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USS Pioneer (MCM 9)

USS PIONEER is the ninth AVENGER-class Mine Countermeasures Ship and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.

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Crew List:

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

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History of USS PIONEER:

USS PIONEER was the ninth AVENGER-class mine countermeasures ship and the second United States ship to bear the name. Her keel was laid on June 5, 1989, at Peterson Builders in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and she was christened and launched on August 25, 1990, with Mrs. Sally McGuire Tobin, the wife of Rear Adm. Byron E. Tobin, serving as sponsor. USS PIONEER was commissioned on December 7, 1992, at Ingleside, Texas, with Lt. Cmdr. Jerald T. Balance as her first commanding officer.

In January 1993, USS PIONEER began an intensive shakedown year built around evaluations, training periods, exercises, and inspections intended to prove the ship's engineering plant, combat and mine warfare systems, and crew proficiency. That shakedown cycle included participation in the first major mine warfare exercise in the western Gulf of Mexico, two visits to the Magnetic Silencing Facility in Charleston, South Carolina, port visits to Port Canaveral and Port Everglades in Florida, an Operational Propulsion Plant Examination, Combat Systems Ship's Qualification Trials in the Panama City operating area, mine sweeping performance trials, Final Contract Trials, and a Logistic Management Assessment. For the remainder of 1993 and throughout 1994, USS PIONEER continued the aggressive training cycle described in her record, while also completing post-shakedown maintenance and repairs and conducting pre-deployment exercises that prepared the ship for sustained operations away from the Gulf Coast.

On February 24, 1995, USS PIONEER departed Naval Station Ingleside for a scheduled six-month deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility. During the Atlantic crossing, she called at the Naval Annex in Bermuda from March 21 to March 23, 1995, and on April 10, 1995, she pulled into Portsmouth, England, for an eight-day upkeep period. Over the course of that deployment, USS PIONEER participated in exercise Blue Harrier 1995 and made a series of European port calls that reflected both logistics needs and the Sixth Fleet's routine presence and engagement pattern in the post-Cold War Mediterranean and adjoining waters, including visits to Aarhus, Denmark; Kiel, Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; the Azores; La Spezia, Italy; Cartagena, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Benidorm, Spain. Later in the year, on November 4, 1995, Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan J. Olson relieved Lt. Cmdr. William R. Edwards as commanding officer of USS PIONEER.

In January 1996, USS PIONEER joined USS WARRIOR (MCM 10), USS GLADIATOR (MCM 11), and USS CHIEF (MCM 14) as a training ship for the mine force's rotational crews. For roughly the next four years, the Navy's eight rotational crews conducted pre-deployment training in these Ingleside-based ships before completing six-month Arabian Gulf deployments aboard USS ARDENT (MCM 12) or USS DEXTROUS (MCM 13), a model intended to generate continuous forward presence while spreading operational tempo across crews. By early 2000, this approach had changed: the Navy no longer manned its forward-deployed mine countermeasures ships with rotational crews, and on January 20, 2000, the rotational crew Bravo - commanded by Lt. Cmdr. William C. Harris - became the permanent crew of USS PIONEER.

In 2000, USS PIONEER completed a successful CART II and an N43 visit and proceeded to Panama City, Florida, for a Mine Warfare Squadron 1 exercise. En route to that exercise, Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Norton relieved Lt. Cmdr. Harris as USS PIONEER's 14th commanding officer. After the squadron mine warfare exercise, USS PIONEER made a brief port visit to Tampa, Florida, then returned to Ingleside to complete preparations for Gulf of Mexico exercises off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

On September 12, 2000, USS PIONEER departed homeport for a three-month East Coast deployment as part of Mine Warfare Readiness Group 2. Two days later, on September 14, 2000, she arrived in Beaumont, Texas, for a five-day port visit. From October 12 to October 22, 2000, USS PIONEER participated in multinational and joint force training off the coast of North Carolina - Unified Spirit 2000 and Joint Task Force Exercise 00-1 - events that, in that period, were used to practice coalition maritime operations and command-and-control integration. In late November 2000, USS PIONEER made a port call at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia, followed by a brief stop in Key West, Florida, in early December while en route to Mobile, Alabama, which served as the final port visit of the deployment before USS PIONEER returned to Naval Station Ingleside on December 15, 2000.

On October 17, 2002, USS PIONEER - along with USS CHAMPION (MCM 4) - departed Naval Station Ingleside for a scheduled six-month eastern Pacific deployment, reflecting the class's recurring role in supporting mine warfare readiness and training demands on both coasts. On December 10, 2002, USS PIONEER departed Naval Base San Diego after a routine port call, continuing that Pacific operating period. Command leadership changed the following year: on October 30, 2003, Lt. Cmdr. Lance C. Esswein relieved Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey W. James as commanding officer of USS PIONEER.

