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USS Oriole (MHC 55)

USS ORIOLE was the fifth ship in the OSPREY - class of coastal mine hunters and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. Delivered to the Navy on May 12, 1995, and commissioned on September 16, 1995, the ORIOLE transfered to the Naval Reserve Force on September 30, 1996, and was subsequently used to train naval reservists. ORIOLE was decommissioned at Naval Station Ingleside on June 30, 2006, and entered the Beaumont Reserve Fleet on August 23. On August 2, 2012, ORIOLE was transferred to Taiwan and recommissioned as ROCS YUNG JIN (MHC 1310).

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Crew List:

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

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USS ORIOLE History:

The construction contract for ORIOLE was awarded on April 1, 1991. She was built by Intermarine USA at Savannah, Georgia, where her keel was laid on August 3, 1991. The ship was launched on May 22, 1993. ORIOLE was accepted by the Navy and placed in commission special for delivery on May 12, 1995. Following delivery, final preparations and the transition to her operating base at Ingleside continued during the following months. She was formally commissioned on September 16, 1995, with Lieutenant Commander Peter F. Grause as her first commanding officer.

During 1996, ORIOLE underwent preparations for a Post-Shakedown Availability intended to correct deficiencies identified during construction, acceptance trials and early operations. The Navy issued the solicitation for this work on June 17, 1996. South Texas Ship Repair subsequently received the contract on July 17. The work package included completion or correction of items originating during construction as well as deficiencies identified during acceptance testing.

On September 30, 1996, ORIOLE was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force. She remained a fully commissioned U.S. Navy warship but thereafter combined operational mine-countermeasures duties with the training and integration of Naval Reserve personnel. The arrangement was part of the Navy's effort to maintain a substantial mine warfare capability while using a mixture of active-duty and reserve manpower. Transfer to the Naval Reserve Force did not confine ORIOLE to local training; during subsequent years she participated in major fleet exercises and deployments well beyond the immediate Texas coast.

ORIOLE's participation in larger fleet training is clearly documented in 1997. From August 18 through September 4, she participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 97-3 together with USS CHAMPION (MCM 4), USS SENTRY (MCM 3) and USS HERON (MHC 52). The mine-countermeasures element conducted exploratory minehunting, environmental assessment and clearance minehunting, as well as reacquisition and prosecution of contacts associated with airborne mine-countermeasures activity. Such exercises were intended to integrate specialized mine warfare units into the operations of a larger joint naval force and to practice the clearance of operating areas and transit routes that could be required by other ships.

ORIOLE remained based at Ingleside during 1998 and continued her mine warfare and Naval Reserve Force responsibilities. In December 1998, Lieutenant Commander Michael A. Strano assumed command. His subsequent tour included both conventional mine-countermeasures exercises in the Gulf of Mexico and an unusual search-and-salvage mission following a major civilian aviation disaster.

During September 1999, ORIOLE participated in a substantial mine-countermeasures training period in waters southeast of Corpus Christi. The participating surface ships included USS PIONEER (MCM 9), USS WARRIOR (MCM 10) and USS CARDINAL (MHC 60), in addition to ORIOLE. Four MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 provided an airborne mine-countermeasures component, while U.S. explosive-ordnance-disposal personnel and a Canadian explosive-ordnance-disposal team participated in the underwater element. Approximately 850 U.S. Navy personnel were involved in the wider exercise series.

The training included Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring Exercise 9 and Gulf of Mexico Exercise 99-2. The readiness-measurement exercise was intended to collect operational data on the ability of surface and airborne mine-countermeasures systems to detect and deal with mine threats under realistic conditions and to identify weaknesses in equipment, procedures and tactics. Gulf of Mexico Exercise 99-2 emphasized coordinated employment of the three principal components of American mine countermeasures at the time: surface mine warfare ships, airborne mine-countermeasures helicopters and explosive-ordnance-disposal divers. For ORIOLE, the exercise provided an opportunity to conduct her specialized minehunting mission as part of a considerably larger and more diverse force.

This training period also took place in the context of Cooperative Telos '99, conducted from September 20 through September 30. Representatives from a number of NATO and Partnership for Peace countries, including Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden, participated in or observed mine-countermeasures activities in South Texas. The event reflected the changing post-Cold War security environment in Europe, in which the United States was increasingly conducting interoperability training with Central and Eastern European states that had either recently entered NATO or were developing closer military relationships with the alliance.

