- USS Cleveland (LPD-7)
USS "Cleveland" (LPD-7), an "Austin"-class
amphibious transport dock , is the third ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for the city inOhio . Her keel was laid down atIngalls Shipbuilding ofPascagoula, Mississippi . She was launched on7 May 1966 , and was commissioned on21 April 1967 atNorfolk, Virginia .After commissioning, "Cleveland" changed homeport to
San Diego, California , to become a member of thePacific Fleet Amphibious Forces . "Cleveland" has divided her time between operations in the Eastern Pacific and extended deployments to the Western Pacific. "Cleveland" is normally assigned as part of an Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) and, with her embarked Marines and other forces, has performed a wide variety of missions."Cleveland" first saw action during the
Tet Offensive in 1967. After theVietnam War cease-fire in January 1973, "Cleveland" joined Task Force 78 in the mine-clearing effort ofHaiphong Harbor andOperation End Sweep . "Cleveland" then began a series of seven Western Pacific deployments between 1974 and 1985.Assigned duties as Third Fleet flagship from January through November 1988, "Cleveland" once again demonstrated the flexibility and professionalism that have become her hallmark. "Cleveland" then briefly shifted focus to environmental protection when she deployed to
Prince William Sound ,Alaska , in support of oil spill cleanup efforts associated with the "Exxon Valdez" disaster.The ship's next two deployments, in 1990 and 1991, were in support of Operation Desert Shield and
Operation Desert Storm . In October 1992 and in March 1993, "Cleveland" deployed on short notice toCentral America in support of law enforcement operations, where she was the first LPD to embark anSH-60 Seahawk helicopter . During the March 1993 deployment "Cleveland" played a key role in what was the largest maritimecocaine seizure to date involving the motor vessel "Sea Chariot." These two deployments included four transits of thePanama Canal and steaming over 20,000 miles.While deployed to the Western Pacific in 1994, "Cleveland" participated in
United Nations relief efforts inRwanda and the relocation of the United States Liaison office fromMogadishu ,Somalia , toNairobi ,Kenya . Following the relocation efforts, "Cleveland" was ordered to steam into the NorthPersian Gulf to assist in deterringIraq 's massing of troops on theKuwait i border as part ofOperation Vigilant Warrior .Her next inter-deployment cycle was highlighted by Exercise "RIMPAC '96" off the coast of
Hawaii , which included the first ever multilateral exercise involving US andRussia n forces in US waters. The trip to Hawaii for the exercise culminated in a parade of ships for the 50th anniversary celebration to commemorate the end of the war in the Pacific. "Cleveland" returned to the NorthPersian Gulf during her deployment in 1996 and 1997, participating in coalition and bilateral exercises and achieving yet another milestone as the first Amphibious Warship to actively participate in Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.In the summer of 1998, "Cleveland" once again participated in the bi-annual RIMPAC exercise. "Cleveland" then began her sixteenth major deployment in December 1998, embarking
Navy SEAL s, elements of the 13th MEU(SOC) -- Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operation Capable) -- and a detachment ofunmanned aerial vehicle s (UAVs). During this deployment "Cleveland" stood off theHorn of Africa , inserting a military liaison team intoEritrea and remaining ready to conduct a non-combatant evacuation operation. "Cleveland" then returned to thePersian Gulf to conduct MIO where she served as flagship for the commander of all MIO forces in the Persian Gulf. During this period, an embarked UAV discovered an Iraqi surface-to-surface missile site that was threatening coalition forces. Aircraft from "Enterprise" destroyed this missile site while the UAV transmitted live imagery back to "Cleveland"."Cleveland" was once again called upon to perform outside her normal realm of operations while participating in recovery and salvage efforts of
Alaska Airlines Flight 261 in February 2000, receiving theCoast Guard Commendation Ribbon withOperational Distinguishing Device . Following a Fleet Week visit toSan Francisco, California , "Cleveland" completed her training cycle and deployed for the seventeenth time in March 2001.Both governments of the U.S. and Mexico could not come to an agreement regarding the sale of the vessel, therefore the ship is now set to continue on active duty until it's decommissioning sometime in 2010.
A good history of the ship is included at the following web site http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/c/lpd-7
In 1978 portions of the movie "Inchon" was filmed during a practice amphibious assault off the coast of Korea. This is referenced in the ships logs of 1978 http://www.history.navy.mil/shiphist/c/lpd-7/1978.pdf
In her 35 years of service, "Cleveland" has received two
Combat Action Ribbon s, theJoint Meritorious Unit Award , theNavy Unit Commendation , threeMeritorious Unit Commendation s, eightNavy Excellence Ribbon s, threeArmed Forces Expeditionary Medal s, 23Vietnam Service Medal s, theSouthwest Asia Service Medal , theHumanitarian Service Medal , threeRepublic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation s for Gallantry, and theCoast Guard Unit Commendation Ribbon withOperational Distinguishing Device .External links
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LPD-7 LPD-7 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
References
The article includes information from "Cleveland"'s Web site, http://www.cleveland.navy.mil/.
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