In 2005, the Gulf Coast hurricane season drove both preparations and operational tasking for mine warfare ships homeported at Ingleside. On September 21, 2005, USS PIONEER was documented moored in a modified "heavy nest" arrangement of five mine countermeasures ships at the Ingleside turning basin in preparation for Hurricane Katrina-related conditions. In the aftermath, on September 29, 2005, USS PIONEER was underway as part of Joint Task Force Katrina to conduct sonar sweeps and maritime safety checks of shipping lanes off the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi - an employment that leveraged mine countermeasures sonar proficiency and shallow-water operations experience to help identify hazards and restore safe navigation in congested, debris-affected waters.

A major maintenance period followed in Texas: on May 14, 2007, USS PIONEER entered dry dock at Gulf Copper shipyard in Aransas Pass for a Drydocking Planned Maintenance Availability, part of the lifecycle upkeep required for wooden-hulled mine countermeasures ships that must preserve low-signature characteristics while keeping specialized sensors and propulsion systems within strict performance tolerances. Two years later, the ship's homeport and operational focus shifted under the Defense Base Realignment and Closure process. On May 22, 2009, USS PIONEER arrived at her new homeport of Naval Base San Diego after a 32-day transit from Ingleside. During this relocation period, she also participated in Navy search efforts off southern California and Mexico for an HH-60 Seahawk helicopter that went down on May 19, 2009, placing the ship's arrival into the context of immediate operational support requirements even amid a major homeport transition.

From San Diego, USS PIONEER's training and operations increasingly aligned with Pacific Fleet exercise cycles. On June 29, 2010, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Spencer P. Austin, USS PIONEER pulled into Pearl Harbor for a routine port call before participating in the at-sea phase of Rim of the Pacific 2010, then departed Hawaii on July 29, 2010. In 2012, the ship was again employed in a forward-deployed framework, this time oriented toward sustained Arabian Gulf mine warfare readiness. On June 23, 2012, USS PIONEER arrived in Manama, Bahrain, aboard the heavy-lift ship M/V TERN for a seven-month deployment that used rotational crews from San Diego to provide continuous manning. On August 29, 2012, USS PIONEER was documented participating in a mine countermeasures exercise in the Arabian Gulf alongside USS SENTRY (MCM 3), USS DEVASTATOR (MCM 6), USS DEXTROUS, and USS PONCE (AFSB(I) 15), reflecting the Gulf's long-standing mine threat as a central factor in maritime security planning and combined operations.

After months in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area, USS PIONEER returned toward the Pacific by heavy-lift transport. After being loaded aboard the Military Sealift Command-chartered heavy-lift ship SUPER SERVANT III on February 24, 2013, USS PIONEER departed Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Hidd, Bahrain, on March 2, 2013, and began a transported movement back to San Diego. During the return movement, she was inport at Sasebo, Japan, from March 28 to April 8, 2013. USS PIONEER returned to San Diego on May 5, 2013, concluding an 11-month deployment associated with the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility.

In 2014, USS PIONEER transitioned again - this time into a forward-deployed posture in Japan. On May 31, 2014, USS PIONEER departed San Diego after being loaded aboard the Military Sealift Command-chartered heavy-lift ship M/V EIDE TRANSPORTER for transport to her new homeport of Sasebo, Japan. The heavy-lift ship arrived in Yokosuka on June 26, 2014, then moored at Berth 7, India Basin, Fleet Activities Sasebo, on June 30, 2014. On July 3, 2014, USS PIONEER was offloaded during a float-on/float-off evolution and moored at Berth 1, India Basin, for the first time. In July 2014, Lt. Cmdr. Todd B. Penrod assumed command during an exchange of command and crew "hull swap" ceremony with USS AVENGER (MCM 1), reflecting the operational practice of managing forward-deployed hulls and crew assignments to sustain readiness and continuity in theater. On November 5, 2014, Lt. Cmdr. Bobby J. Rowden relieved Lt. Cmdr. Penrod as commanding officer during a change-of-command ceremony aboard USS PIONEER at Fleet Activities Sasebo.

