Tag Archives: USS Shiloh (CG 67)

Shiloh gone as Ticos, and Civil War namesakes, fade away

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The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) was honored in her homeport of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam with a formal decommissioning ceremony yesterday, marking 34 years of continued service at sea and a revered naval legacy.

U.S. Navy Chief Interior Communications Electrician Deja Washington, assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), left and led the crew in disembarking Shiloh for the final time at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sept. 30, 2026. Shiloh was decommissioned after 34 years of continuous service. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Claire M. Alfaro)

Her sister, USS Lake Erie (CG 70), lowered her Navy Jack for the final time during the ship’s decommissioning ceremony held onboard Naval Base San Diego on 25 September, capping a 33-year career.

Erie deployed with Phibron8 just a few months ago, wrapping up her final cruise in style.

Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) approaches Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) for a replenishment-at-sea while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Feb. 3, 2026. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy Photo by Seaman Andrew Eggert)

With Lake Erie and Shiloh inactivated, that leaves only five of 27 completed Ticos in the fleet: USS Princeton, Robert Smalls (ex-Chancellorsville), Gettysburg, Chosin, and Cape St. George.

All of these are scheduled to retire in the next few years.

Speaking of which, check out this sad batch of Ticonderogas awaiting disposition on “Red Lead Row,” the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) in Philadelphia, image taken on September 20th, 2026.

They include

  • USS Monterey (CG 61)
  • USS San Jacinto (CG 56)
  • USS Hue City (CG 66)
  • USS Anzio (CG 68)
  • USS Vella Gulf (CG 72)
  • USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55)
  • USS Philippine Sea (CG 58)
  • USS Normandy (CG 60)
  • USS Vicksburg (CG 69)

Even that assembly has changed for the worse, with Vicksburg being towed out of Philadelphia en route to Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping on 30 September.

These are from Warship Cam, SRC: YT- Al Stinger

Done with Civil War names?

The U.S. Navy of the late Cold War was replete with Civil War references, from battle names to the fighting men who fought there —on both sides. The Ticos alone had USS Vicksburg and Antietam, along with the aforementioned Shiloh, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Even sub-tenders were involved in the act (Dixon and Hunley). The Fig-7s took a break from 1812 and WWII heroes to name one for a Confederate officer (Capt. Duncan Ingraham, defender of Charleston Harbor).

Now, with Shiloh gone, Gettysburg and Smalls remain. The latter is named for a Civil War-era figure who went over to the North with the CSS Planter, then later served as a pilot for the Union fleet, including the ironclad USS Keokuk, during the Second Battle of Fort Sumter.

Of the great Union admirals and heroes, just two names endure, both on destroyers:

Admiral David “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Farragut, commander of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron famous for forcing Mobile Bay, is on the fifth torpedo-carrying vessel to have his name: USS Farragut (DDG 99)

Farragut, a Goula Boy, has long had a banner across from the Jackson County Courthouse.

USS Farragut’s quarterdeck while in Mobile for Mardi Gras 2026 earlier this year, by Chris Eger

RADM David Dixon Porter, commander of the Mississippi Squadron, which handed Vicksburg to Grant, and later the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which took Fort Fisher. As with his adoptive brother. Farragut, Porter is also on his fifth torpedo-carrying vessel, USS Porter (DDG 78).

Both Admiral Farragut and Porter, brothers, were remembered on a joint postal stamp along with their closely associated flagships– including Powhatan

USS Porter (DDG 78) (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Juan Sua/Released) 200329-N-CR843-0264 

These storied names are gone from the fleet:

RADM John A. Dahlgren, the “Father of American Naval Ordnance” and later commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which met Sherman in Savannah without destroying it. He had three TBs and DD/DDGs named for him, the last decommissioned in 1992.

RADM Louis M. Goldsborough, who gave Burnside Roanoke Island, closing the coast of North Carolina. As with Dahlgren, he had a TB, a DD, and a DDG named in his honor; the last was decommissioned in 1993.

RADM Samuel Phillips Lee, Robert E. Lee’s cousin, commanded both the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and the Mississippi Squadron at times; a destroyer (DD 310) and a research vessel (T-AGS-31) were named after him, with the latter leaving service in 1974.

RADM John Ancrum Winslow, who bested the commerce raider CSS Alabama off the French coast from the helm of the USS Kearsarge, later commanded the Pacific Squadron and had only two ships named after him. The last, DD-53, was paid off in 1922. Alabama’s pirate leader, Raphael Semmes, had two as well; the last was decommissioned only in 1992.

