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USS Shreveport (LPD 12)

USS SHREVEPORT was one of the AUSTIN - class Amphibious Transport Docks and the fourth ship in the CLEVELAND - class because she was one of the five AUSTIN - class ships equipped with a flag bridge. SHREVEPORT was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on September 26, 2007, the ship spent the following years laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard awaiting final disposal. In December 2021, SHREVEPORT was towed to Brownsville, Tx., for scrapping, arriving there on December 27.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SHREVEPORT. 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 SHREVEPORT memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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History of USS SHREVEPORT:

USS SHREVEPORT was laid down on December 27, 1965 by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on October 22, 1966 and sponsored by Mrs. Andrew McBurney Jackson, Jr. She was commissioned on December 12, 1970 with Captain Peter H. Pehrsson in command.

SHREVEPORT departed Norfolk, Virginia, in early January of 1973 for her first deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. She served as flagship for Commander, Amphibious Squadron Two. During this deployment, she visited ports in France, Italy, Greece, Crete, and Turkey before returning to the United States in July of that year.

The "Super Gator", as her crew dubbed her, deployed again to the Mediterranean Sea in July of 1975 with Commander, Amphibious Squadron Two again embarked. Following Christmas at Palma, Spain, SHREVEPORT returned to Norfolk in early February of 1976 having sustained damage on the bow and flag bridge from a massive forty-foot wave, known as the "North Wall Effect", off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

In late August of 1976, SHREVEPORT deployed to Northern Europe as flagship for Commander, Amphibious Squadron Eight. During the two and one-half month cruise, the ship participated in two major NATO amphibious assault exercises and visited ports in Sweden, West Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In September of 1979, SHREVEPORT began another deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, returning to Norfolk in February of 1980. In August of that year, her crew earned the Humanitarian Service Medal for their on-scene assistance to the Cuban Flotilla in the Florida Straits. In September of 1981, SHREVEPORT visited Cancun, Mexico while supporting the attendance of the President Ronald Reagan at the North-South Economic Summitt Conference.

In August of 1982, SHREVEPORT departed Norfolk to return to the Mediterranean as flagship for Commander, Amphibious Squadron Six. She joined the multi-national force in September and served for four months off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon before returning to Norfolk in March of 1983. She was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and the Navy Expeditionary Forces Medal for her operations off of the Lebanese coast.

SHREVEPORT returned once more to the Mediterranean in July, 1984. While in Rota, Spain, she received mission tasking to off-load her embarked Marines and to embark Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron Fourteen (HM-14). Crossing the Mediterranean and transitting the Suez Canal in world record time, she participated in Operation Intense Look, conducting mine clearance operations in the Red Sea. For her actions in support of this critical operation, SHREVEPORT was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation. Later in the deployment, she was called to action off the Lebanese coast. Following the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, SHREVEPORT provided critical medical evacuation and logistics support services. After making port calls in Marseille, France, and Malaga and Rota, Spain, she returned to Norfolk.

In May of 1985, SHREVEPORT was present for the opening ceremonies of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mobile, Alabama. On her return trip to Norfolk, she logged her 25,000th helicopter landing. Later in the year, she was involved in several minor underway exercises and began making preparations for a shipyard overhaul. In October, she departed Norfolk bound for overhaul in Brooklyn, New York. While in the shipyard, the ship underwent extensive refurbishment, modernization, and upgrade. She returned to Norfolk in July of 1987.

After several weeks at sea in December of 1986 and January of 1987, SHREVEPORT departed Norfolk for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Upon successful completion of training, she returned to Norfolk in March. One month later, she participated in Exercises Solid Shield '87 in preparation for her upcoming deployment. In September, she departed for the Mediterranean. Embarked with Marines of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU), SHREVEPORT - along with USS NASSAU (LHA 4) and USS MANITOWOC (LST 1180) - composed the first Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group (MARG) to deploy in conjunction with a regularly scheduled Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) deployment. She participated in several amphibious exercises, including a joint MARG/CVBG fleet exercise and Exercise African Eagle off the Moroccan coast. SHREVEPORT arrived in home port in March of 1988.

