The commander of a Navy warship named after Maine’s capitol city this week took two-day tour of three Maine cities.

Cmdr. Joseph Trager, who oversees the USS Augusta, a littoral combat ship (LCS), visited the ship’s namesake city on Thursday to celebrate the Navy’s 250th anniversary. Wednesday morning, the Trager visited Bath and went to Portland in the afternoon.

Littoral combat ships are smaller than destroyers and frigates, designed to operate close to shore and navigate shallow rivers. The Augusta is stationed in San Diego, California.

The community outreach visit was meant to strengthen the Navy’s bonds with the city, according to a Navy news release. Some planned stops for the ship’s commander included the State House, Lithgow Public Library, historic Fort Western and the Augusta City Council meeting in the evening. Trager met with Mainers, including Augusta Mayor Mark O’Brien, ship sponsor President and Dean of Maine Law Leigh Saufley, nonprofit organizations, and Augusta school district educators and students.

The USS Augusta is an Independence-variant littoral combat ship commissioned in Eastport on Sept. 30, 2024. It is the 17th such ship in the U.S. Navy and the second named for Maine’s capitol city. The first vessel serving in the Navy named after Augusta was a Los Angeles-class, nuclear-powered submarine.

Trager has served worldwide to support counterterrorism and counterpiracy operations. In 2006, after graduating with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University, he completed his first division officer tour as the auxiliary officer aboard the USS Pinckney (DDG 91) in San Diego.

He completed several patrols in the South and East China Seas, the Sea of Japan, and the Philippine Sea. Trager recently served as an executive officer on the USS Antietam (CG 54) and as the fire director for the U.S. 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan. He assumed command of the USS Augusta on Oct. 25, 2024.