USS Shenandoah (AD 44)

- decommissioned -

USS SHENANDOAH was the fourth and final YELLOWSTONE - class destroyer tender and the fifth ship in the Navy named for the Shenandoah Valley. AD 44 is also named for the adjoining Shenandoah National Park. The Valley and the National Park are both located in the western part of the State of Virginia. The name Shenandoah is derived from an Indian word meaning "Daughter of the Stars."

Decommissioned on August 15, 1996, and stricken from the Navy list on April 7, 1999, SHENANDOAH was subsequently berthed with the James River Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, VA., awaiting final disposal. On October 21, 2014, a domestic recycling contract was awarded to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas. Ex-SHENANDOAH departed the James River Reserve Fleet on November 20, 2014, under the disposal contract and was transferred to Brownsville for dismantling.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: June 12, 1979
	Keel laid: August 2, 1980
	Launched: February 6, 1982
	Commissioned: August 15, 1983
	Decommissioned: September 13, 1996
	Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, Calif.
	Propulsion system: Two boilers, steam turbines, one shaft, 20,000 shaft horsepower
	Propellers: one
	Length: 643 feet (196 meters)
	Beam: 85 feet (25.9 meters)
	Draft: 27 feet (8.2 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 20,500 tons full load
	Speed: 20 knots
	Aircraft: helicopter platform
	Armament: none
	Crew: 36 officers and 1,330 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SHENANDOAH. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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USS SHENANDOAH Cruise Books:

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USS SHENANDOAH History:

USS SHENANDOAH, the fifth United States Navy ship to bear the name Shenandoah, was the fourth and final ship of the YELLOWSTONE-class of destroyer tenders and the last purpose-built destroyer tender constructed for the United States Navy. She was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at San Diego, California. Her keel was laid on August 2, 1980, and she was launched and christened on February 6, 1982. Her sponsor was Mrs. W. Graham Claytor Jr., wife of former Secretary of the Navy W. Graham Claytor Jr. The ship represented the final development of a type that had formed an important part of United States fleet logistics for decades: a large mobile industrial facility capable of performing intermediate-level repairs close to deployed naval forces and reducing the need for supported ships to return to distant naval shipyards.

USS SHENANDOAH was commissioned at San Diego on August 15, 1983, with Captain Thomas M. McNicholas Jr. as her first commanding officer. The formal commissioning took place at approximately 0800 alongside the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company facility. Outfitting and preparations continued afterward, and on September 25 the ship hosted a National Steel and Shipbuilding Company appreciation day. On September 26 she shifted from the builder's yard to Naval Station San Diego.

During October, the new crew concentrated on the certifications required before independent operations. A light-off examination was conducted on October 11 and 12. Fast-cruise and crew-certification activities followed on October 13 and 14, and engineering personnel completed the certifications necessary to operate the propulsion plant. SHENANDOAH went to sea as a commissioned ship from October 19 through October 24 and again from October 31 through November 3. These short periods allowed the crew to test navigation, communications, engineering and shiphandling systems before the tender began her transfer to the Atlantic Fleet.

SHENANDOAH departed San Diego on November 7, 1983, for Norfolk, Virginia, which became her permanent homeport. She arrived at Acapulco, Mexico, on November 14 and remained there through November 16. Continuing southeast along the Pacific coast, she reached Rodman, Panama, on November 22 and transited the Panama Canal on November 23. After entering the Caribbean, SHENANDOAH called at Curacao from November 26 through November 28 and then proceeded to St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, remaining there from November 30 through December 2. Seventy-one Naval Reservists embarked during this portion of the voyage for approximately two weeks of active-duty training. The tender then continued north along the Atlantic coast and arrived at Naval Station Norfolk on December 7, 1983.

A Training and Readiness Evaluation followed from December 12 through December 14. On December 17 a large formal ceremony marked SHENANDOAH's arrival at her permanent homeport. More than 4,500 guests attended, and Congressman J. Kenneth Robinson of Virginia was the principal speaker. Although this event is occasionally described in later accounts as the ship's commissioning ceremony, SHENANDOAH had already formally entered commissioned service in San Diego on August 15.

