The mission of USS Constitution in the present day is to provide an understanding of the US Navy’s role in war and peace by actively participating in outreach programs through public events, education, public access, and historic demonstration. She maintains a crew of 60 active duty US Navy personnel officers and sailors, and is open year-round to the public for free tours. The role that USS Constitution plays in special duty makes her the oldest commissioned vessel that is still afloat in not only the United States, but in the world.
USS Constitution’s maintenance is provided for by the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment in Boston, where she is repair and restored regularly to keep her as close to her original 1812 standards. Sitting at Pier 1 of what used to be Charlestown Navy Yard, USS Constitution is open all year for public visits. There is even a privately run USS Constitution Museum located in a restored shipyard building at Pier 2. USS Constitution still makes it out to sea about once a year for a “turnaround cruise” in which she is towed into Boston Harbor to perform gun drills and other demonstrations before she is returned to her dock in the opposite direction to maintain a proper weathering of her structure. The turnaround cruise is a public event that selects its viewers on a lottery draw. In 2003, modern technology was used to scan USS Constitution into a computer model for the fictional French ship Acheron by a special effects crew from Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. In order to do so, this special effects crew needed to spend several days with USS Constitution to create digital image scans of her.
in 2007, commanding officer Thomas C. Graves was let go for charges of abusing his subordinates, which was handled privately at a U.S. Navy hearing on October 26. That same month, USS Constitution began another period of repairs that are scheduled to go on until September 2010. The repairs will strip the entire spar deck, and restore the Douglas fir decking to its original white oak and yellow pine. Furthermore, her deck will be restored to her original curvature to allow water to drain properly. This maintenance allows USS Constitution to remain open to the public, but its turnaround cruise has been postponed until restoration is complete. Lieutenant Commander John Scivier of the Royal Navy, commanding officer of HMS Victory, discussed during his visit to USS Constitution the possibility of an exchange program between the two legendary ships.
On October 2009, USS Constitution celebrated the anniversary of her launch in 1797 by performing her first underway demonstration in over ten years, in which she shot port and starboard batteries to commemorate the 16 states present during her introduction, and one more shot to honor herself. USS Constitution has had more than 70 commanding officers during its duty in the U.S. Navy. The current commanding officer, Commander Timothy Cooper, is the 71st commanding officer of USS Constitution.
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