His voyage from a Blackstone Valley riverboat to a 25,000-ton warship in the Pacific Fleet

Mark Reynolds, Providence Journal
·3 min read

CUMBERLAND − It started with a boating license and some teenage fun along the Blackstone River.

Before long, Ryan Billington, of Cumberland, was a crew member aboard the Blackstone Valley Explorer riverboat and after that, he was bound for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

At one point in 2000, he helmed Renaissance, a European-style ferry boat, taking sightseers to marvel at seals on Narragansett Bay.

The boats – and the responsibilities – have gotten bigger since then. Much bigger.

Billington is a U.S. Navy captain now, and last month in San Diego the 46-year-old took command of a 684-foot, 25,000-ton warship that supports amphibious assaults, the USS John P. Murtha. The Murtha can deliver a landing force of almost 700 Marines, according to the Navy.

The USS John P. Murtha, a 684-foot warship, is under the command of Capt. Ryan Billington, Cumberland native and son of Robert Billington, longtime president of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.
The USS John P. Murtha, a 684-foot warship, is under the command of Capt. Ryan Billington, Cumberland native and son of Robert Billington, longtime president of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.

The surface fleet

Billington rose through the Navy ranks as the Murtha's construction was planned in the 2000s and the ship was acquired by the Navy in 2016. Early on, aboard the USS Mount Vernon, he served as main propulsion division officer and electrical officer.

Later, in 2017, Billington became the commanding officer of a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Howard.

In 2017, then U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ryan Billington took command of the USS Howard, a guided-missile destroyer.
In 2017, then U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ryan Billington took command of the USS Howard, a guided-missile destroyer.

The change of command ceremony that put him at the helm of the Murtha took place on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego on Jan. 12.

Billington said he was looking forward to future successes with the ship's crew, as well as the challenges they will face and overcome together, according to a news release. He said he was "proud and very humbled" to be part of such a team.

“This ship and her crew have an impressive résumé of operational accomplishments," he said.

U.S. Navy Capt. Ryan Billington assumed command of the USS John P. Murtha in January. The 684-foot amphibious assault warship can carry a landing force of nearly 700 U.S. Marines into battle.
U.S. Navy Capt. Ryan Billington assumed command of the USS John P. Murtha in January. The 684-foot amphibious assault warship can carry a landing force of nearly 700 U.S. Marines into battle.

Part of an 'Amphibious Ready Group'

In the recent past, the Murtha has operated in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, showing an ability to rapidly deploy special operations forces in High North arctic territories. It has completed tests in preparation for NASA's Artemis II moon mission and the recovery of the capsule and crew.

The Murtha has also been a major component of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group.

For that, the Murtha has often accompanied another San Antonio-class warship, the USS Anchorage, as well as a larger Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, the USS Makin Island.

Flight decks and well decks

On a seven-month tour last year, the group of 4,500 sailors and Marines traveled more than 54,000 miles on the Indian and Pacific oceans, according to the Navy.

The ready group encompassed the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The air and ground task force has about 2,200 personnel.

The group's Marine aviation elements for the tour included "The Flying Leathernecks," a full squadron of F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and a squadron of MV-22B Ospreys, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

The Navy describes such ready groups as "the nation's premier crisis response force" capable of performing military, humanitarian and diplomatic operations in international waters around the world.

The Murtha and the Anchorage are amphibious transport dock ships. They have interior "well decks" where they can launch outbound landing craft, including hovercraft, laden with gear, troops and military vehicles like the Bradley fighting vehicle.

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They also feature flight decks for helicopters and tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, which are built by Bell, a subsidiary of Providence-based Textron Inc. The warships have served as the secondary aviation platform for ready groups, the Navy said.

As of last month, the Murtha was docked in San Diego, where its key systems were due for refurbishment, the Navy said.

The career of the warship's commanding officer has taken him a long way from the Blackstone River.

Through it all, Billington's father, Robert Billington, the longtime president of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, has stayed close to the local river that has richly influenced history.

"That really was the beginning of his interest in the water," the captain's father recalled last week.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI native takes command of US Navy warship, USS John P. Murtha