USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)

USS "Fort McHenry" (LSD-43) is a "Whidbey Island"-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defense of which inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner".

"Fort McHenry" was laid down on 10 June 1983, by Lockheed Shipbuilding, Seattle, Wash.; launched on 1 February 1986, sponsored by The Honorable Helen D. Bentley; and commissioned on 8 August 1987 in Seattle, CDR George S. "Dusty" Rhodes in command, LT Jim Bird CHENG, LT Greg Trojan Supply Officer.

History

1988 – 1995

"Fort McHenry"'s maiden deployment was from June 1988 to December 1988 to the Western Pacific. Following its return, "Fort McHenry" participated in the cleanup of the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill from 28 April 1989 to 22 June 1989. In recognition of the crew's effectiveness during the cleanup operation, "Fort McHenry" was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon.

On 20 June 1990, "Fort McHenry" began its second deployment and spent 10 months in the Persian Gulf for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Following its return to its homeport of San Diego on 17 April 1991, "Fort McHenry" received the Navy Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Eight months later, "Fort McHenry" deployed to the Western Pacific on 6 January 1992. After several successful multinational exercises and port visits, "Fort McHenry" returned to San Diego on 6 July 1992.

Following an extensive overhaul period, "Fort McHenry" began the training cycle to prepare for its next deployment. While in the training cycle, "Fort McHenry" transited to the East Coast through the Panama Canal to pick up five new LCACs from Panama City, Florida. At the completion of the training cycle, "Fort McHenry" embarked on its fourth deployment from 9 June 1994 to 9 December 1994. While deployed, "Fort McHenry" participated in Operation Restore Hope. The ship also participated in Operation Vigilant Warrior. Following the deployment, "Fort McHenry" was awarded its second Navy Unit Commendation and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and also received its fourth Battle Efficiency Award.

1995 – 2000

On 1 September 1995, "Fort McHenry" departed San Diego to become one of the units forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan.

Since its arrival to Japan "Fort McHenry" has participated in training exercises and multi-national exercises such as exercise Tandem Thrust and Crocodile in Australia, Cobra Gold in Thailand, and Foal Eagle in South Korea. She visited ports during those exercises including Shanghai, China, and Kure, Japan.

During May 1998, "Fort McHenry" participated on Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT 98), which includes visits and exercises with countries in the Western Pacific such as Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In addition to its involvement in CARAT 98, "Fort McHenry" received the Commander, Naval Surface Pacific Fleet Wellness Unit Award for 1997 and the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award for 1997 on 1 June 1998.

After spending January 1999 in Hong Kong, "Fort McHenry" entered the competitive phase of its training cycle. In April 1999, "Fort McHenry" participated in exercise Tandem Thrust 99 in Guam. "Fort McHenry" was also named a repeat winner of the Commander, Naval Surface Pacific Fleet Wellness Unit Award. Finally, during June 1999, "Fort McHenry" underwent two Total Ship Training Assessments (TSTA), which confirmed the ship's training progress during the 1999 competitive cycle.In 2000 "Fort McHenry" participated in exercise Balikatan 2000 with the Philippine Armed Forces. The ship was named a repeat winner of the Battle Efficiency Award, Command Excellence Awards for Maritime Warfare, Engineering/Survivability, Command and Control, and Logistics Management for its achievements during the 1999 fiscal year. After Balikatan 2000 was completed, "Fort McHenry" continued its hectic schedule by participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2000, during May 2000, with the navies of Thailand and Singapore. The busy schedule continued in October 2000, when "Fort McHenry" participated in Exercise Neptune Thunder 00 with US Army forces stationed in South Korea. From 27 October to 3 November, "Fort McHenry" concluded the year, and the millennium, with its participation in Exercise Foal Eagle which took placed in South Korea.

2001 – 2006

"Fort McHenry" spent the first half of 2001 in a lengthy Ship Required Availability period. During this period the ship acquired two new weapon systems, Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Launcher and Ship's Self Defense System (SSDS), both would greatly increased the ship's defensive capabilities.

After returning to sea in June 2001, "Fort McHenry" entered the middle of its training cycle. The ship completed a port visit to Kagoshima, Japan in August 2001, where approximately seven thousand residents of Kagoshima toured "Fort McHenry".

In 2004, "Fort McHenry" was commanded by Commander Mark E. Weber, USN, forward deployed at FA Sasebo, Japan, and assigned to Amphibious Group 1. In May 2004, "Fort McHenry" departed for a three-month deployment along with several ships including USCGC "Mellon" (WHEC-717), Salvor|ARS-52, Russell|DDG-59& McCampbell|DDG-85. The deployment was centered around an annual exercise called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2004. Following a two and a half month SAR period, "Fort McHenry" was once again put into action as she was emergency deployed to the Philippines after several typhoons hit the country during November 2004. It provided a platform for U.S. Air Force helicopters to bring much-needed fuel into the Philippines.

