The US Navy has decommissioned the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) during a ceremony held at Naval Base San Diego, bringing to a close the vessel's 14 years of commissioned service.
Built by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, Fort Worth was commissioned on September 22, 2012, and served as one of the early test platforms for the Freedom-class littoral combat ship program. Throughout its service, the ship was used to evaluate new technologies, maintenance concepts and warfare capabilities for the LCS fleet.
During the ceremony which was held on July 29, the ship's final commanding officer, Cmdr. Dana Canby, praised the crew for their work under challenging circumstances and highlighted the ship's lasting impact on the navy as its sailors move on to other assignments.
During its operational career, USS completed one of the longest deployments by an LCS in the US 7th Fleet area of operations, spending 16 months in the Western Pacific. The ship also became the first littoral combat ship to conduct an overseas preventative maintenance availability, a process later adopted across the LCS fleet, and participated in early testing of the class's anti-submarine warfare mission package.
"As we celebrate our 250th year as a free nation, and home of the brave, it is instructive to look back at the birth of our Navy. George Washington said, ‘Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive.’ That decisive naval force has stood the watch and protected America every single day of the 250 years. Looking back recalls heroic and famous ships, like the USS Constitution, the USS Enterprise and the USS Texas. The name USS Fort Worth now stands alongside those ships in the annals of the Navy," the guest speaker and former Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, said.
Following decommissioning, USS Fort Worth will be towed to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, where it will be placed in dismantling status.
The navy said the ship's retirement supports its broader effort to divest older platforms while prioritizing investment in more capable and lethal ships, weapons and technologies for future naval operations.