USS Mount Whitney ( LCC - 20 ) The USS " Mount Whitney " ( LCC / JCC 20 ) is a " Blue Ridge " class command ship of the US Navy ; it is the flagship of the Sixth Fleet . She is also the command and control ship for the Commander Joint Command Lisbon and the Commander Striking Force NATO . She had previously served for years as the COMSTRIKFLTLANT ( NATO Designation ) / Second Fleet ' s command ship . She was classified as the LCC - 20 on 1 January 1969 , and she was laid down on 8 January by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company , Newport News , Virginia . Etymology . The ship is named for Mount Whitney , a peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California . Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14 , 505 feet ( 4 , 421 m ) . Capability . Alleged to be the most sophisticated Command , Control , Communications , Computer , and Intelligence ( C4I ) ship ever commissioned , " Mount Whitney " incorporates various elements of the most advanced C4I equipment and gives the embarked Joint Task Force Commander the capability to effectively command all units under his or her command . The " Mount Whitney " can transmit and receive large amounts of secure data to and from any point on earth through HF , UHF , VHF , and SHF ( satellite communications ) communications channels . This electronic technology enables the Joint Intelligence Center and Joint Operations Center to provide the most timely intelligence and operational support available in the Navy . Deployments . From 1981 to 2005 , " Mount Whitney " served as Flagship for Commander Second Fleet / Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic . In this role she spent much of her time berthed at Norfolk rather than underway , earning her the nicknames " Building 20 " and " Pier 11½ " . The " Mount Whitney " deployed in 1994 to Haiti with LTG Hugh Shelton , the commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps , in command of the Joint Task Force that conducted Operation Uphold Democracy . On 12 November 2002 , " Mount Whitney " deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . She was acting as the initial command post for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa . During the deployment , the ship embarked elements of the 2nd Marine Division and II Marine Expeditionary Force ( II MEF ) , based at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina , under the command of Maj . Gen . John F . Sattler and Captain Morton W . Kenyon . In 2004 , Military Sealift Command civilian sailors were integrated into her crew . She remains a commissioned warship in the United States Navy , but the size of her crew was reduced from about 600 sailors to about 170 Navy officers and enlisted men and 155 civilians . In February 2005 , " Mount Whitney " left Norfolk for Gaeta , Italy where she was redesignated as the ( LCC / JCC 20 ) and assumed duties as the 6th Fleet flagship , officially relieving " La Salle " . She also assumed duties as the command ship for the Commander Joint Command Lisbon and the Commander Striking Force NATO . In August 2008 , " Mount Whitney " was deployed to the Black Sea in support of Operation Assured Delivery to deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the Russian - Georgian war and became the first NATO ship to deliver aid to port of Poti , Georgia . On 6 November 2008 , " Mount Whitney " was unable to enter the port at Sevastopol . City authorities and representatives of the Ukrainian Navy refused to comment on the event . Individuals working for the city administration reported that the failure was due to issues with the " Mount Whitney " ' s border crossing documents - others suggested anti - NATO protests were the cause . From 19 March 2011 , " Mount Whitney " served in the Mediterranean as the main command vessel for the enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 against Libya , flagship for Admiral Samuel J . Locklear , who had tactical command of the Operation Odyssey Dawn joint taskforce . Command was expected to be transferred to a coalition commander in time though confusion within the coalition was evidenced in early days . The vessel was serving as a command - and - control vessel for the United States ' involvement in the coalition campaign aimed to enforce a Libya no - fly zone and to stop Muammar Gaddafi ' s forces from destroying the rebel stronghold of Benghazi . In February 2013 , " Mount Whitney " transferred to the San Giorgio del Porto Shipyard in Genoa , Italy for a major 60 - day overhaul and repair project . The ship returned to active duty in April 2013 , at the end of the maintenance window .