On December 19, only two days after the Norfolk ceremony, SHENANDOAH began emergency and intermediate-level repair work for Atlantic Fleet ships. Among the earliest customers were USS McCANDLESS (FF 1084), USS TRUETT (FF 1095), USS MOINESTER (FF 1097), USS JOSEPHUS DANIELS (CG 27) and USS BRISCOE (DD 977). Work on BRISCOE included a major engine change-out.

During late December and the first half of January 1984, SHENANDOAH loaded more than 22,000 line items forming her Tender and Repair Ship Load List. These stocks included components, consumables, tools and raw materials required to sustain repair operations away from major shore supply centers. From January 16 through January 19, 1984, SHENANDOAH went to sea for engineering casualty-control exercises.

The tender departed Norfolk on January 24 for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. For approximately four weeks the crew trained intensively in navigation, engineering, seamanship, damage control and other operational disciplines. The repair department simultaneously practiced the procedures needed to assess casualties and dispatch repair assistance while the ship operated away from Norfolk. On February 14 SHENANDOAH successfully completed an important propulsion-plant examination.

A recreational visit to Montego Bay, Jamaica, followed from February 18 through February 20. SHENANDOAH subsequently completed the remaining Guantanamo Bay training events and departed the area on February 24. The return passage included Nassau in the Bahamas from February 25 through February 27 and Port Everglades, Florida, from March 1 through March 4. Family members and other guests embarked for the ship's first Tiger Cruise from March 5 through March 7, when SHENANDOAH returned to Norfolk.

On March 9, 1984, the staff of Commander Service Group Two embarked aboard SHENANDOAH, adding a fleet-support command function to the tender's industrial role. From March 19 through March 23 the ship underwent final contract trials conducted by the Board of Inspection and Survey. The spring and summer of 1984 brought an exceptionally heavy repair workload. USS VIRGINIA (CGN 38) underwent work from March 19 through April 13, while McCANDLESS was supported from March 26 through April 13. USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) began receiving tender assistance on April 4. USS INCHON (LPH 12) underwent an availability from April 13 through June 3, and USS MISSISSIPPI (CGN 40) entered a repair period later in April. USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) received support from April 20 through May 8.

USS RICHARD E. BYRD (DDG 23) was tended from April 25 through June 2. USS GLOVER (AGFF 1) underwent an availability from April 27 through May 20. USS SPRUANCE (DD 963) entered a repair period beginning on April 30, and USS SCOTT (DDG 995) followed from May 1 through May 14. USS RALEIGH (LPD 1) received support from May 16 through June 8, while USS EL PASO (LKA 117) and USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD (DD 968) both began work on May 21; EL PASO remained under tender support through June 27 and ARTHUR W. RADFORD through June 8.

A dependents' cruise was conducted on May 25 with more than 1,000 family members and guests aboard. USS HARRY E. YARNELL (CG 17) began a tender availability on May 29 that continued through June 22, and MOINESTER returned for additional work beginning on June 1. USS KIDD (DDG 993) entered an extended maintenance period on June 4.

On June 4, 1984, SHENANDOAH herself began her post-shakedown availability until August 31. Shipbuilding deficiencies and issues identified during the first months of service were corrected while the tender's repair organization continued supporting customer ships. USS CONYNGHAM (DDG 17) began a tender period on June 21. USS KALAMAZOO (AOR 6) received support beginning on July 16, McCANDLESS returned again during July, and USS THOMAS C. HART (FF 1092) underwent work beginning on July 18. USS BELKNAP (CG 26) followed on July 23, while MOINESTER returned again toward the end of the month. USS CONCORD (AFS 5) was among the ships supported during August.

By the first anniversary of SHENANDOAH's commissioning, the tender had provided some degree of repair or technical assistance to approximately 95 ships. During the busiest periods, the repair department produced tens of thousands of man-hours of work each month and processed thousands of separate jobs. This workload reflected the basic purpose of the ship: while SHENANDOAH's own deck, engineering, navigation, supply and administrative departments operated the tender, hundreds of specialists worked simultaneously on several other vessels.

Training away from the pier continued alongside the repair mission. During 1984, SHENANDOAH operated at sea with USS CHARLESTON (LKA 113) during training that included high-line transfer procedures, maintaining the tender's ability to transfer personnel and material while away from a fixed naval base.

