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USS Vella Gulf (CG-72)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Vella Gulf.

Vella Gulf in 2010
History
United States
NameVella Gulf
NamesakeBattle of Vella Gulf
Ordered25 February 1988[1]
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding
Laid down22 April 1991
Launched13 June 1992
Sponsored byMary A. McCauley
Acquired12 July 1993[1]
Commissioned18 September 1993[1]
Decommissioned4 August 2022[2]
Stricken30 September 2022[1]
HomeportNorfolk (during career)
Identification
MottoMove Swiftly, Strike Vigorously
StatusStricken, Final Disposition Pending[1]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeTiconderoga-class cruiser
Displacement9,600 long tons (9,800 t)
Length567 feet (173 m)
Beam55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion
Speed32.5 knots (60 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Complement30 officers and 300 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS Mk III helicopters.

USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser that served with the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for the Battle of Vella Gulf, a naval engagement in the Solomons campaign of World War II, the first being USS Vella Gulf (CVE-111), an escort carrier commissioned in 1945. The ship's keel was laid down on 22 April 1991 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding, then a division of Litton Industries. She was launched on 13 June 1992, sponsored by Mary A. McCauley, wife of Vice Admiral William F. McCauley (Ret.), and commissioned on 18 September 1993 at Naval Station Norfolk.[3]

Designed as a multi-mission ship, Vella Gulf was capable of sustained combat operations in Anti-Air, Anti-Submarine, Anti-Surface, and Strike warfare environments. She supported of carrier battle groups, amphibious assault groups, ballistic missile defense, as well as interdiction and escort missions. Her diverse combat capability was orchestrated by the Aegis Combat System, a fully integrated electronic detection, engagement, and fire-control system. Aegis enabled Vella Gulf to detect, evaluate, and engage an enemy with great firepower and accuracy.

Ship history

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1990s

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Vella Gulf successfully completed sea trials during the month of February 1998. In the months of May and June, she completed a two-month cruise, taking part in the 26th annual maritime exercise U.S. Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) '98 in the western Baltic Sea from 8 to 19 June 1998. During the exercise, the commander, Carrier Group Eight, commanded the exercise from the ship. She then completed an underway replenishment, her LAMPS helicopters moved aboard, she completed a successful command and control exercise (C2X), and had made a port call at Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Upon the completion of C2X, Vella Gulf continued pre-deployment work-ups.

In January 1999, after winning her fifth consecutive "Battle "E"," the ship commenced training operations while hosting the week-long course Force Air Defense Commander training. Vella Gulf's successful completion, in February 1999, of Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) '99 marked the end of a ten-month work-up. The vessel headed out for deployment to the Adriatic Sea on 26 March 1999. After a six-day transit, Vella Gulf took her position in the Adriatic Sea and participated in everything from Tomahawk Strike Ops to Fast-track Logistics Ops as part of Operation Noble Anvil. In May and June, Vella Gulf continued to participate in support of combat operations, fired Tomahawks, assumed warfare commander duties (ADC, ASUWC, ASWC and Launch Area Coordinator), and conducted numerous at-sea refueling and stores replenishment events until the relaxation of weapons posture and cessation of hostilities. Vella Gulf began the month of August engaged in multi-ship exercises, where she participated in DIVTACS, LeapFrogs, Tomahawk exercises, submarine exercises, Flight Ops, and Gunnery practice. On 22 September 1999 she returned home, then in November sailed to Yorktown, Virginia for a complete weapons offload.

2000s

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Aerial view aft of Vella Gulf during a high-speed turn, torpedo evasion exercise, 7 December 2008

As part of the USS George Washington Carrier Battle Group (CVBG), and in response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the ship set sail in support of defense and humanitarian efforts off the coast of New York. A week later, she deployed as part of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group, to the Mediterranean, and South Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group transited the Suez Canal on 13 October and arrived in the Arabian Sea on 15 October, before returning home in April 2002.

