The Badger, a small sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, was the namesake for the original USS Badger (1898).

Four other ships bore the namesake Badger representing four members of the Badger family who served our country honorably. The first three ships bore the namesake specifically representing individual Badger family members, however, unlike those ships Badger 1071 (the fourth ship) has the unique distinction of bearing the Badger namesake to collectively represent all four of these distinguished family members (listed below).

Badger 1071's ship crest was done in the traditional blue and gold of the Navy honoring the men and ships of the same name who had gone before.

The ship crest bares three crossed swords and a quill pen. The three swords represent the three admirals named Badger and the quill pen represents the Secretary of the Navy named Badger.

The numeral IV was to indicate that Badger 1071 was the fourth to fly the Flag of the United States, with the intention of serving as honorably and as well as her predecessors.

The motto was considered to be the phrase that best described the fundamental attributes of the Badger men and ships.

	George E. Badger (1790-1865) was Secretary of the Navy during the War of 1812. (Namesake for the USS George E. Badger). Click image to view George E. Badger's bio on Wikipedia.
	Commodore Oscar C. Badger, George E. Badger's cousin, (1823-1889) served in the Civil War. (Namesake for the USS Badger DD-126) Click image to view remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery.
	Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger., Oscar C. Badger's son, (1853-1932) served as Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet in World War I. (Name sake for the USS Charles J. Badger DD-657). Click image to view remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery.
	Admiral Oscar C. Badger II, Charles J. Badger's son, (1890-1958) was the first Navy officer to step ashore in Japan at the end of World War II and was also awarded the Naval Medal of Honor. His wife christened Badger (DE/FF-1071). Click image to view remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery.

Badger-Byte: After Mrs. Badger had been asked to christen the ship Badger, she and her two daughters wrote the Navy and suggested it be specifically named after her husband, Oscar C. Badger II. In response the Navy insisted that it remain the generic Badger family name already decided. At the christening, however, Mrs. Badger smashed the Champaign bottle into fragments and said, loudly and firmly, "I christen thee Oscar Charles Badger II."  As she later stated at a commissioning dinner in the company of Captain Bill Britton and others, "the Navy can paint any damn' thing it wants on the stern, but we know what the real name is." - Captain Bill Britton (70-72) Badger's first Commanding Officer