From Sasebo, USS PIONEER settled into the steady cadence of forward-deployed operations: short underways for training and certification, bilateral and multinational mine warfare events, and periodic liberty and logistics port calls across Japan and the Republic of Korea. On September 5, 2015, USS PIONEER departed Sasebo with USS WARRIOR (MCM 10) for a nine-day underway. On February 4, 2016, USS PIONEER returned to homeport after a three-day underway for routine training. On February 19, 2016, Lt. Cmdr. Scott A. Jones relieved Lt. Cmdr. Rowden as commanding officer during a ceremony aboard the ship at Berth 8, India Basin. On June 24, 2016, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 9, India Basin, after a 20-day underway period for routine training, and she got underway again on August 23, 2016. On August 26, 2016, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 5, Busan Naval Base, Republic of Korea, for a scheduled port visit, returned to Sasebo on September 2, 2016, and then conducted a sequence of local operations underways from September 13 to September 15, 2016, from September 26 to September 28, 2016, and from October 11 to October 14, 2016. On November 1, 2016, USS PIONEER departed India Basin for a brief underway to conduct a Mid-Cycle Inspection assessment with the Board of Inspection and Survey, then executed additional routine training underways from November 16 to November 17, 2016, and from December 5 to December 9, 2016.

In 2017, the ship's forward-deployed routine remained focused on sustaining material readiness and crew proficiency while meeting Seventh Fleet operational requirements. On May 13, 2017, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 10, India Basin, after a 12-day underway period for routine training and ammunition onload. On May 25, 2017, Lt. Cmdr. Brett J. Jasionowski relieved Lt. Cmdr. Jones as commanding officer during a ceremony aboard the ship at Fleet Activities Sasebo. On July 11, 2017, USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo after a four-day underway for routine training. On July 14, 2017, she departed India Basin to participate in Mine Exercise-Explosive Ordnance Disposal Exercise 17-2JA. During that exercise period, USS PIONEER moored at Ominato Naval Base, Aomori Prefecture, in mid-July 2017, then returned to Sasebo on August 1, 2017. She continued with routine training underways from September 12 to September 13, 2017, and from September 27 to September 29, 2017.

Command transitioned on October 1, 2018, when Lt. Cmdr. Robert M. Wayland relieved Lt. Cmdr. Jasionowski during a change-of-command ceremony at Fleet Activities Sasebo. On October 22, 2018, USS PIONEER moored at India Basin after an 11-day underway period supporting a multinational mine countermeasures exercise off the Republic of Korea. She went underway again in early November 2018. On December 6, 2018, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 10, India Basin, after a three-day underway period for engineering certification.

In 2019, USS PIONEER's operational record becomes especially detailed as she conducted repeated patrols, exercises, and partner engagements across the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. On February 17, 2019, USS PIONEER departed Sasebo for what her record describes as her maiden patrol in the U.S. Seventh Fleet area of responsibility. On March 7, 2019, she was underway off the east coast of Okinawa for mine countermeasures training and then moored at Alava Pier, Subic Bay, Philippines, from March 21 to March 26, 2019. On April 2, 2019, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 9, India Basin, Sasebo, following a 44-day patrol. On April 27, 2019, she departed homeport for Republic of Korea waters for a mine countermeasures exercise, departing Pohang on April 30, 2019, and transiting the Korean Strait southbound on May 1, 2019.

While underway in the South China Sea, USS PIONEER conducted a replenishment-at-sea with USNS WALTER S. DIEHL (T-AO 193) on May 5, 2019, then moored at Puerto Princesa, Philippines, from May 9 to May 14, 2019. On May 21, 2019, she moored at the C1 Terminal in Laem Chabang, Thailand, for a five-day liberty visit supporting time in Pattaya. On May 26, 2019, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 5, Chuk Samet Port, Sattahip, Thailand, to participate in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training. The at-sea phase ran from June 4 to June 8, 2019, and USS PIONEER departed Sattahip on June 10, 2019, transiting the Strait of Singapore westbound on June 12, 2019. On June 13, 2019, she moored at the Glenn Cruise Terminal in Port Klang, Malaysia, for a four-day liberty visit, then moored at Berth 2, Sembawang Wharf, Singapore, from June 18 to June 22, 2019. On June 26, 2019, USS PIONEER moored at Sepanggar Naval Base, Malaysia, for a scheduled port visit supporting a liberty call to Kota Kinabalu, then transited the Surigao Strait northbound on July 3, 2019, and made a brief refueling stop at Navy Pier, White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, on July 8, 2019. USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo on July 10, 2019, completing another 44-day patrol sequence.

