190302-N-BR740-1011 CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (March 2, 2019) Audience members assemble for the commissioning ceremony of the Navy's newest littoral combat ship, USS Charleston (LCS 18). LCS 18 is the sixteenth littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the ninth of the Independence variant. It is the sixth ship named for Charleston, the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. (U.S. Navy photo by Samantha Crane/Released)