That following June, the ship entered the Metro Machine Corporation shipyard in Norfolk where she underwent four months of repair, upgrade, and refurbishment. Six months later in January of 1989, she departed Norfolk for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before deploying again to the Mediterranean. While there, she visited ports in Spain, France, Israel, Egypt, Italy, and Portugal. A scheduled visit to Toulon, France was abruptly canceled when SHREVEPORT was suddenly tasked to support the American Embassy evacuation operations in Beirut. She conducted numerous evacuation rehearsals with US Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps helicopters operating from her flight deck.

November of 1989 saw the "Super Gator" returning to Norfolk and the Metro Machine Corporation shipyards for another maintenance availability. She was underway again in June of 1990 and spent the majority of the summer months conducting local operations and exercises in preparation for a deployment to Northern Europe. That deployment was canceled when SHREVEPORT was tasked to deploy to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Shield.

SHREVEPORT departed Norfolk on August 15, 1990 with Commander, Amphibious Squadron Six embarked. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, she logged more than 40,000 nautical miles and served as the primary control ship during the four "Sea Soldier" amphibious assault exercises. The amphibious task force was the largest assembled since the landings at Inchon during the Korean War. The ship also participated in the intercept of the Iraqi ship IBN KHALBOON and the processing of enemy prisoners of war. Following an eight-month deployment, SHREVEPORT returned home to Norfolk on April 17, 1991. In January of 1992, SHREVEPORT was awarded the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for outstanding readiness and performance during her deployment to the Middle East in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In November of 1993, SHREVEPORT was assigned to the coast of Mogadishu, Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope. Just two months later in January of 1994, she was present in the Adriatic Sea taking part in Operation Provide Promise and flying reconnaissance missions over Bosnia-Herzegovina. From December of 1995 through February of 1996, she provided support of the enforced no-fly zone over the war-torn republics of the former Yugoslavia (Operation Deny Flight) and the air drop of humanitarian aid to the residents of the city of Sarajevo (Operation Provide Promise). She also provided support of Operation Joint & Decisive Endeavor. USS SHREVEPORT closed out the demanding Balkan peacekeeping rotation at the end of February 1996 and, in March 1996, returned to Norfolk to off-load the embarked Marines, complete post-deployment inspections, and reset for Atlantic training. The handback to the basic training syllabus in March - engineering and damage-control drills, navigation checks in the Virginia Capes, and well-deck/flight-deck recertifications - fit the amphibious force's pattern after a long Balkans watch.

Through 1997, the ship worked up for another Mediterranean deployment with Commander, Amphibious Squadron FOUR. She sailed on October 3, 1997, and within weeks entered the Black Sea for engagement ports that reflected the post-Cold War opening of the region. On December 11, 1997, while alongside at Constanta, Romania, SHREVEPORT hosted a change-of-command ceremony - the first of its kind on the western Black Sea coast and in a former Warsaw Pact country. Early February 1998, brought a rapid retasking east: the ship was diverted to U.S. Fifth Fleet and spent the balance of the cruise in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, staging Marines and connectors while the air component enforced the no-fly regime over southern Iraq. She returned to Norfolk on April 2, 1998, then entered a July-November 1998 dry-docking and phased maintenance availability at Metro Machine in Norfolk to refresh hull-mechanical-electrical systems after back-to-back high-tempo years.

By late 1999, she was again outward bound. From September 1999 to April 2000, SHREVEPORT ranged from the central Mediterranean to the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf as part of a Marine Amphibious Ready Group, tying routine presence to large combined exercises during a relatively tense Middle East year. In Egypt, the ship supported BRIGHT STAR, the long-running U.S.-Egyptian coalition maneuvers; in Israel she fed amphibious phases of NOBLE SHIRLEY; and in Jordan she provided sea-based logistics for INFINITE MOONLIGHT near Aqaba. The deployment turned eventful on February 16, 2000, when SHREVEPORT grounded in the Suez Canal during the northbound transit back to the Mediterranean. Damage to the starboard propeller, shaft, rudder, and steering system forced repairs and a subsequent relief of the commanding officer. Navy tallies later put the damage estimate just under one million dollars. The ship completed repairs and returned to routine Atlantic training across the spring.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, SHREVEPORT deployed with the BATAAN (LHD 5) Amphibious Ready Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit on September 20, 2001. After a brief Sixth Fleet phase that included exercise BRIGHT STAR off Egypt, the group passed through the Suez Canal into the North Arabian Sea to support the opening months of Operation Enduring Freedom. SHREVEPORT acted as a sea-base for Marines and aircraft flowing hundreds of miles inland to Afghanistan, while ready-group consorts - BATAAN and WHIDBEY ISLAND (LSD 41) - shared aviation and surface-connector workloads. The ARG completed the campaign's first rotation in early 2002 and returned to Norfolk in the spring.

