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USNS Mount Baker (T-AE 34)

USNS MOUNT BAKER was the seventh ship in the KILAUEA - class of Ammunition Ships and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Mount Baker, a peak 10,778 feet high, is located in the Cascades Mountain Range in the State of Washington. Having erupted as late as 1854, fumes and smoke can still be seen emanating from the peak today. On April 30, 1792, Lieutenant Joseph Baker, III, Royal Navy, aboard the HMS DISCOVERY, sighted the mountain which bears his name.

Decommissioned on December 18, 1996, USS MOUNT BAKER was transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force the same day and her hull number was changed to T-AE 34. Base at the US East Coast, she continued service as USNS MOUNT BAKER until deactivated on August 2, 2010. MOUNT BAKER was subsequently laid up at Philadelphia, Penn., and was scheduled to be sunk as a target. However, in mid-2012 she was sold for scrapping and towed to Brownsville, Tx., for dismantling in July 2012.

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Crew List:

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

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• Click here to see which USS / USNS MOUNT BAKER memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS / USNS MOUNT BAKER Cruise Books:

• Mediterranean / Indian Ocean Cruise Book 1985-86

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History of USS / USNS MOUNT BAKER:

USS MOUNT BAKER was laid down on October 5, 1970, at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Systems, Inc. She was launched on October 23, 1971, sponsored by Muriel K. Arnold, wife of Admiral Jackson D. Arnold, then Chief of Naval Material, and commissioned at Naval Base Charleston, South Carolina, on July 22, 1972, with Captain Frank S. Conlon in command.

Following commissioning, MOUNT BAKER joined the Atlantic Fleet and spent the remainder of 1972 and part of 1973 completing the training, trials and preparations associated with bringing a new ammunition ship into operational service. Her subsequent career was dominated by extended deployments from the East Coast of the United States to the Mediterranean and, increasingly, the Indian Ocean and waters around the Arabian Peninsula. Her first major overseas deployment began on October 15, 1973, nine days after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. The conflict had produced a substantial concentration of United States and Soviet naval forces in and around the Mediterranean and placed additional demands on Sixth Fleet logistics. MOUNT BAKER operated as an ammunition support ship for deployed United States naval forces and remained overseas until April 27, 1974.

Her second extended deployment began on August 27, 1974, during a period in which the eastern Mediterranean remained unsettled following the Cyprus crisis and the Turkish military intervention earlier that summer. MOUNT BAKER again served the ammunition requirements of Sixth Fleet forces and remained deployed through the end of 1974 and into January 1975. She returned from the deployment on January 27, 1975.

MOUNT BAKER began another extended deployment on October 2, 1975. On November 15, she participated in NATO Exercise Devil's Foil, operating with British, Turkish and Italian naval units. The exercise formed part of the regular multinational training program intended to maintain coordination among allied naval forces in the Mediterranean. MOUNT BAKER's participation centered on the logistics role for which she had been designed. She remained deployed through the winter of 1975-1976 and returned to the United States on May 8, 1976.

Later in 1976, MOUNT BAKER received an unusual assignment unrelated to her normal ammunition-delivery duties when the Chief of Naval Operations selected her as a test platform for a Priority One evaluation of the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System Mark III, or LAMPS Mk III. The first test period ran from November 2 through November 14, 1976, and the second from November 29 through December 10. Temporary vans, specialized antennas and associated equipment were installed aboard the ship, supplementing her Combat Information Center and allowing her to support evaluation of the developing helicopter-based antisubmarine warfare system. During portions of the trials, she operated with USS ALACRITY (MSO 520) and USS ASSURANCE (MSO 521). Helicopters flew 92 planned missions totaling approximately 200 flight hours from MOUNT BAKER during the evaluation program, and a submarine was used as a target in calibration and assessment work.

