December 18, 2008 The keel authentication ceremony for the Arlington (LPD 24), the Navy's eighth amphibious transport dock ship, was held at Northrop's shipyard in Pascagoula. She was named for Arlington County, Va., where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing nearly 200 people. USS Arlington is one of three ships being built to honor the heroes and victims of Sept. 11.

November 23, 2010 PCU Arlington was launched at the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. LPD 24 is currently 77 percent complete and includes upgrades from previous LPDs including a new water purification system and a new operating system for the ship's computing environment.

March 26, 2011 The Pre-Commissioning Unit Arlington was christened during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, served as sponsor of the ship. Cmdr. Darren W. Nelson is the prospective commanding officer.