, advanced amphibious assault vehicles and the MV-22A Osprey tilt rotor aircraft. The ship also provides improved war fighting capabilities including an advanced command-and-control suite, increased lift-capacity in vehicle and cargo-carrying capability and advanced ship-survivability features. The ship is named after Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, a significant archaeological and anthropological site that in 1906 Congress established as the first cultural park in the National Park Systems. U.S. Navy photo by Heather Vann File# 071215-N-6386V-001