The testing was interrupted by an actual medical emergency on November 9, 1976, while MOUNT BAKER was operating approximately 375 miles east of Charleston. Around noon she passed the 12-meter sailing yacht SUNRISE, which at first appeared not to require assistance. The situation later changed after the Coast Guard received information that the yacht's master, Jay Decheslere, had been seriously injured after being thrown about by the vessel's motion. The merchant ship TORINO recovered the injured man. After learning of the situation early on November 10, MOUNT BAKER reversed course and arranged a rendezvous with TORINO so that Decheslere could be transferred to the Navy ship, where better medical facilities were available. The ships maneuvered to reduce the effects of the sea while MOUNT BAKER launched a motor whaleboat. Master Chief Boatswain's Mate William C. Robinson led the boat crew, and Hospital Corpsman Third Class Joseph Forbes and Seaman Steven Coccia assisted with the transfer. After Decheslere had been brought aboard and treated, MOUNT BAKER steamed northwest to meet a Coast Guard helicopter, which transported him to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, for further medical care.

The LAMPS evaluation encountered another interruption on December 8, 1976, when what was assessed to be a Soviet submarine entered the training area. The planned test activity was postponed until the following day. Immediately after completing the evaluation program, MOUNT BAKER received a further special assignment. On December 10, she altered course to be available to assist the Navy's nuclear-powered research submersible NR-1 and the submarine rescue ship USS SUNBIRD (ASR 15). On December 11, MOUNT BAKER took station with USS KITTIWAKE (ASR 13), USS BATFISH (SSN 681) and USS NARWHAL (SSN 671) as well as SUNBIRD and NR-1. Her assistance continued until December 15, after which she returned to the Charleston area.

MOUNT BAKER departed on her next Mediterranean deployment on January 15, 1977. During March, she participated in National Week XXII, a large Sixth Fleet exercise involving surface, aviation, amphibious and antisubmarine forces. From March 19 through March 25, she operated as part of the Blue Force Amphibious Group together with USS JESSE L. BROWN (FF 1089), USS GUAM (LPH 9), USS HARLAN COUNTY (LST 1196), USS FORT SNELLING (LSD 30) and USS VALDEZ (FF 1096). Following completion of the exercise, participating commands conducted a critique at Augusta Bay, Sicily, on March 26. MOUNT BAKER continued her Mediterranean deployment during the spring and summer and returned to the United States on August 1, 1977. Her performance during this period contributed to the series of Battle Efficiency awards she accumulated during her career.

MOUNT BAKER's next firmly documented extended deployment began on March 13, 1979, and lasted until September 22. She again served as an ammunition ship for deployed fleet units in the Mediterranean and related operating areas. The deployment came during a period of substantial political change in the Middle East following the Iranian Revolution and increasing United States attention to access and security in the Indian Ocean region.

Another overseas deployment began on April 16, 1980. MOUNT BAKER continued to provide ammunition logistics to United States forces operating in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions. The deployment extended across a period of heightened tension surrounding Iran and the continuing hostage crisis and ended after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War on September 22. No direct combat role by MOUNT BAKER in those events is documented; her function remained fleet logistics. She returned from the deployment on October 17, 1980.

MOUNT BAKER departed once again on March 9, 1981. Her six-month deployment took place during a period in which United States naval activity in the Mediterranean included growing tension with Libya. On August 19, United States Navy aircraft engaged Libyan fighters over the Gulf of Sidra, but MOUNT BAKER's documented function was ammunition and fleet support rather than participation in the aerial confrontation. She completed the deployment on September 15, 1981.

The deployment that began on May 3, 1982, placed MOUNT BAKER in the Mediterranean during the rapidly developing crisis in Lebanon. Israel invaded Lebanon in June, and United States naval forces subsequently maintained a substantial presence in the eastern Mediterranean as diplomatic negotiations, the evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization personnel from Beirut and the establishment of a multinational force ashore unfolded. MOUNT BAKER supported carrier and surface forces operating in the area and conducted repeated ammunition and supply transfers by connected and vertical replenishment.

Among the ships supported during the 1982 deployment were USS FORRESTAL (CV 59) and USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62). MOUNT BAKER's embarked CH-46 Sea Knights transferred ammunition and supplies to the carriers while connected-replenishment equipment was used when conditions and operational requirements permitted ships to come alongside. USS VREELAND (FF 1068), which deployed with the FORRESTAL group, also replenished from MOUNT BAKER in the Mediterranean during July. Period photographic documentation additionally shows MOUNT BAKER operating in the logistics structure supporting INDEPENDENCE and accompanying ships including USS BIDDLE (CG 34), while USNS PAWCATUCK (T-AO 108) supplied fuel to ships of the force.

