The 500’ Navy Destroyer USS Gridley will visit Santa Barbara from Monday evening, September 21st through early Friday morning, September 25th. Based in San Diego, California, the Gridley visit this week allows sailors shore leave as well as providing them opportunities to give back to the community through service projects such as a beach cleanup and time spent reading with local elementary students. There will be no public tours of the ship.
The USS Gridley was commissioned on February 10, 2007. She is named after Captain Charles Gridley, who commanded Admiral George Dewey’s flagship USS Olympia during the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. Its motto, Ignis Ubi Paratus, means “Fire when ready.”
The Gridley’s visit to Santa Barbara is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Navy League, in junction with the City of Santa Barbara’s Waterfront Department.