Capt. John A. Winslow (3rd from left) and officers on board the U.S.S. Kearsarge after sinking the C.S.S. Alabama, 1864

RADM John Marston, who cut his teeth on USS Constitution during the War of 1812, sailed with Perry to China, and commanded the USS Roanoke at the Battle of Hampton Roads– where he ordered the unproven USS Monitor to enter the battle against CSS Virginia— was described as “one of the most efficient officers of the United States Navy during the Civil War,” but he has never had a ship named for him.

RADM John Lorimer Worden, who commanded Monitor at Hampton Roads, then went on post-war to lead the European Squadron, became the first president of the USNI, and superintendent of Annapolis (where his Tiffany sword hangs), had four vessels named for him (DD 16, DD 288, DD 352, and CG 18), the last decommissioned in 1993.

Commodore William D. “Dirty Bill” Porter, David Porter’s (and by extension Farragut’s) brother who ably commanded the USS Essex during the war, has only ever had one ship named for him, an unlucky Fletcher-class destroyer.

As a sort of consolation prize, Admiral George Dewey (USNA 1858), before he became famous at Manila Bay against the Spanish, served as executive lieutenant on USS Mississippi, a steam paddle frigate assigned to the Union West Gulf Blockading Squadron during the Civil War. Currently a Burke, DDG-105, the third destroyer to carry his name, continues his legacy.

At least for now, anyway.

Tico updates

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Lots of news, some sad, about America’s final cruiser class.

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) returned to her homeport at San Diego on 27 June, following 11-months of sustained operations at sea in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations.

Yup, 11 months in SOUTHCOM. That’s a lot of low-intensity ops.

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO (June 27, 2026) – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following 11 months of sustained operations at sea in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations June 27, 2026.  

Erie, with embarked USCG LEDET 107, successfully interdicted a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker, M/T Sophia, in addition to serving as “Integrated Air and Missile Defense Commander and the U.S. Air Force Southern Command’s (AFSOUTH) Regional Air Defense Commander (RADC)” during which she directed other assets to the interdiction of 2,900 pounds of narcotics.

In other news, USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), formerly USS Chancellorsville, has been active as the AAW commander for the Japan-based forward-deployed George Washington Strike Group during Ex Valiant Strike 26.

Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) sails with the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group as part of Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 21, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicolas Quezada)

USS Cape St. George (CG-71), which last year shifted her homeport from Everett, Washington to San Diego, recently got underway and got to stretch out her now-vintage MK 45 5″/54s. While there were over 160 such mounts delivered from 1972-92, once they were removed from the Tarawas, and then the Kidds/Sprucans and most of the Ticos were decommissioned, now less than 50 remain in the fleet with St. George and her sisters and the first 30 Burkes— 28 Flight I and II ships (hull numbers DDG-51 through DDG-78), as well as the first two Flight IIA ships (DDG-79 and DDG-80)

Now for the bad stuff.

The Pearl Harbor-based USS Shiloh (CG-67) is looking great.

USS Shiloh – CG-67 Pearl Harbor June 2026 by LT Farrar

She is getting ready for her going-away party.

Commissioned on 18 July 1992, she is set to be decommissioned in less than 100 days, wrapping up a 34-year career.

And in terrible news, the recently (August 2023) decommissioned USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) will be sunk as a target during RIMPAC 2026.

She served over 36 years and will only be the second of her class expended in a SINKEX, following ex-Valley Forge (CG 50), which was sent to the bottom in 2006.

SAN DIEGO (Aug.10, 2023) – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) sits pier-side during a decommissioning ceremony. The Mobile Bay was decommissioned after more than 36 years of distinguished service. Commissioned Feb. 21, 1987, Mobile Bay served in the U.S. Atlantic, Seventh, and U.S. Pacific Fleet and supported Operation Desert Storm. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stevin C. Atkins)

With Shiloh and Mobile Bay gone, the Navy will only have six active Ticos left of the 27-ship class (Princeton, Smalls, Gettysburg, Chosin, Lake Erie, and Cape St. George) and 15 laid up (Bunker Hill, Antietam, Leyte Gulf, San Jacinto, Lake Champlain, Philippine Sea, Normandy, Monterey, Cowpens, Hue City, Anzio, Vicksburg, Vella Gulf, Port Royal, and, of course, Shiloh) with all of the latter only sent there since 2022.

The current plan is to decommission the last three CGs in 2029, so you can expect more cruiser SINKEXs in the coming years.