On August 25, 1982, Marines from Battalion Landing Team 2/8 went ashore at Beirut as part of the multinational operation connected with the evacuation of PLO forces. MOUNT BAKER remained in the offshore logistics system supporting the naval units assigned to the eastern Mediterranean rather than serving as a shore-combat unit. The situation in Lebanon remained unstable after the initial evacuation, resulting in a continuing United States naval presence. MOUNT BAKER remained deployed through the latter part of the year and returned to the United States on December 22, 1982.

Following refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, MOUNT BAKER departed again on May 17, 1983. The deployment took her to both the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean operating areas. Her documented activities included fleet ammunition support, operations associated with the continuing Lebanon contingency, support for battle groups in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean and logistics activity involving Masirah, Oman. The deployment coincided with an increasingly dangerous phase of the Lebanese civil conflict and with the continued presence of United States Marines and other multinational forces ashore. Following the October 23 bombing of the Marine barracks at Beirut, United States naval forces remained concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean. MOUNT BAKER continued her logistics role throughout the deployment and returned on November 21, 1983.

In February 1984, MOUNT BAKER entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for a regular overhaul. The availability occupied much of the year and included the maintenance and repair required after more than a decade of intensive fleet service. The overhaul was completed in November 1984, after which MOUNT BAKER returned to operational training and preparations for another overseas deployment.

MOUNT BAKER departed on October 2, 1985, for a Mediterranean and Indian Ocean deployment that extended well into 1986. During the first months of 1986, United States-Libyan relations deteriorated sharply over competing claims concerning the Gulf of Sidra and Libyan support for terrorist activity. United States carrier forces operated repeatedly off Libya, and clashes during March were followed by United States air strikes against targets in Libya during April. Official award records credit MOUNT BAKER with a Navy Unit Commendation eligibility period extending from March 23 through April 17, 1986. These dates overlap the principal Sixth Fleet operations associated with the Gulf of Sidra confrontation and the subsequent strikes, although MOUNT BAKER's function remained fleet ammunition and logistics support rather than direct participation in the strikes themselves.

As the deployment drew to a close, MOUNT BAKER moved westward with returning Sixth Fleet units. On May 9, 1986, she was among ships heading toward the United States in company with USS CORAL SEA (CV 43), BIDDLE, USS DE WERT (FFG 45), USS JACK WILLIAMS (FFG 24), USS CAPODANNO (FF 1093), USS MONONGAHELA (AO 178) and JESSE L. BROWN. MOUNT BAKER completed the deployment on May 20, 1986. It was the tenth major Mediterranean and Indian Ocean deployment recorded for the ship between 1973 and 1986.

MOUNT BAKER continued Atlantic Fleet training following her return. On July 21, 1987, she conducted a large vertical-replenishment evolution with USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69). CH-46 Sea Knights from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eight transferred ammunition and other cargo between MOUNT BAKER and the carrier while the ships remained underway. A cruise record confirms that MOUNT BAKER undertook another overseas cruise in 1988 and continued Mediterranean fleet-support operations.

Another cruise record covers MOUNT BAKER's operations in 1990, a year in which the strategic situation in the Middle East changed abruptly following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2. United States and coalition forces began a major buildup in Saudi Arabia and surrounding waters under Operation Desert Shield, while naval forces established and maintained the maritime component of the international response. MOUNT BAKER subsequently supported the naval logistics system associated with the Gulf War. After the beginning of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, United States and coalition naval forces maintained intensive carrier and surface operations in the region. Contemporary United States Navy documentation from April 1, 1991, shows MOUNT BAKER crossing the Atlantic in heavy seas while returning to the United States after Operation Desert Storm, confirming her participation in the wartime support cycle.

MOUNT BAKER returned to the Southwest Asia operating region later in 1991. Official award records credit the ship with qualifying Southwest Asia service from October 13, 1991, through February 28, 1992, and a cruise record covers the 1991-1992 deployment. This was the immediate postwar period in which United States naval forces remained heavily committed around the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf while supporting the cease-fire regime, maritime sanctions and continuing regional security requirements. MOUNT BAKER provided ammunition logistics for those deployed forces and returned to the Atlantic Fleet deployment cycle after completion of the cruise.

