The U.S. Navy announced March 22 that the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chosin (CG 65) will change its homeport from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to San Diego and reduce its operating status as it undergoes the Navy’s Cruiser modernization program.
The ship will be considered on deployment until July 1, at which time it will officially change its homeport to San Diego.
This move supports the Navy’s plan to modernize select cruisers to extend their service lives to 40 years, as well as upgrade shipboard combat systems to address current and future warfighting requirements.
The Navy said it would maintain cruisers undergoing modernization in a commissioned status using a reduced crew size and transferring the administrative control of the ship to Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command at the start of the modernization period.
At a future date, the Navy will restore the ship to full manning and transfer administrative control back to the Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet as the ship returns to operational status.
USS Chosin was commissioned in 1991 and since then has proudly served in the Pacific from its homeport of Pearl Harbor.
Cruisers are designed to directly support a carrier strike group (CSG) as the air defense commander (ADC). These ships are multi-mission surface combatants capable of supporting carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups or operating as flagships of surface action groups. They are equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles giving them additional long range strike warfare capability.