A substantially different mission followed later in 1999. In the early hours of October 31, EgyptAir Flight 990, a Boeing 767 operating from New York to Cairo, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 60 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. All 217 people aboard were killed. The accident resulted in a large-scale search, recovery and investigation effort in which specialized U.S. Navy units were used to locate wreckage and other material on the ocean floor.

ORIOLE was assigned to the Navy's search and salvage operation following the crash. Although designed to find naval mines rather than aircraft wreckage, her minehunting sonar and the crew's experience in methodically searching areas of seabed were directly applicable to the task of locating underwater debris. The mission was conducted in support of the civilian accident investigation.

USS ORIOLE earned a Battle Efficiency award during Michael Strano's command.

ORIOLE continued to operate from Ingleside during 2000. A change of command took place at Naval Station Ingleside on June 23, 2000, when Commander Jonathan Christian relieved Lieutenant Commander Michael Strano. Captain Gary Belcher, Commander Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three, participated in the ceremony.

In June 2001, ORIOLE participated in Gulf of Mexico Exercise 01-2 and Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring Exercise 17 together with USS CORMORANT (MHC 57), USS SHRIKE (MHC 62), PIONEER, WARRIOR and USS GLADIATOR (MCM 11). The wider exercise period in the Corpus Christi operating area ran during June 2001 and combined surface mine-countermeasures ships with airborne, diving, explosive-ordnance-disposal, mobile mine-assembly and supporting units.

The exercise was intended to test more than the ability of individual ships to locate exercise mines. Surface minehunters, the larger AVENGER-class mine-countermeasures ships, MH-53E helicopters and explosive-ordnance-disposal teams had to function as parts of an integrated mine-countermeasures system. Exercise minefields allowed the participating units to practice searching, detecting, classifying, reacquiring and neutralizing mine-like contacts while the readiness-measurement portion gathered information on system performance and tactical effectiveness. For Mine Warfare Readiness Group Four, the exercise formed part of preparation for deployable readiness.

The strategic environment changed sharply later in 2001 following the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11. Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan on October 7, and force-protection requirements and deployment priorities changed throughout the Navy. At the beginning of 2002, ORIOLE joined WARRIOR, GLADIATOR, SHRIKE and CORMORANT as Mine Warfare Readiness Group Four moved to the U.S. East Coast to support Joint Task Force Exercise 02-1. The exercise was associated with the battle group centered on USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67), which was preparing for an overseas deployment in the new post-September 11 operational environment. The principal January at-sea phase of the exercise ran from January 19 through January 26 in operating areas off the eastern United States.

For the mine warfare ships, participation provided training in integrating dedicated mine-countermeasures forces with a carrier battle group and other joint units. The scenario required the larger force to operate under realistic predeployment conditions while the mine warfare element practiced providing access and route-clearance capabilities that could be required in a mined coastal environment.

During 2002, Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Dodson Jr. succeeded Commander Jonathan Christian as commanding officer. ORIOLE continued operating with Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three from Ingleside after the East Coast training period. The ship received the Chief of Naval Operations Surface Ship Safety Award for 2002 during this period.

By the beginning of 2003, ORIOLE had entered an intensive period of inspections, maintenance and operational certification. From January 13 through January 15, she underwent the first portion of a Supply Management Inspection. Combat System Operational Sequencing System validation followed from January 20 through January 24. The second portion of the Supply Management Inspection took place from January 27 through January 31, overlapping a Fleet Maintenance Availability that began on January 27 and continued through February 7.

ORIOLE conducted an Underway Demonstration on February 27. From March 3 through March 14, she underwent additional reviews involving mine warfare, command-and-control and electronic-warfare systems and small-arms readiness. From March 17 through March 27, she completed a Final Evaluation Problem, search-and-rescue certification and the antiterrorism and force-protection exercise Solid Curtain. These evaluations tested not only her ability to perform mine-countermeasures missions but also engineering, damage-control, emergency-response, navigation, communications and ship-security functions necessary for sustained independent operations.

From April 14 through April 24, ORIOLE participated in a Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three Squadron Exercise. Having recently completed her principal training and certification cycle, the ship was able to apply those procedures in coordinated operations with other mine warfare units. She was not subsequently assigned to the next Gulf of Mexico Exercise. Instead, Atlantic Fleet authorities directed ORIOLE to conduct a high-visibility port visit at Mobile, Alabama. ORIOLE was in Mobile from May 19 through May 30, 2003. The visit combined public access to the ship with community-relations activities. More than 200 public tours were conducted aboard ORIOLE. Members of the crew also assisted with restoration work aboard the preserved former U.S. Navy landing ship LST 325, a World War II-era vessel undergoing preservation at Mobile.