Later that year, USS PIONEER executed regional engagement that produced several "firsts" and notable local milestones. On October 18, 2019, she moored at Misumi West Port, Kumamoto Prefecture, for a scheduled liberty visit to Uki City described as the first ever by a U.S. Navy ship, then returned to Sasebo on October 24, 2019. On November 1, 2019, USS PIONEER conducted a Friends and Family Day Cruise in Sasebo Harbor. On November 18, 2019, she moored at Berth 9 in the port of Abuaratsu, Miyazaki Prefecture, for a three-day visit to Nichinan City before participating in Mine Exercise-Explosive Ordnance Disposal Exercise 19-2JA, returning to Sasebo on December 1, 2019. On December 8, 2019, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 10, India Basin, after a three-day underway for routine training.

In early 2020, USS PIONEER continued a pattern of Okinawa-area operations and Southeast Asia engagements. On February 7, 2020, she conducted operations in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, then moored at Rivera Wharf East, Subic Bay, from February 18 to February 24, 2020. She next moored at Army Pier, White Beach Naval Facility, from February 28 to March 2, 2020, and returned to Sasebo on March 3, 2020. On March 30, 2020, Lt. Cmdr. Meagan B. Makarenko relieved Lt. Cmdr. Wayland as commanding officer during a ceremony aboard the ship at Berth 9, India Basin. From April 3 to April 4, 2020, USS PIONEER conducted mine countermeasures operations approximately eight nautical miles west of Yokjido Island, Republic of Korea, returned to Sasebo on April 6, 2020, and then went underway again from April 14 to April 19, 2020. On May 1, 2020, she was underway for a mine warfare training exercise, then anchored off White Beach for a two-day stop beginning May 2, 2020, anchored again from May 4 to May 5, 2020, from May 6 to May 7, 2020, and from May 7 to May 8, 2020, conducted operations off the west coast of Okinawa on May 9, 2020, and returned to Sasebo on May 11, 2020.

On July 14, 2020, USS PIONEER departed Fleet Activities Sasebo to participate in Mine Exercise-Explosive Ordnance Disposal Exercise 20-2JA with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. While underway in Mutsu Bay on July 21, 2020, she took part in a photo exercise with USS PATRIOT and Japanese mine warfare units including JS HIRADO, JS ETAJIMA, JS ENOSHIMA, and JS URAGA, reflecting the persistent bilateral emphasis on interoperability in mine countermeasures operations in Northeast Asia. From October 12 to October 17, 2020, USS PIONEER participated in a mine countermeasures exercise off the coast of Pohang, Republic of Korea, then moored at India Basin on October 19, 2020.

In early 2021, USS PIONEER entered a major maintenance period: in February 2021, she entered Dry Dock #2 at SSK Shipyard in Sasebo for a three-month Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability, a planned deep maintenance and inspection period consistent with the lifecycle needs of forward-deployed mine countermeasures ships. Following that shipyard period, command changed on July 2, 2021, when Lt. Cmdr. Zachary B. Martens relieved Lt. Cmdr. Makarenko as commanding officer during a ceremony at Berth 8, India Basin. On October 22, 2021, USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo after a two-day underway for sea trials, then got underway again on October 26, 2021. While underway on October 28, 2021, she conducted a replenishment-at-sea with USNS CARL BRASHEAR (T-AKE 7) and returned to homeport on November 4, 2021, continuing the pattern of certification and sustainment operations that follow major maintenance periods.

In 2022, USS PIONEER's dated record reflects repeated local underways and participation in regional multinational mine warfare events. On April 2, 2022, she was moored at Berth 10, India Basin. She got underway again on April 28, 2022, then moored at Berth 9 on May 23, 2022. USS PIONEER went underway again on July 18, 2022, moored at Berth 10 on July 20, 2022, and then conducted several underway periods from August 11 to August 23, 2022, from August 30 to September 8, 2022, and again beginning September 27, 2022. By October 11, 2022, USS PIONEER was documented as commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Chase E. Harding while moored at Berth 4, Busan Naval Base, in support of the Multinational Mine Countermeasures Exercise and Symposium, then got underway on October 19, 2022, anchored in Sasebo Harbor on October 20, 2022, and moored at Berth 2, India Basin, on October 21, 2022. On November 22, 2022, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 2, India Basin, after a six-day underway period supporting a mine countermeasures exercise designated 3JA off the south coast of Miyazaki Prefecture, and she later shifted to Berth 1, India Basin, in December 2022.