In March 2003 she was assigned to Carrier Strike Group Eight.[4]

On 5 January 2007, Vella Gulf departed on a six-month cruise as part of the Bataan expeditionary strike group (BATESG). She conducted operations in the Persian Gulf, Northern Arabian Sea with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (in support of Operation Enduring Freedom), Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden. She participated in multi-national exercises, including AMAN '07,[5] hosted by Pakistan. Vella Gulf visited Agadir, Morocco and Gaeta, Italy as liberty ports of call, and twice visited Manama, Bahrain. She returned to her home port in Norfolk, Virginia on 3 July 2007.

Anti-piracy operations

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Seven men in a small motor skiff with their hands raised
Suspected pirates surrendering to Vella Gulf, 2009

Vella Gulf was identified as one of the U.S. Navy ships surrounding MV Faina, a Ukrainian-owned, Belizean-registered ship carrying 33 T-72 tanks, RPGs and other munitions, after she was seized by pirates off Somalia on 25 September 2008.[6] Ultimately the ship was not recaptured, and a ransom was paid.[citation needed]

On 11 February 2009 Vella Gulf responded to a distress call from the tanker Polaris in the Gulf of Aden. Polaris reported that pirates in a single skiff were attempting to board the tanker with ladders, though Polaris's crew was able to thwart their efforts. Upon arriving in the area, Vella Gulf intercepted a skiff with seven men aboard. The crew aboard Polaris identified them as the attackers, and they were taken aboard Vella Gulf, transferred to the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark for processing, and sent to Kenya for trial.[7]

The following day, 12 February, Vella Gulf responded to a distress call from the Indian freighter Premdivya which reported that she had been pursued by pirates who had fired at the ship. Vella Gulf dispatched a helicopter to the scene which fired warning shots and chased the pirate skiff down. Vella Gulf launched a boarding party in two RHIBs (inflatable boats) and captured nine pirates, who were again transferred to Lewis and Clark for processing.[8]

2010s

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In 2012 while Vella Gulf was at sea, a petty officer sexually assaulted a female sailor, telling her he planned to kill her and dispose of her body overboard. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.[9][10]

In December 2015 the ship was assigned to Carrier Strike Group 12.[11] On 23 April 2017, Vella Gulf left for an eight-month deployment to support maritime security operations in the Persian Gulf." In July, she joined Carrier Strike Group 11 for three months, conducting air strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. She returned on 15 December.[12]

2020s

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USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) during her decommissioning ceremony on 4 August 2022

In 2020, a U.S. Navy budget plan proposed putting Vella Gulf, along with her Ticonderoga-class sister ships Monterey, Shiloh, and Port Royal, on a path to early decommissioning, as they had not been modernized.[13]

In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2022.[14]

On 4 August 2022, Vella Gulf was decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk following just under 29 years of service. Disposal arrangements have not been announced. The ship will be berthed at Philadelphia.[1][2]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "VELLA GULF (CG 72)". NVR. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) Decommissioned" (Press release). Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Vella Gulf (CG-72)". Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  4. ^ "World Navies Today: US Navy Aircraft Carriers & Surface Combatants". hazegrey.org. 10 March 2003. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  5. ^ "U.S. Navy Participates in Exercise AMAN 07". 11 March 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
  6. ^ Sturcke, James (30 September 2008). "Three shot dead in row between Somali pirates, monitors say". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  7. ^ "U.S. Navy arrests pirate suspects in Gulf of Aden". CNN. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. ^ "US Navy Captures More Pirates, May Take Them to Kenya". VOANews.com. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009.
  9. ^ Dianna Cahn (15 December 2012). "Sailor guilty of rape on ship, gets life in prison". Pilotonline.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Sailor Gets Life For Rape On Ship". military.com. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  11. ^ "USS VELLA GULF (CG 72)". Archived from the original on 17 December 2015.
  12. ^ Moon, Ensign Elizabeth. "USS Vella Gulf Returns from Eight Month Deployment". Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  13. ^ Eckstein, Megan (10 February 2020). "Navy's New Shipbuilding Plan 'Dead on Arrival,' Lawmakers Say". Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels" (PDF). Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. 9 December 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ "USS Vella Gulf Awarded Navy Unit Commendation".
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