The ship returned to formal readiness preparation after the Mobile visit. From June 16 through June 19, she underwent Maintenance, Material and Management certification, commonly known as 3M certification. A NATO Secret Control Inspection followed on July 17. These inspections formed part of the final preparation for what became the most significant extended deployment of ORIOLE's U.S. Navy career.

On August 18, 2003, ORIOLE departed Naval Station Ingleside to begin an approximately six-month East Pacific deployment. Together with CORMORANT, SHRIKE, WARRIOR and GLADIATOR, she formed Mine Warfare Readiness Group Four. The deployment represented the first sustained West Coast deployment undertaken by OSPREY-class coastal minehunters. Its purpose was to demonstrate dedicated surface mine warfare capabilities to Pacific Fleet units, integrate mine countermeasures more closely into larger fleet exercises and conduct surveys of routes and coastal approaches that could be important during future operations.

ORIOLE was underway from Ingleside toward Cozumel, Mexico, from August 18 through August 22. She entered Cozumel on August 23 and remained there through August 25. On August 26, she departed Cozumel and continued toward Panama. The transit lasted through the end of August, and on September 1, ORIOLE transited the Panama Canal, moving from the Caribbean into the Pacific Ocean. She entered Rodman, Panama, on the same day and remained there through September 4. The Rodman stop provided an opportunity to replenish fuel, provisions and other supplies before beginning the much longer northbound passage along the Pacific coast.

ORIOLE departed Rodman on September 4 and began the extended transit to Southern California. She remained underway for almost three weeks and arrived at Naval Station San Diego on September 23. The arrival placed the Texas-based coastal minehunter in what would become her principal operating area for the remainder of 2003. From September 23 through September 29, she underwent a Fleet Maintenance Availability at San Diego, allowing repairs, preventive maintenance and upkeep to be performed after the transit from the Gulf of Mexico through the Panama Canal.

On September 29, ORIOLE returned to sea and began Q-route survey work in the Southern California operating area. The initial survey period continued through October 1. Q-routes were predetermined maritime routes intended to provide access through areas that could be mined during a conflict. Mine-countermeasures forces surveyed such routes in peacetime to establish detailed knowledge of normal seabed conditions. By recording existing rocks, debris, wreckage and other sonar contacts before mines were laid, future minehunting units could more readily distinguish newly appearing objects from known bottom clutter during an actual mine-clearance operation.

ORIOLE subsequently conducted additional Q-route survey work in the Los Angeles operating area. After completing part of this work she visited Port Hueneme, California, where the crew received a liberty period. The ship then surveyed the approaches to Port Hueneme before returning to the San Diego area. These surveys represented a practical application of the OSPREY-class's specialized sonar and navigation capabilities and also provided Pacific Fleet planners with updated environmental information on important coastal approaches.

ORIOLE next prepared to participate in Composite Unit Training Exercise 04-1 with the carrier strike group centered on USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74). A Composite Unit Training Exercise was a major predeployment event designed to combine ships, aircraft, staffs and supporting units that had previously trained largely on their own into a coordinated operational force. Integrating Mine Warfare Readiness Group Four into this process exposed the Pacific carrier force to dedicated surface mine-countermeasures operations and allowed ORIOLE and her companion mine warfare ships to practice supporting a much larger naval formation.

ORIOLE operated in Southern California waters during the principal exercise period from November 1 through November 20. On November 1, she conducted an underway mine warfare evolution associated with the exercise. During the following days, she operated at ranges in the San Clemente Island area, including the Kingfisher Range, and conducted mine warfare and related weapons-training evolutions.

A particularly detailed exercise event occurred on November 7. Three F/A-18 aircraft supporting the JOHN C. STENNIS exercise laid six Mk 62 Quickstrike exercise mines for subsequent detection and classification by ORIOLE, SHRIKE and CORMORANT. The exercise area contained substantial seabed clutter and previously existing ordnance, deliberately creating a difficult sonar environment. During their combined search, the three minehunters located nine of twelve possible Mk 62 contacts associated with the broader exercise environment. They also detected other ordnance or mine-like objects, including two Mk 82 general-purpose bombs and a 16-inch projectile casing. The results illustrated the basic challenge faced by minehunters: potentially dangerous objects had to be distinguished from natural bottom features, discarded material and older military ordnance before individual contacts could be classified and, where necessary, neutralized.