On February 14, 2023, USS PIONEER departed Sasebo for routine training, anchoring off White Beach Naval Facility in Okinawa from February 17 to February 18, 2023, and again from February 19, before mooring at Berth 8, India Basin, on February 24, 2023. On March 31, 2023, she moored at Pier 11, Chinhae Naval Base, Republic of Korea, for a three-day port visit, then anchored at Quarantine Anchorage #3 approximately four nautical miles west of Busan New Port from April 3 to April 4, 2023, moored at Berth 10, India Basin, on April 6, 2023, and got underway again on April 7, 2023. On April 14, 2023, USS PIONEER moored again at Pier 11, Chinhae, for a three-day port visit, conducted operations approximately 25 nautical miles south of Yeosu from April 17 to April 20, 2023, moored again at Pier 11 from April 21 to April 24, 2023, then moored at Berth 4, Busan Naval Base, from April 24 to April 28, 2023, before returning to Berth 8, India Basin, Sasebo, on May 4, 2023. After berth shifts in Sasebo through the summer, USS PIONEER got underway again on September 2, 2023, anchored briefly in Sasebo Harbor on September 3, 2023, made a brief refueling stop at Army Pier, White Beach, on September 5, 2023, and on September 7, 2023, moored at the new cruise terminal in Ishigaki for a one-day visit. She anchored off White Beach on September 11, 2023, moored at Army Pier from September 12 to September 15, 2023, moored back at Sasebo on September 17, 2023, and got underway again on October 11, 2023. On October 12, 2023, USS PIONEER moored at Berth 3, Busan Naval Base, for a week-long visit to participate in the Multinational Mine Countermeasures Exercise and Symposium 2023, moored at Pier 11, Chinhae, from October 22 to October 23, 2023, and moored again at Busan from October 26 to October 28, 2023. USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo on October 29, 2023, then conducted minesweeping operations in the vicinity of Akasaki Pier and submarine piers in Ionouracho from November 5 to November 7, 2023, got underway again on November 14, 2023, and moored at Berth 6, India Basin, on November 21, 2023.

In 2024, USS PIONEER began the year with a refueling stop: on January 4, 2024, she moored at Berth 2, Akasaki Pier to refuel, moved to Berth 1, India Basin, on January 5, 2024, got underway again on January 29, 2024, and moored at Berth 8, India Basin, on January 30, 2024. She then completed a series of short underway periods from January 31 to February 2, 2024, from March 1 to March 4, 2024, and again on March 15, 2024. On March 19, 2024, USS PIONEER moored at Mokpo Naval Base, Republic of Korea, for a four-day visit, then anchored at A-13 approximately eight nautical miles west of Mokpo from March 25 to March 27, 2024. She subsequently moored at Berth 3, Busan Naval Base, from March 29 to April 1, 2024, conducted operations off the coast of Pohang on April 2, 2024, moored at Berth 5, Busan, from April 3 to April 5, 2024, and moored again at Berth 3, Busan, from April 8 to April 12, 2024. USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo on April 18, 2024, was underway again from May 29 to May 31, 2024, and on July 26, 2024, moved to a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force pier in support of the Summer Festival 2024. After a brief underway in Sasebo Harbor on July 29, 2024, she moored again at India Basin, and she anchored in Sasebo Harbor on September 6, 2024, before mooring at Berth 6, India Basin, on September 7, 2024, and moving to Berth 1 on September 20, 2024.

In 2025, USS PIONEER's dated record continues with berth shifts, training underways, and a late-year patrol sequence into the Philippine archipelago and back. She moved to Berth 7, India Basin, on May 7, 2025, then went underway again beginning May 12, 2025, anchored in Sasebo Harbor on June 7, 2025, and got underway on June 9, 2025. On June 11, 2025, USS PIONEER moored at Navy Pier, White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, for a two-day port call, then moored at Berth 6, India Basin, on June 19, 2025. She conducted routine training off Kyushu from July 28 to August 1, 2025, got underway again on August 28, 2025, anchored in Sasebo Harbor on September 1, 2025, moored at Berth 9, India Basin, on September 5, 2025, and went underway again on November 7, 2025. On November 13, 2025, USS PIONEER moored at Navy Pier East, White Beach, for a two-day port call, then transited the San Bernardino Strait southbound on November 18, 2025, and transited the Verde Island Passage westbound on November 19, 2025. On November 20, 2025, she moored at Rivera Wharf North in Subic Bay, Philippines, moved to Pol Pier for a brief refueling stop before getting underway again on November 24, 2025, transited the Verde Island Passage eastbound on November 25, 2025, transited the San Bernardino Strait northbound on November 26, 2025, and moored at Navy Pier West, White Beach, for a brief refueling stop on December 1, 2025. USS PIONEER returned to Sasebo and moored at Berth 9, India Basin, on December 5, 2025.

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USS PIONEER Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me and shows the PIONEER at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

The photo below was taken by me and shows the PIONEER at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 15, 2012.

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