Tag Archives: USS Shiloh (CG 67)

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.