San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) pulled out of Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego, Feb. 19, after hosting over 2,400 locals and foreign nationals for tours of the ship.

"We were honored to host 2,400 civilians on our ship this week," said Capt. J.J. Cummings, commanding officer of Anchorage. "The Broadway Pier event was a fantastic opportunity for the general public to get an inside look at a brand new warship and, more importantly, meet some of the finest young men and women our nation has to offer; our Sailors and Marines."

Anchorage was tugged from its pier on Naval Base San Diego to Broadway Pier, Feb. 17, sharing the downtown spotlight with decommissioned aircraft carrier museum ship USS Midway (CV 41).

After manning the rails and mooring, Anchorage opened up to the public, Feb. 17 and 18, showcasing how an amphibious transport dock ship looks and operates.

"You will always meet interesting people when you open up a warship to the public," said Lt. j.g. Zachary Dryden, Anchorage's community outreach coordinator for the visit. "Some will be veterans [who] love to tell you how it was when they were in, or civilian military buffs [who]sometimes ask off-the-wall questions. But those are usually the best people because you can tell they are genuinely interested in the ship and the jobs that the Sailors are doing on board."

Sailors and Marines assigned to Anchorage served as tour guides, showing the tour groups everything from the well deck to the bridge.

"I had a lot of fun telling people about the ship," said Personnel Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Bannon. "Everybody was so courteous and thankful for what we do out here, and I met a lot of great people. I'm glad we had a great turnout of people that wanted to visit Anchorage and I know the Sailors genuinely enjoyed showing off where they work and lived for the past deployment."

Anchorage, homeported in San Diego, is the 7th ship in its class and was commissioned in her namesake city May 4, 2013. Anchorage is part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, and is in port in San Diego awaiting a continuous maintenance availability (CMAV) to receive upgrades and repairs.

For more news from Expeditionary Strike Group 3, visit http://www.navy.mil/.