‘A real privilege’: Capt. Mary Katey Hays leads crew of future USS Ted Stevens

WHITTIER, Alaska (KTUU) - The future USS Ted Stevens hasn’t officially joined the fleet yet, but its crew is already learning to work as one team under the leadership of its first commanding officer.

Capt. Mary Katey Hays, a Florida native with 27 1/2 years in the Navy, said she is excited to be in Alaska as captain of the ship.

“My job is the captain of the ship. I’m overall responsible for everyone and everything on the ship,” Hays said. “I can’t do it all by myself. I have to have every single sailor. We all have to work together to get the ship underway and put out to sea and do every single one of our missions.”

Hays received her commission in 1999 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in history.

She said traveling the world is one of the most rewarding parts of her Navy career. Sailing through the Panama Canal aboard Ted Stevens completed her circumnavigation of the globe.

“When we went through the Panama Canal, I finished like my circumnavigation in the world, which is one of the coolest things,” Hays said. “Like the Navy’s given me a lot and travel is one of those things.”

As commanding officer, Hays leads alongside Executive Officer Cmdr. Stephen Roman and Command Master Chief Eugene J. Lee, with a crew of about 340 sailors.

Much of her time aboard is spent on the bridge — the only space on the ship with windows.

“I come up here pretty often. It’s the only space on the ship that has windows. So there’s always something really neat to look at,” Hays said. “And the sailors up here are pretty young.”

She said she remembers receiving mentorship from her captain when she was a young officer — learning about weather, seas, navigation and ship handling — and now works to provide the same guidance to her junior officers.

“And I like to provide that to my officers. And so I’m up here a fair amount watching your crew members learn their jobs and grow in their jobs and have increasingly more responsibility,” Hays said.

That growth, she said, is one of the best parts of the job — watching sailors who started as strangers become a crew capable of launching small boats, firing weapons systems and getting the ship underway.

“It’s really neat to watch everybody learn and grow,” Hays said.

Pride in the ship is visible throughout, from the state of Alaska flag flown aboard to job-specific insignia painted on equipment. Hays pointed to the gunner’s mates’ crossed-cannon symbol painted on their weapons system as an example of ownership.

“I have a great support team of not just my executive officer and command master chief, but 340 sailors all working as a team together,” Hays said. “And so although there is a lot of preparation required, it’s been a wonderful job and a real privilege to lead this team.”

The future USS Ted Stevens, designated DDG 128, is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer named for the late U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.

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