Tico Updates

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For the past five months, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) has been in the Middle East under CENTCOM control where it has been neck deep in swatting away Houthi anti-ship missiles and drones and firing TLAMs ashore in retaliation. Its AAW boss is centered on the vintage Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58). Commissioned on 18 March 1989, she recently celebrated her 35th anniversary while underway and is the Navy’s 3rd-oldest active cruiser.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Nov. 26, 2023) USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) transit the Strait of Hormuz as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) makes an inbound transit to the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 26. The IKECSG is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support maritime stability and security in the Middle East region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Merissa Daley)

It is planned by the Navy to inactivate the Philippine Sea next year, a process that will begin likely this October, so this is her last hurrah.

Speaking of which, sisters USS Shiloh (CG-67), USS Normandy (CG-60), and USS Lake Erie (CG-70) are set to be decommissioned along the same timelines, at least according to the latest Navy budget request.

Meanwhile, in Fiji

In the Central Pacific, USS Antietam (CG 54), long part of the forward-deployed Reagan Strike Group based in Japan, is currently in Fiji where she is participating on detached service as part of the OMSI (Oceania Maritime Security Initiative), giving grief to stateless (and often interloping Chi-Com) trawlers. Sure, it is more of a job for the USCG– Antietam has Coast Guard law enforcement personnel aboard– but at least the crew gets a port call in Fiji!

She just wrapped up 11 years forward deployed to Yokosuka and is (for) now stationed in Pearl Harbor.
In 2023, the cruiser’s last full year as part of America’s Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Japan (FDNF-J), Antietam sailed nearly 34,000 miles, participated in the largest-ever Exercise Talisman Sabre alongside the Royal Australian Navy, and visited ports in Vietnam, South Korea, the Philippines and Palau.
She is set to decommission as soon as October unless Congress stops that. 

War Dragon is back (for now)

There is a bright spot to the Tico program, as USS Chosin (CG-65) has finally left Puget Sound after eight long years, having recently completed modernization at Vigor. The “War Dragon” arrived back at her long-absent homeport of San Diego– under her own power!– earlier this month.

USS Chosin (CG-65) will likely retire in 2027, at which point, she will probably be the last of her class in operation

Ex-USS Chancellorsville

One Tico that has been lost in the sauce for the past couple of months is the USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), recently renamed by the Pentagon to “erase the shame” of bearing the name USS Chancellorsville— which to be fair, Smalls should have seen his name given to a destroyer while ex-Chancellorsville picked up the name of another, more politically correct, battle.

While Chancellorsville/Smalls is set to be retired in 2026, troublesome relics from the ship have been transferred via the NHHC to the Spotsylvania County Museum, adjacent to the First Day of Chancellorsville Park, in Virginia.

The items have become historical in their own right, having ridden on the Pascagoula-built cruiser since 1989, service that included winning the Spokane Trophy twice, seeing combat in Desert Storm, participating in a 1993 TLAM strike against the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the Navy’s Fukushima response, the near-collision with the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, and tense transits through the Taiwan Strait.

Via the Museum: 

Led by the Friends of the USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), an organization created to enhance the relationship between the ship’s commissioning committee the Fredericksburg Area Council of the Navy League, and the County of Spotsylvania, the following materials originally donated by the Friends of the USS Chancellorsville were transferred via Unconditional Deed of Gift from the United States Naval History and Heritage Command to the Spotsylvania County Museum following a decommissioning initiative to bring historic objects back to the USS Chancellorsville’s heritage community:

  • McClellan Cavalry Saddle
  • Framed case of excavated Chancellorsville battle artifacts, presented by Craig-Carroll
  • Framed case of excavated Chancellorsville battle artifacts, presented by Conroy F. Parker (seen above)
  • Ames Manufacturing Co. Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber, presented to Captain Bill Keating on June 4, 1992, aboard the Chancellorsville by Dr. David Amstutz and acquired by the Fredericksburg Area Council of the Navy League (hung in Captain’s Cabin) (seen above)
  • Framed map of Chancellorsville 
  • “Battle of Chancellorsville, Sunday, May 3, 1863” Print (original art from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Famous Leaders and Battle Scenes of the Civil War, 1896) 
  • USS Chancellorsville at sea photo print (seen above)
  • “The Campaign of Chancellorsville: A Strategic and Tactical Study” by John Bigelow Jr., 1910 Yale University Press
  • Stellar Nioh 2022 – JFTM-07 plaque for Capt. Edward A. Angelinas, commanding officer of USS Chancellorsville (presented by Capt. Takeuchi Shusaku, commanding officer of J.S. Maya)
  • October 18, 2015, Japan Self-Defense Force Fleet Review plaque
  • DD-116 Teruzuki plaque presented to Capt. Curt Renshaw, commanding officer of USS Chancellorsville, 2015 (presented by Cmdr. Takayuki Miyaji, commanding officer of J.S. Teruzuki)

Victory is Certain, or Damn the Torpedoes?