Stateside through 2003, the ship handled public-outreach tasks, including a high-visibility berth at New York City's Fleet Week in May, and then re-entered workups for another combined Sixth/Fifth Fleet cruise. In February 2004, SHREVEPORT sortied with the WASP (LHD 1) Amphibious Ready Group - WASP as flagship, WHIDBEY ISLAND as the dock-landing ship, and SHREVEPORT as the LPD - supported by surface escorts such as LEYTE GULF (CG 55), YORKTOWN (CG 48), and McFAUL (DDG 74). The group crossed east, executed Mediterranean presence and amphibious training, and then shifted to Fifth Fleet to sustain both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom tasks, with SHREVEPORT cycling Marines, vehicles, and supplies by well-deck craft while the ready group provided maritime security and theater reserve. She returned to the United States in late summer 2004 and entered a repair and training phase that would position her for an unusual stateside mission the following year.

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, the Navy formed an amphibious relief force centered on IWO JIMA (LHD 7). SHREVEPORT sortied with the IWO JIMA Amphibious Ready Group - joined by TORTUGA (LSD 46) and supported logistically by the fast combat support ship USNS ARCTIC (T-AOE 8) - and moved to waters off New Orleans in the final days of August and first days of September. Over the following weeks, the ship functioned as a sea-based logistics node and afloat staging area while helicopters, LCUs and LCACs moved relief personnel and material across inundated road networks. The larger task organization, under a joint maritime component commander embarked in IWO JIMA, used the ARG's command spaces and hotel services to host interagency coordination and senior-leader visits. The mission profile - maritime search and rescue, medical support, fuel, water, and heavy-lift logistics - reflected how amphibious shipping could fill critical infrastructure gaps after a catastrophic storm.

Refit and inspections followed through 2006 as the amphibious force re-balanced from domestic disaster relief back to overseas presence. On January 4, 2007, SHREVEPORT sailed with the BATAAN (LHD 5) Expeditionary Strike Group for a six-month deployment that combined maritime security operations with allied engagement across Sixth and Fifth Fleet. The strike group composition - PHIBRON TWO staff, BATAAN, SHREVEPORT, OAK HILL (LSD 51), and escorts VELLA GULF (CG 72), NITZE (DDG 94), UNDERWOOD (FFG 36), and the submarine SCRANTON (SSN 756) - carried the force first into the Mediterranean and then the Arabian Gulf. Photographs from June 1, 2007, show SHREVEPORT and OAK HILL following BATAAN northbound through the Suez Canal as the strike group exited Central Command's area after months of Persian Gulf maritime security. On July 3, 2007, SHREVEPORT moored at Norfolk to close the cruise. Across the deployment the ship alternated between sea-based logistics, visit-board-search-and-seizure support, and theater-security cooperation, tying the amphibious mission to a steady slate of coalition port visits and combined drills.

After a short post-deployment period, the Navy scheduled the end of the ship's commissioned service. SHREVEPORT was decommissioned at Norfolk on September 28, 2007, and placed in reserve at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Philadelphia, after a tow north by USNS APACHE (T-ATF 172). Years later, on December 14, 2021, she left Philadelphia under tow for Brownsville, Texas, arriving December 27, 2021, for dismantlement.

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Accidents aboard USS SHREVEPORT:

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USS SHREVEPORT Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me on November 7, 2008, and show the SHREVEPORT laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

The photos below were taken by me on October 26, 2010, and show the SHREVEPORT still laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

			Click here to view more photos.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the SHREVEPORT laid up at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on October 17, 2016.

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