A significant emergency occurred on August 12, 1993, while MOUNT BAKER was off Cape Hatteras. The ship required an emergency tow, and USS GRASP (ARS 51) took her under tow from the Cape Hatteras area toward Norfolk. The tow continued through August 13.

A further MOUNT BAKER cruise is documented for 1994. She continued to serve as an Atlantic Fleet ammunition ship at a time when United States naval commitments included regular operations in the Mediterranean, Middle East and waters associated with the continuing crises in the former Yugoslavia.

MOUNT BAKER remained in commissioned Navy service through 1995 and entered her final year as USS MOUNT BAKER in 1996. On January 29, 1996, she was operating in the western Atlantic with USS BARRY (DDG 52) while both ships were associated with the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) Battle Group on its way toward the Mediterranean. A CH-46 Sea Knight from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eight was photographed operating from MOUNT BAKER during the transit. The battle group's deployment included Mediterranean and Adriatic operations connected with NATO's Operation Joint Endeavor, established following the Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as subsequent operations in Middle Eastern waters.

On July 12, 1996, MOUNT BAKER participated in a documented carrier battle group turnover in the western Mediterranean. She steamed in formation with GEORGE WASHINGTON, USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) and USS SUPPLY (AOE 6) as the ENTERPRISE Battle Group relieved the GEORGE WASHINGTON Battle Group. The evolution marked the transfer of deployed carrier responsibilities between the two forces and was among MOUNT BAKER's final major overseas operations as a commissioned United States Navy ship.

On December 18, 1996, MOUNT BAKER was decommissioned after more than 24 years of commissioned service. She was not retired from operational use. On the same day, she entered service with the Military Sealift Command's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force as USNS MOUNT BAKER (T-AE 34). Her primary mission remained essentially unchanged: transporting ammunition to forward areas and transferring it to United States Navy ships at sea. Military Sealift Command operation replaced much of the uniformed ship's company with civilian mariners while retaining the personnel and detachments needed for specialized military functions.

MOUNT BAKER remained active during 1997 and 1998 as part of the Military Sealift Command logistics force. By 2000, MOUNT BAKER was again supporting a major carrier deployment. She formed part of the logistics support structure associated with the deployment of DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER and accompanying forces to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf. USNS KANAWHA (T-AO 196) also provided logistics support to the deployed force. The carrier group operated in support of Operation Southern Watch, the long-running enforcement of the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. MOUNT BAKER's role was to provide ammunition and related cargo while the combatant ships remained deployed.

One of the most extensively documented ammunition-transfer operations of MOUNT BAKER's later career began on December 8, 2001. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON had recently completed a substantial maintenance period and needed to restore its operational weapons inventory. Months of planning preceded an ammunition onload from MOUNT BAKER involving more than 1,400 separate ordnance lifts. The evolution continued for three days and was completed one day earlier than scheduled. On December 10 and December 11, approximately another 250 lifts were subsequently transferred to GEORGE WASHINGTON from ENTERPRISE. The operation took place during the period immediately following the September 11 terrorist attacks and the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, when Atlantic Fleet carrier readiness had assumed increased operational importance.

The risks inherent in helicopter replenishment were demonstrated on February 7, 2002. MOUNT BAKER was conducting a vertical replenishment with USS SEATTLE (AOE 3) approximately 100 miles east of the Virginia Capes when a CH-46 Sea Knight from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Six, Detachment Four, crashed into the Atlantic. Four crew members were recovered by a second helicopter and returned to SEATTLE; the copilot and one crew member sustained minor injuries. Both helicopters involved belonged to the detachment embarked aboard SEATTLE.

During September 2002, MOUNT BAKER took part in predeployment training associated with the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Battle Group. From September 3 through September 14, the group conducted Maritime Interdiction Operations training. MOUNT BAKER, KANAWHA and USNS JOHN LENTHALL (T-AO 189), together with other support shipping, were used in training scenarios that allowed boarding teams to practice the interception, approach and inspection procedures required for maritime interdiction missions.

On December 5, 2002, MOUNT BAKER deployed as part of the logistics support structure for the HARRY S. TRUMAN Battle Group. The force included USS SAN JACINTO (CG 56), USS MITSCHER (DDG 57), USS DONALD COOK (DDG 75), USS OSCAR AUSTIN (DDG 79), USS DEYO (DD 989), USS BRISCOE (DD 977) and USS HAWES (FFG 53), while KANAWHA also supported the deployed ships. The force passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on December 10 and entered a theater in which the longstanding containment operations against Iraq were increasingly accompanied by preparations for a possible new conflict.