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The early flight II (VLS-equipped) Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56) is the third U.S. Navy warship named in honor of the decisive 1836 battle of the Texas Revolution, following in the path of a Civil War-era screw frigate and a WWII light carrier (CVL-30). Ingalls-built at Pascagoula, she was commissioned in 1988 and, among other notable service over the past 35 years, fired the opening shots of Operation Desert Storm.

San Jac received a Navy Unit Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy for exceptional support of the Eisenhower Strike Group during their difficult Covid-era 206-day, no port visit, 2020 deployment.

San Jacinto decommissioned on 15 September 2023 in a ceremony at Norfolk, joining sisterships USS Lake Champlain (CG-57), USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), and USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) who likewise have been paid off this year with USS Vicksburg (CG-69) still to go on the schedule.

Before the end of the year, just 12 of the 27 members of the class will be active going into next year. The Navy plans to put the final Ticos in mothballs by the end of FY 27.

San Jac, whose motto is “Victory is Certain,” after a quote from General Sam Houston’s speech as he spoke to his outnumbered men before the Battle of San Jacinto, was towed off to Philadelphia’s “red lead row” this week.

Since the battleship USS Texas’s old berth at San Jacinto Battlegrounds is vacant, it has been floated by some that the recently decommissioned USS San Jacinto (CG-56) should take it over.

There is a certain logic to that as she is orders of magnitude smaller and in better material condition than a 28,000-ton battleship with a 113-year-old riveted steel hull. Yes, the USS Texas (BB 35), once she leaves drydock, will be going somewhere else, likely Galveston, as the San Jac battlefield is low-traffic and not enough to sustain the Two World War veteran dreadnought, it is about time that a circa 1980s Cold War Reagan/Lehman-era vessel is preserved as none of the Sprucans, Perrys, Knoxes, Garcias, Adams, or assorted classes of CGs have been. Besides the obvious Texas tie-in, she would be a centrally located mecca for former bluejackets from the “600 Ship Navy” as well as Gulf War vets. 

Sure, the circuit boards on all the commo, sensors, and EW gear will have to be removed and her VLS, CIWS, Harpoon cans, Mk.32s, and Mk.45s demilled, but it could be done fairly easily.

If not San Jacinto, then I suggest taking her sister and fellow Gulf War vet, USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), and putting her alongside the old SoDak-class battlewagon-turned-museum ship USS Alabama (BB 60), which gets plenty of traffic. That would update that particular park past its current WWII-Korean War focus as well as highlight the nearby (an hour away) Ingalls shipbuilding, where she was built. Ingalls would likely get behind such an effort as well. 

SAN DIEGO (Aug.10, 2023) – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) sits pier side during a decommissioning ceremony. The Mobile Bay was decommissioned after more than 36 years of distinguished service. Commissioned Feb. 21, 1987, Mobile Bay served in the U.S. Atlantic, Seventh, and U.S. Pacific Fleet and supported Operation Desert Storm. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stevin C. Atkins)

Food for thought.

As these old Ticos will likely be disposed of sometime after 2027, the time to start the ball rolling on a museum ship is now. 

And the Navy List Keeps Shrinking by the minute…

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As covered in past posts, the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruisers are not long for us, with Cold Warriors USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) already decommissioned in the past several weeks.

Add to that the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), wrapping 37 years of naval service during a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on 22 September.

SAN DIEGO (Sept. 22, 2023) – The crew of the Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) stands at attention during the ship’s decommissioning ceremony. Bunker Hill was decommissioned after more than 37 years of distinguished service. Commissioned Sept. 20, 1986, Bunker Hill served in the U.S. Pacific Fleet supported Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Desert Storm, and participated in the establishment of Operation Southern Watch. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Claire M. DuBois)

The third warship to carry the name of the famed Revolutionary War battle, important for naval history was the first built with a VLS system and had a very active career.

As noted by the Navy:

Bunker Hill operated in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, supporting 10 Earnest Will convoys in 1987. The ship arrived in its new homeport of Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan the following year. At the end of January 1991, the ship launched its first Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs), a total of 28, against targets in Iraq from its station in the North Arabian Gulf, in support of Operation Desert Storm. It also supported Operations Desert Shield. In 2008, it was one of the Coalition ships from the British-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 maintaining a presence off the east coast of Africa in response to the recent events in Somalia. The following year it was the first guided-missile cruiser to receive a complete set of upgrades as part of the Navy’s Cruiser Modernization program including a new Aegis Weapons System, the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), and SPQ-9B Radar. The guided missile cruiser made full speed from off the coast of Panama to reach Haiti, joining U.S. military efforts on the Caribbean island devastated by a massive earthquake in 2010.