During 1985, SHENANDOAH continued supporting Atlantic Fleet ships from Norfolk. Captain John Stephen Lacey Jr. relieved Captain McNicholas on April 19, 1985. The ship's performance during this period contributed to the first of several Battle Efficiency awards earned during her active career.

In 1986, SHENANDOAH deployed to the Mediterranean to provide intermediate-level maintenance for Sixth Fleet ships. The United States maintained carrier battle groups, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious vessels and submarines throughout the region, and the presence of a mobile tender allowed significant repairs to be performed without withdrawing combatants to distant shipyards. By April 1986, SHENANDOAH was operating at Augusta Bay, Sicily. USS JESSE L. BROWN (FF 1089) arrived on April 2 and began an intermediate maintenance availability with the tender. The work continued through April 6, and the frigate departed on April 7.

This Mediterranean deployment coincided with a period of severe tension between the United States and Libya. On April 5, 1986, a bomb exploded at the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, killing two United States servicemen and a Turkish civilian. The United States subsequently conducted Operation El Dorado Canyon against targets in Libya on April 15.

After completing the Mediterranean support period, SHENANDOAH returned to the Atlantic. Later in 1986, she underwent a substantial maintenance period at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point facility in Maryland. The work included dry-docking and repairs to boilers, auxiliary machinery, shafting, electronics, hull preservation and crew spaces.

Captain Raymond A. Sharpe Jr. relieved Captain Lacey on April 26, 1987. SHENANDOAH subsequently returned to Mediterranean duty. During the 1987 deployment, she operated as a mobile maintenance facility at several Sixth Fleet anchorages and ports. USS AYLWIN (FF 1081) and USS VREELAND (FF 1068) were among the frigates documented receiving repair support from the tender. USS COMTE DE GRASSE (DD 974) was also documented with SHENANDOAH in the Marseille area. Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was among the tender's Mediterranean ports during the year. On October 9, 1987, SHENANDOAH arrived at Genoa, Italy. Such movements allowed the tender to position her workshops where groups of ships could undergo maintenance without being withdrawn from the Mediterranean theater.

SHENANDOAH continued Atlantic and Mediterranean support into 1988. Following the return of USS THOMAS S. GATES (CG 51) to Norfolk on September 2, 1988, the new Aegis guided-missile cruiser began an intermediate maintenance availability with SHENANDOAH that continued through September 16.

Captain Patrick M. Shepard relieved Captain Sharpe on April 21, 1989. SHENANDOAH subsequently deployed again to the Mediterranean during a cruise that produced one of the most unusual tender operations of her career. On June 27, 1989, while SHENANDOAH was at Toulon, France, two sailors assigned to the ship's shore-patrol organization assisted local emergency personnel during a serious apartment fire. They helped evacuate residents, including elderly and disabled occupants.

The operational situation in the eastern Mediterranean changed during the summer following reports that United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins, who had been abducted in Lebanon in 1988 while serving with a United Nations observer mission, had been killed. American naval forces remained concentrated off Lebanon while Washington assessed the crisis. Instead of continuing a normal sequence of port-based tender availabilities, SHENANDOAH remained at sea with the operating force. Rear Admiral Richard C. Macke, Commander Task Force 60, used the tender as an important node in the battle group's logistics and maintenance system. For approximately a month, SHENANDOAH adapted a ship designed primarily to repair vessels alongside in port to the requirements of supporting an operational force that remained continuously at sea.

BUTTE (AE 27), MONONGAHELA (AO 178) and SYLVANIA (AFS 2) formed the main logistics shuttle between shore support points and the battle group. Sailors referred informally to this system as the "Butte Bullet Express". Equipment, replacement parts, provisions, mail and personnel were moved to SHENANDOAH, processed or repaired aboard the tender and then returned to the appropriate ship. During approximately three weeks, more than one million pounds of cargo and roughly a quarter-million pounds of mail passed through the system. Approximately 50 to 100 personnel moved through SHENANDOAH each day.

The tender also dispatched mobile technical teams to ships that could not come alongside. A dental team equipped with portable equipment traveled to VIRGINIA and examined members of the crew during a two-day period, referring personnel requiring more complex treatment to SHENANDOAH. Other mobile teams provided electronics repair, hearing examinations, barber services, personnel assistance, disbursing support and specialized technical manpower.