In 2005 "Fort McHenry" participated in tsunami relief in the Asian Tsunami Crisis. It provided a platform for six CH-46s helicopters and LCACs to bring much-needed supplies into Banda Aceh, Indonesia. During Operation Unified Assistance, "Fort McHenry" was joined by many USN ships including the Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72 and Mercy|T-AH-19 "USNS "Mercy" (T-AH-19)". Following this tasking, "Fort McHenry" immediately went to the island of Iwo Jima to join American & Japanese veterans for the 60th commemoration of the Battle of Iwo Jima. CDR Mike Talaga took command of "Fort McHenry" in May 2005. Soon after the change of command, "Fort McHenry" deployed for the first half of [Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2005. This deployment was completed by the Boxer|LHD-4 and Harpers Ferry|LSD-49.

On 31 March 2006, Tortuga|LSD-46 arrived in Sasebo to replace "Fort McHenry". The crews of the two ships swapped hulls, after which, on 13 April "Tortuga"'s old crew took "Fort McHenry" back to NAB Little Creek, Virginia, where she is now homeported. As of January 2007 she is undergoing a major maintenance overhaul at Naval Station Norfolk.

2007

The United States Department of Defense stated on 15 October 2007 that the "Fort McHenry" was slated to leave Little Creek, Virginia, 16 October, 2007 for a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea that the chief of U.S. Africa Command said will exemplify how his new command will operate.

The amphibious dock landing ship served as a platform for the Africa Partnership Station Initiative, which aims to work cooperatively with U.S. and international partners in promoting maritime security in Western Africa.

The ship will sail to Spain to take on passengers from several European partners — Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Germany, among them — before heading to the Gulf of Guinea.

Its full complement will include representatives of U.S. and partner nations' government agencies and non-governmental organizations, all working together to help African nations increase their ability to provide maritime security.

In addition to the U.S. military, U.S. agencies to participate will be the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard.

High Speed Vessel "Swift" will join "Fort McHenry" in the Gulf of Guinea, where it will transport students as well as trainers during visits to Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe.

Training teams will also focus on a broad range of areas, including maritime domain awareness, leadership, seamanship and navigation, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, civil engineering and logistics.

AFRICOM declared itself to have initial operating capability 1 October 2007 and began bringing the military's activities on the continent under its umbrella.

2008

On 1 January 2008, the U.S. Navy announched that two U.S. Navy sailors were found dead in a hotel room in the West African nation of Ghana.

The sailors were stationed aboard "Fort McHenry", which is on a seven-month voyage through the Gulf of Guinea aimed in part at training local militaries on maritime security.

They were found dead in their room at a hotel in Tema, where they had taken time off during the mission, the Navy said in a statement. "The cause of death is unknown and is being investigated by host nation authorities in cooperation with U.S. Navy," the statement said, giving no other details. [cite web | url = http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/01/02/ghana.sailors.dead/index.html | title = Alcohol poisoning suspected in U.S. sailors' deaths in Africa |accessdate = 2008-01-02]

Two U.S. Navy sailors, said to be on "on shore leave in West Africa", were found dead in a luxury hotel in Accra on 1 January 2008. They had checked in to the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel on New Year's Eve and have been identified. Both men were assigned to the "Fort McHenry", which was based in Tema and was on a seven-month voyage through the Gulf of Guinea in a mission designed to build maritime safety and security in Africa.

Confirming some details to the "Daily Graphic" in Accra, the Director-General of the CID, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frank Adu-Poku, said information available to the police indicated that some other colleagues of the deceased were with them but they left the hotel for the ship, which was anchored off the Ghanaian coast. DCOP Adu-Poku said the police were trying to secure entry visas for the detectives and a pathologist to accompany the bodies to Germany for the post-mortem.

The "Fort McHenry" is part of the Africa Partnership Station (APS), an initiative recently launched by the US to support regional maritime security and safety in West and Central Africa. It began the training of Ghana's naval officers in Tema on 20 November, 2007. APS is a floating continuing education and training facility.

References

* [http://www.fort-mchenry.navy.mil USS "Fort McHenry" official website]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/1243.htm navsource.org: USS "Fort McHenry"]
* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/LSD43.htm nvr.navy.mil: USS "Fort McHenry"]
* [http://navysite.de/ships/lsd43.htm navysite.de: USS "Fort McHenry"]
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47797| Defense Department news Release]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LSD-43 LSD-43 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]