USS Scout (MCM-8)

USS "Scout" (MCM-8) is an "Avenger"-class mine countermeasures ship in the service of the United States Navy.

ervice history

"Scout" was laid down on 8 June 1987 at Peterson Builders in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Launched on 20 May 1989, she was commissioned on 15 December 1990.

The "Avenger"-class ships were designed to have very low acoustic and magnetic signatures to avoid detonating mines. While most modern warships have steel hulls, the "Avengers" have wooden hulls with an external coating of fiberglass. They are equipped with sophisticated minehunting and classification sonar as well as remotely-operated mine neutralization and disposal systems.

On June 25 1992, "Scout" was the first ship to arrive at the newly established Naval Station Ingleside, center of the Navy's Mine Warfare operations. [ [http://www.militarynewcomers.com/NRSE/resources/04ingles.html NS Ingleside] ]

While on a five-month deployment in the Mediterranean during 1999, "Scout" assisted in the evacuation of ethnic Albanians from war-torn Kosovo. [ [http://www.news.navy.mil/navydata/testimony/seapower/krupp000323.txt Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2001] ]

"Scout" deployed to the Mediterranean in early 2003 for a five-month tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, returning on 13 June. [ [http://www.uscarriers.net/mcm8history.htm US Carriers.net: USS Scout (MCM-8)] ]

On 1 April 2005, "Scout" and her sister ship USS|Devastator|MCM-6 departed Naval Station Ingleside for a five-month deployment on the West Coast of the US, operating out of Naval Station San Diego. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/04/mil-050404-nns01.htm Mine Warfare Ships Deploy to West Coast] ] On 24 August, the Armed Forces Base Realignment and Closure Committee recommended closing Naval Station Ingleside and moving Navy Mine Warfare operations to Naval Station San Diego. The recommendation was signed into law on 9 November 2005, and planning for the base's closure has begun. Navy Mine Warfare operations are to be relocated to Naval Station San Diego. [ [http://www.militarynewcomers.com/NRSE/resources/04ingles.html NS Ingleside] ]

In September 2005, "Scout" and several of her sister ships participated in relief efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Katrina. The mine countermeasure ships spent weeks surveying waterways around the Louisiana coast and offshore oil platforms, using their high-tech sonar systems to locate sunken debris that could pose a hazard to navigation. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2005/09/sec-050910-nns04.htm Mine Warfare Ships Support Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Relief Efforts] ] [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2005/09/sec-050915-nns01.htm Defender Clears Way for Shipping off Gulf Coast] ]

On 18 February 2007 "Scout" arrived in Manama, Bahrain, where she remains forward deployed with the United States 5th Fleet. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=28031 USS Scout Arrives in Bahrain] ] "Scout" was transported from Naval Station Ingleside aboard the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship "Condock III", chartered by Military Sealift Command. [ [http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=28029 MSC Delivers Second Minesweeper to Bahrain] ]

"Scout" participated in a mine countermeasures exercise with British forces in August 2007, where air, surface, and subsurface countermeasures were employed in the central Persian Gulf to locate, identify, and destroy planted dummy mines. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=31636 US, UK Forces Train to Ensure Free Use of Seas] ]

From 26 February to 6 March 2008 "Scout" participated in another mine countermeasures exercise in the northern Persian Gulf with British and Kuwaiti forces. During the exercise, "Scout" exchanged two sailors with the Royal Navy ship "Blyth" to foster interoperability between coalition forces engaged in mine warfare. [ [http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/articles/2008/027.html US, UK Engage in Personnel Exchanges During MCM Exercise] ]

Awards

In May 2004, "Scout" was the Atlantic Fleet winner of the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for overall readiness. [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=13803 Boxer Earns Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award] ]

References

* [http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_print.asp?cid=4200&tid=1900&ct=4&page=1 United States Navy Fact File: Mine Countermeasures Ships (MCM)]
* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/MCM8.htm Naval Vessel Registry: USS "Scout"]

External links

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/1208.htm Navsource.org Photo Archive: USS "Scout"]
* [http://www.navyshipnews.com/2008/03/what-mine-sweepers-do-uss-scout.html US Navy Ship News blog: What Minesweepers Do]