Local student selected to be flower girl for christening ceremony of USNS Earl Warren T-AO 3

Danika Balden, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and 6th grader at Solana Pacific Elementary School in Carmel Valley, was selected earlier this year to be the flower girl for the christening ceremony of the USNS Earl Warren T-AO 3. The ship is the U.S. Navy’s newest 746-foot oiler named after the late Supreme Court Chief Justice. The T-AO ships are under construction at the NASSCO shipyard in Barrio Logan. Danika had the opportunity to meet current Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and presented ceremonial flowers to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who christened the ship by breaking a champagne bottle on its hull.

Danika Balden (right) and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in front of T-AO 3.

(Photo by Kurt Otto, GD NASSCO Creative Multimedia Specialist)