A key moment in my life concerning Bunker Hill, her plankowner skipper, Captain F. Richard Whalen, to me was just “Coach Whalen” as I played on the same soccer team as his son in 6th grade. He hosted us on an unofficial tour of the ship and we attended her departure. The life of a 1980s Pascagoula kid, I guess.

With Bunker Hill gone, and sisters USS Vicksburg (CG-69) and USS San Jacinto (CG-56) slated to join her in mothballs before the end of the year, just 12 of the 27 members of the class will be active going into next year. The Navy plans to put the final Ticos in mothballs by the end of FY 27.

Adios, San Juan

USS San Juan (SSN 751), a late model 688i and the third warship to carry the name, was commissioned on 6 August 1988. Last week, she shifted homeports cross-country from Groton to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and will begin inactivation, decommissioning, and recycling soon, capping a 35-year career.

The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS San Juan (SSN 751), transits the Puget Sound, on Sept. 20, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Commu

Taking her final ride to Bremerton was a group of sailors from the French Navy and Royal Canadian Navy on exchange.

Sailors from the French Navy and Royal Canadian Navy completed a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751), on Sept. 20, 2023. 

Importantly, in 1993 San Juan conducted the first through-ice surfacing for a 688i-class submarine in the Arctic, showing off a key ability of the type.

The once-mighty 62-boat Los Angeles class is currently down to just 26 hulls, counting San Juan, with only 15 of the class slated to still be operational by FY27.

San Juan follows in the footsteps of the more than 140 other U.S. nuclear-powered submarines sent to spend their last days at the nation’s largest public shipyard, her reactor compartment stored, her hull cut up and sold for scrap, with possibly her sail or diving planes retained ashore as a monument.

Slo-mo Cruiser Slaughter Continues

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The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers have passed an important threshold in their story: as of this month, they have hit nearly 50 percent strength in numbers with only 15 still active (soon to be just 12) of the 27 completed.

So far in 2023, USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) have been decommissioned.

USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) was decommissioned on 1 September, capping a 35-year career. Here, she is being towed off. She earned 11 Battle E Awards, 3 Navy Unit Commendations, and 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations.

SAN DIEGO (Aug.10, 2023) – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) sits pier side during a decommissioning ceremony. The Mobile Bay was decommissioned after more than 36 years of distinguished service. Commissioned Feb. 21, 1987, Mobile Bay served in the U.S. Atlantic, Seventh, and U.S. Pacific Fleet and supported Operation Desert Storm. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stevin C. Atkins)

Likely to still be retired this year from the class are USS Vicksburg (CG-69), USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), and USS San Jacinto (CG-56).

Sayonara, Shiloh

Meanwhile, one of the last in the fleet, USS Shiloh (CG 67), departed Yokosuka, Japan, on Sept. 5 to transit to her new homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, “as part of a planned rotation of forces in the Pacific.”

Shiloh has been forward deployed in Japan for 17 years and is slated to be retired next year.

U.S. Navy Sailors and members of Ship Repair Facility (SRF) Yokosuka bow to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) in Yokosuka, Japan, Sept. 5, 2023. Shiloh departed Yokosuka on Sept. 5 to transit to its new homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as part of a planned rotation of forces in the Pacific. Shiloh is attached to Commander, Carrier Strike Group 5 forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Askia Collins)

The Flight IIA Burke, USS John Finn (DDG 113), which left Naval Base San Diego and arrived in Yokosuka back in March, is Shiloh’s official replacement. Notably, Finn was the first ship to intercept an ICBM using an SM-3 Block IIA missile, done in a test at Kwaj in 2020.

The Navy plans to put the final Ticos in mothballs by the end of FY 27.

Talk About a Recruiting Poster

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STRAIT OF MALACCA (June 18, 2021) The Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) transits the South China Sea with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67). Reagan is part of Task Force 70/Carrier Strike Group 5, conducting underway operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rawad Madanat) 210618-N-JW440-2053

The Reagan CSG, made up of Destroyer Squadron 15, Carrier Air Wing 5, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), and Commander, Task Force 70, has lately been spinning up in the Indian Ocean, covering the withdrawal from Afghanistan.