On February 15, 2003, MOUNT BAKER conducted a weapons onload with HARRY S. TRUMAN while the carrier was deployed. The operation took place during the period preceding Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 20. As United States carrier forces subsequently conducted combat operations associated with the war in Iraq, MOUNT BAKER continued to provide ammunition logistics to deployed naval forces. Her service during this period was later reflected in the ship's official award history, which includes a Navy Unit Commendation associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Following the deployment, MOUNT BAKER continued to handle the reverse movement of ammunition from returning combatants. On July 20 and July 21, 2003, she participated in ammunition-transfer operations with HARRY S. TRUMAN in the Atlantic. Such postdeployment offloads were an important part of the ammunition ship's routine, removing and redistributing ordnance while carriers moved back into maintenance and training cycles.

On March 17, 2004, MOUNT BAKER arrived at Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, for a routine port visit. Souda Bay was a major United States and NATO logistics location in the eastern Mediterranean and was regularly used by naval forces moving between Atlantic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern operating areas. Later that year, MOUNT BAKER underwent maintenance in Virginia. On November 22, 2004, she arrived at the Northrop Grumman Newport News facility at Newport News for a short shipyard availability centered on her rudder and associated equipment. The work included removal and inspection of the rudder and rudder stock, repairs and machining where required, testing and preparations for return to service.

MOUNT BAKER continued supporting Atlantic Fleet deployments during 2005 and 2006. During the 2005-2006 deployment cycle she served the logistics requirements of the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group as it operated through the Mediterranean and into the Fifth Fleet area. The deployment took place while United States naval forces remained engaged in operations connected with Iraq, Afghanistan and maritime security in the Middle East.

On October 21, 2006, MOUNT BAKER conducted vertical-replenishment operations with USS BATAAN (LHD 5) during the amphibious assault ship's predeployment training. Helicopters transferred cargo between the ships while underway, allowing BATAAN to receive ammunition and supplies without interrupting its training schedule.

Another noteworthy logistics evolution occurred on December 17, 2006, when MOUNT BAKER operated with USNS LEWIS AND CLARK (T-AKE 1) and THEODORE ROOSEVELT. An MH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 conducted vertical-replenishment work associated with MOUNT BAKER while LEWIS AND CLARK prepared for replenishment operations involving the ships. The operation brought MOUNT BAKER together with the first vessel of the new LEWIS AND CLARK-class of dry cargo and ammunition ships. The T-AKE class was being introduced to combine functions that had previously been divided among specialized ammunition and combat-stores ships and would progressively assume much of the mission performed by the aging KILAUEA-class.

MOUNT BAKER nevertheless continued operational service. On August 18, 2007, she conducted a weapons onload with HARRY S. TRUMAN in the Atlantic while the carrier was conducting carrier qualifications and preparing for its next deployment.

The ship continued serving with Military Sealift Command during 2008 and 2009. On July 20, 2009, the Navy publicly identified MOUNT BAKER for inactivation on August 2, 2010. She remained in the Military Sealift Command inventory until that date. On August 2, 2010, MOUNT BAKER was placed out of service and simultaneously stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, ending 38 years of service since her commissioning in 1972. She was subsequently retained in inactive status at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

MOUNT BAKER remained in government custody after her removal from active service. On July 23, 2012, she was transferred to the Maritime Administration. Earlier Navy planning had considered the former ammunition ship for eventual disposal as a target, but that method of disposal was not carried out. On November 30, 2012, the Maritime Administration announced her disposition for dismantling and recycling.

MOUNT BAKER's official record included three Meritorious Unit Commendations, two Navy Unit Commendations, one of them associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom, four Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, five Navy Expeditionary Medals, two Armed Forces Service Medals, a Global War on Terrorism award and five Battle Efficiency "E" awards.

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USS / USNS MOUNT BAKER Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me on October 26, 2010, and show the MOUNT BAKER laid up at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Penn. At the time, the MOUNT BAKER was scheduled to be sunk as a target.

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