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<section begin=Spotlight />The USS Columbia is a special operations vessel under the command of [[Star Fleet Special Operations Command]]. The Columbia is based at [[Area 42]] and can be used for conventional operations when needed, however the bulk of its missions have special ops or fast strike profiles and as such are often classified. The vessel features many pieces of experimental equipment, and it is typically one of the first to get new advances in technology.<section end=Spotlight />

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== Lineage ==

The USS Columbia is the named for the capital and largest city of the state of South Carolina, which itself derives its name from the poetic word for the Americas and the feminine personification of the [[United States of America|United States]]. Founded in 1786 along the fall line of the Congaree River, Columbia served as the governmental and educational center for South Carolina throughout the nineteenth century, and in 1860 it became the birthplace of the Confederacy when it hosted the South Carolina Secession Convention during which delegates voted unanimously to secede from the United States, becoming the first state to do so in the lead up to the American Civil War. Much of the city was destroyed when Union troops occupied it in 1865, but it was quickly rebuilt and became a leading center of commerce during the next century. Columbia is home to the University of South Carolina and was the location of Fort Jackson, the largest training facility for the United States Army.