ORIOLE continued minehunting operations off San Clemente Island from November 8 through November 11. She then returned to San Diego and remained in port from November 12 through November 14. On November 15, she returned to sea for minehunting and recovery operations in the Silver Strand area south of San Diego, extending toward the waters near the Mexican border. Navy explosive-ordnance-disposal personnel participated in the recovery phase. These operations continued as part of the wider exercise period through November 20.

Following the intensive November operations, ORIOLE returned to San Diego for a Thanksgiving stand-down and another Fleet Maintenance Availability from November 21 through December 4. After completion of that period, she returned to sea from December 8 through December 12 for work associated with the FACDAR range and deep-water acoustic surveys. These evolutions supplemented the shallower-water route and harbor surveys conducted earlier in the deployment and provided further sonar and environmental data relevant to mine-countermeasures planning.

ORIOLE returned to San Diego on December 13 and remained there through December 31 for holiday leave, upkeep and preparations for the eventual return to Texas. During the year, the ship earned Maritime Warfare Excellence and Command and Control Excellence recognition.

ORIOLE began 2004 still associated with the East Pacific deployment and preparing for the return to her homeport. She returned to the Ingleside-based operating cycle during 2004 after completion of the approximately six-month deployment. ORIOLE continued to be associated with Naval Station Ingleside and the Navy's surface mine warfare force. This period coincided with a broader transition in U.S. Navy mine warfare policy. The OSPREY-class ships had provided a specialized shallow-water minehunting capability, but their relatively low speed and limited endurance made long-distance deployment difficult. At the same time, the Navy was developing a future mine-countermeasures concept based increasingly on aviation, remote and unmanned systems and modular mission equipment associated with the Littoral Combat Ship program. As a result, the comparatively young OSPREY-class was selected for retirement.

By the final phase of her U.S. Navy career, Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Smith Jr. was serving as ORIOLE's commanding officer. The Navy began implementing the OSPREY-class retirement program during 2006. USS OSPREY (MHC 51) and USS ROBIN (MHC 54) became the first two ships of the class to leave U.S. Navy service when both were decommissioned at Naval Station Ingleside on June 15, 2006.

ORIOLE and USS FALCON (MHC 59) formed the second pair. On June 30, 2006, FALCON's decommissioning ceremony began at Naval Station Ingleside at 10:00 a.m. ORIOLE's ceremony followed at noon. Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Smith Jr. was ORIOLE's final commanding officer. The ship was formally decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 30, ending a commissioned U.S. Navy career that had lasted from September 16, 1995 to June 30, 2006.

After decommissioning, ORIOLE underwent the preparations required to place a former commissioned vessel into inactive status. On August 23, 2006, she entered the Maritime Administration's Beaumont Reserve Fleet at Beaumont, Texas, as a Navy-owned vessel. She remained in U.S. government custody there while her ultimate disposition was considered. Unlike several of her OSPREY-class sisters, ORIOLE was not immediately designated for dismantling. Taiwan was seeking to improve its mine-countermeasures capability and eventually became the intended recipient of ORIOLE and FALCON. The proposed transfer took place against the continuing strategic background of cross-Strait tensions and Taiwan's dependence on open ports and sea lanes, circumstances that made the capability to detect and clear naval mines an important element of maritime defense.

On May 8, 2008, U.S. legislation authorized the sale of the former ORIOLE and FALCON to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. The authorization did not itself constitute immediate delivery, and both ships remained in American custody while the detailed transfer, refurbishment and training arrangements were developed. On January 29, 2010, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency formally notified the U.S. Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sale covering the two former coastal minehunters. The overall package was estimated at approximately $105 million. In addition to the vessels themselves, the proposal included refurbishment and upgrades, overhaul of the AN/SQQ-32 minehunting sonar systems, transportation, support and test equipment, spare and repair parts, technical documentation, training and associated logistical support.

The former ORIOLE and FALCON subsequently underwent extensive reactivation and refurbishment in the United States. Work included the restoration and modernization necessary to return the ships to operational condition after several years in inactive status. Taiwanese personnel received training in operating and maintaining the vessels and their mine-countermeasures equipment, and the ships underwent testing and sea trials before final transfer.

On August 2, 2012, the two ships were formally delivered to Taiwan. The former ORIOLE became ROCS YUNG JIN (MHC 1310), while the former FALCON became ROCS YUNG AN (MHC 1311). The ships were subsequently incorporated into the Republic of China Navy's mine warfare force at Zuoying. According to the official organizational history of the Republic of China Navy's 192nd Fleet, the formal joint formation and commissioning ceremony for YUNG JIN and YUNG AN took place at Mercury Pier on October 26, 2012.

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