Commissioned in 2003, the Gridley honors Captain Charles Vernon Gridley, commander of USS Olympia at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898—to whom Admiral Dewey gave his famous order: 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.' Though Gridley died on the voyage home from Manila Bay, his place in naval history was sealed by that iconic moment and the devastating American victory that followed it. The Gridley serves the Pacific Fleet.