Secure communications and computerized tracking systems were used to monitor repair requirements, equipment failures, parts requests and the locations of customer ships. Vessels approached SHENANDOAH several times each day to transfer personnel, mail and equipment by boat. At times seven or eight ships were operating close to the tender while waiting to exchange material or obtain technical services.

The most unusual maintenance task involved JOHN KING (DDG 3). The guided-missile destroyer required work that normally called for shutting down its boilers and placing the ship in a cold-iron condition alongside a stationary tender. Since the force remained operationally committed at sea, SHENANDOAH's crew developed a method of conducting the availability in the eastern Mediterranean. Large Yokohama pneumatic fenders were obtained from La Maddalena, Sardinia, and modified for use between the ships. JOHN KING was positioned alongside SHENANDOAH in an arrangement designed to permit towing and rapid separation if weather conditions deteriorated. The destroyer was secured to the tender in approximately 16 minutes, after which telephone, steam and utility connections were established.

With JOHN KING cold iron, the coupled ships drifted with wind and current during daytime repair periods, covering approximately 14 to 15 miles during a day. At night, SHENANDOAH maneuvered at roughly six to eight knots to regain an appropriate operating position before work resumed. Repair personnel worked continuously while SHENANDOAH also maintained helicopter operations, logistics transfers and support for other ships. The JOHN KING repair period was completed in approximately five days, substantially less than the period normally allocated for such an intermediate maintenance availability. After the Lebanon-related crisis subsided, SHENANDOAH resumed more conventional Sixth Fleet support and eventually returned to Norfolk in November 1989.

During 1990, SHENANDOAH continued Atlantic Fleet support from Norfolk while periodically conducting at-sea engineering and operational training. Captain James F. Shanahan relieved Captain Shepard on August 3, 1990. The change of command occurred one day after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Operation Desert Shield began as the United States and coalition partners rapidly moved military forces to Saudi Arabia and surrounding waters. SHENANDOAH did not immediately deploy to the Persian Gulf during the opening months of the crisis and continued Atlantic Fleet repair duties while other tender and repair assets were moved into Southwest Asia.

Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991. SHENANDOAH's principal Southwest Asia activity took place after the major combat phase. Her officially recognized service in the Southwest Asia theater extended from July 10 through August 10, 1991, during the postwar cease-fire campaign. American and allied naval forces remained engaged in sanctions enforcement, mine-clearance support and continued regional presence operations.

SHENANDOAH subsequently continued Mediterranean operations. She was documented underway in the Mediterranean on September 1, 1991. On September 10, USS PONCE (LPD 15) moored outboard of SHENANDOAH at Marseille, France, and began a 16-day tender availability that continued through September 26. During November, SHENANDOAH was at Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with USS DALE (CG 19) documented alongside. SHENANDOAH's service during this period contributed to the awards she received for operations in both the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia.

After returning to Norfolk, SHENANDOAH resumed Atlantic Fleet maintenance duties. Captain Philip F. Shullo Jr. relieved Captain Shanahan on September 25, 1992. Later that year, SHENANDOAH participated in the workup of the battle group centered on USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71). Composite Training Unit Exercise 2-93 ran from November 12 through December 9 off the Virginia Capes.

During the spring of 1993, SHENANDOAH deployed again, initially supporting Sixth Fleet operations in the Mediterranean. On May 14, HUE CITY (CG 66) moored with the tender at Augusta Bay, Sicily, for a five-day upkeep period and departed on May 20. SHENANDOAH subsequently moved eastward. SPRUANCE reached Souda Bay, Crete, and underwent minor repairs and alterations with the tender from June 17 through June 27. After completion of the work, the destroyer continued its deployment.

The strategic setting differed markedly from SHENANDOAH's earlier Cold War Mediterranean operations. The Soviet Union had ceased to exist, while American and allied naval forces were increasingly involved in the crises created by the breakup of Yugoslavia. At the same time, continuing confrontation with Iraq required substantial naval forces farther east. Operation Southern Watch, begun in August 1992, enforced restrictions over southern Iraq, while maritime interception operations continued under United Nations sanctions.

