The flagship of the United States Sixth Fleet, the USS Mount Whitney arrived in Malta last night. The ship is named after Mount Whitney, the 14,946-foot peak in the Sierra-Nevada range in California, which is also the highest point in the lower continental United States. It is the first ship in the US Navy to bear this name. USS Mount Whitney has a complement of 157 sailors and 143 civilian mariners from the Military Sealift Command, all under the command of the Commanding Officer Captain Joseph W. Kuzmick. The vessel was the first US Navy combatant to permanently accommodate women on board. Photo Ben Borg Cardona