During the deployment, SHENANDOAH received a change in tasking and was redirected from her planned Mediterranean schedule toward the Arabian Gulf to provide intermediate maintenance for ships operating there. The tender passed through the eastern Mediterranean and Suez route into the United States Central Command operating area. Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates became one of SHENANDOAH's principal repair locations. USS CHANDLER (DDG 996) entered a restricted availability alongside the tender there from September 5 through September 13, 1993. The destroyer subsequently returned to patrol duties in the northern Arabian Gulf.

The deployment continued into the autumn before SHENANDOAH returned to Norfolk. Her service from April 15 through October 4, 1993, was recognized by a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Captain Larry Wayne Darling relieved Captain Shullo on April 28, 1994, and became SHENANDOAH's final commanding officer. During the remainder of the year, the tender continued Norfolk fleet-support duties while preparing for what became her final major overseas deployment.

Late in 1994 SHENANDOAH deployed to the Mediterranean. The regional focus had increasingly shifted toward the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. United States and allied naval forces were operating in the Adriatic in connection with Operations Deny Flight, Provide Promise and Sharp Guard. USS KIDD, which had been operating in the Mediterranean, reached Palermo, Sicily, and began a 12-day intermediate maintenance availability with SHENANDOAH on January 8, 1995. The work continued through January 20, after which the destroyer returned to fleet operations. SHENANDOAH subsequently shifted to the eastern Mediterranean. PONCE arrived at Haifa, Israel, on March 7 and moored outboard of SHENANDOAH for a 16-day upkeep and intermediate maintenance period. The availability continued through March 23, when PONCE and other elements of Task Force 61 departed Haifa.

The Haifa work occurred while Sixth Fleet amphibious forces alternated between exercises, presence operations and commitments associated with the continuing conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After completing the remaining support work of her final Mediterranean deployment, SHENANDOAH crossed the Atlantic and returned to Norfolk on May 17, 1995. USS YELLOWSTONE (AD 41) had been scheduled to deploy on May 25 to assume the next Mediterranean tender rotation, but the Navy cancelled that deployment as part of efforts to reduce operating costs. Sixth Fleet maintenance increasingly depended upon existing shore facilities, contractors, mobile technical teams and other regional support arrangements.

The destroyer-tender force was disappearing rapidly. USS ACADIA (AD 42) had already been decommissioned on December 16, 1994. USS CAPE COD (AD 43) was decommissioned on September 29, 1995, and YELLOWSTONE followed on January 31, 1996. SHENANDOAH consequently became the final YELLOWSTONE-class destroyer tender remaining in active service. SHENANDOAH continued supporting Atlantic Fleet ships at Norfolk during 1995 and into 1996 while deactivation preparations progressed. Her repair organization remained operational as tools, machinery, spare parts and responsibilities were gradually transferred to other commands. Personnel received new assignments, and industrial spaces that had once supported several combatants simultaneously were prepared for inactive status.

USS SHENANDOAH was decommissioned at Norfolk on September 13, 1996, with Captain Darling as her final commanding officer. She had served slightly more than thirteen years. She received multiple Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations, three Battle Efficiency awards, the National Defense Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with one campaign star, Sea Service Deployment awards and the Kuwait Liberation Medal awarded by Kuwait.

Following decommissioning, SHENANDOAH remained in inactive status. No requirement for reactivation developed. On November 2, 2000, the former tender entered Maritime Administration custody for eventual disposal and was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet near Fort Eustis, Virginia. On July 28, 2001, a further transfer milestone placed the vessel under Maritime Administration title for disposal. SHENANDOAH remained in the James River Reserve Fleet for more than a decade. On October 21, 2014, a domestic recycling contract covering former Navy vessels including SHENANDOAH was awarded to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas. Ex-SHENANDOAH departed the James River Reserve Fleet on November 20, 2014, under the disposal contract and was transferred to Brownsville for dismantling.

ESCO Marine subsequently ceased operations before the dismantling of all ships at the site had been completed. SHENANDOAH remained partially dismantled at the former ESCO facility when the yard assets were acquired by a successor operation in 2017. Later stages of the recycling process continued under the new ownership.

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USS SHENANDOAH Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me and shows the SHENANDOAH laid up on the James River between the CAPE MENDOCINO (T-AKR 5064) [left] and the SYLVANIA (AFS 2). The photo was taken on October 30, 2010.

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