Amphibious Transport Dock
LPD 15 - USS Ponce
Type, Class:		Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD); Austin - class;
Builder:		Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction, Seattle, Washington, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: May 17, 1965 Laid down: October 31, 1966 Launched: May 20, 1970 Commissioned: July 10, 1971 redesignated to Afloat Forward Staging Base, Interim (AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - March 2012 ACTIVE UNIT / in commission (Atlantic Fleet)
Homeport:		Norfolk, Virginia
Namesake:		named after and in honor of the City of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ship's Motto:		?
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Amphibious Transport Dock / Austin - class
ship images
AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - 5th Fleet AOR - September 2012 AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - Bahrain - July 2012 AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - Bahrain - July 2012 AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - Arabian Gulf - July 2012 Afloat Forward Staging Base (Interim) AFSB(I)-15 USS Ponce - Norfolk, Virginia - June 2012 Norfolk, Virginia - December 2011 Norfolk, Virginia - December 2011 UH-1Y Venom (HMLA-167 ‘Warriors’) and AH-1W Super Cobra (HMLA-269 ‘Gunrunners’) - Atlantic Ocean - December 2011 AH-1W Super Cobra (HMLA-269 ‘Gunrunners’) - Atlantic Ocean - December 2011 Norfolk, Virginia - November 2011 Norfolk, Virginia - November 2011 Atlantic Ocean - October 2011 Atlantic Ocean - October 2011 Atlantic Ocean - October 2011 upper vehicle storage bay - Atlantic Ocean - October 2011 Norfolk, Virginia - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 26th MEU offload - Morehead City, North Carolina - May 2011 Rota, Spain - May 2011 Rota, Spain - May 2011 Rota, Spain - April 2011 Rota, Spain - April 2011 Atlantic Ocean - April 2011 Mediterranean Sea - April 2011 Mediterranean Sea - April 2011 Mediterranean Sea - April 2011 Mediterranean Sea - March 2011 Augusta Bay, Sicily, Italy - March 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Red Sea - February 2011 Arabian Sea - January 2011 Arabian Sea - January 2011 Persian Gulf - January 2011 Persian Gulf - January 2011 MH-60S Sea Hawks (HSC-12) - Persian Gulf - December 2010 Mk-38 Mod.1 25mm Machine Gun System - Persian Gulf - December 2010 Victoria, Seychelles - November 2010 Victoria, Seychelles - November 2010 Victoria, Seychelles - November 2010 Victoria, Seychelles - November 2010 Gulf of Aden - October 2010 5th Fleet AOR - October 2010 5th Fleet AOR - October 2010 5th Fleet AOR - October 2010 Suez Canal - September 2010 Suez Canal - September 2010 Suez Canal - September 2010 Mediterranean Sea - September 2010 Strait of Gibraltar - September 2010 Strait of Gibraltar - September 2010 Atlantic Ocean - September 2010 Atlantic Ocean - September 2010 Atlantic Ocean - September 2010 Atlantic Ocean - September 2010 Atlantic Ocean - August 2010 Norfolk, Virginia - August 2010 Norfolk, Virginia - August 2010 Atlantic Ocean - July 2010 Atlantic Ocean - July 2010 Atlantic Ocean - July 2010 Atlantic Ocean - July 2010 Norfolk, Virginia - December 2009 Mediterranean Sea - October 2009 USS Ponce (LPD-15) and USS Bataan (LHD-5) - Red Sea - October 2009 5th Fleet AOR - October 2009 Red Sea - June 2009 exercise INFINITE RESPONSE 09 - Middle East - June 2009 Mediterranean Sea - June 2009 Atlantic Ocean - May 2009 Atlantic Ocean - May 2009 Norfolk, Virginia - May 2009 Norfolk, Virginia - September 2008 Norfolk, Virginia - September 2008 Indian Ocean - November 2007 Indian Ocean - November 2007 replenishment - October 2007 August 2007 Atlantic Ocean - June 2007 Atlantic Ocean - June 2007 Atlantic Ocean - June 2007 USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), USS Forrest Sherman (DDG-98) and USS Ponce (LPD-15) - Port Everglades, Florida - May 2007 Persian Gulf - May 2005 Atlantic Ocean - May 2007 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 underway as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Strike Group - April 2005 USS Ponce (LPD-15) and USNS Big Horn (T-AO 198) - during replenishment as part of the Kearsarge Strike Group - April 2005 Suez Canal - April 2005 Norfolk, Virginia - June 2003 USS Saipan (LHA-2), top, USNS Spica (T-AFS 9) and USS Ponce (LPD-15) during replenishment - Operation Enduring Freedom - January 2003 USS Saipan (LHA-2), USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201) and USS Ponce (LPD-15) - September 2002 Norfolk, Virginia - November 2000 Norfolk, Virginia - November 2000 USS Ponce (LPD-15, left) and USS Austin (LPD-4) - Norfolk, Virginia - January 1996 USS Ponce (LPD-15), USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) and USS Wasp (LHD-1) during replenishment - July 1991 underway - July 1991 Norfolk. Virginia - March 1991 underway - September 1987 underway - September 1987 underway (photo above in detail) - note the Mk-33 3”/50 enclosed twin gun left - September 1987 underway - September 1987 underway (photo above in detail) - note the Mk-33 3”/50 enclosed twin gun left - September 1987 Norfolk, Virginia - July 1987 underway - November 1984 underway - November 1984 underway - November 1984 underway - November 1984 NATO exercise DISPLAY DETERMINATION 81 - September 1981 NATO exercise DISPLAY DETERMINATION 81 - September 1981
History:
USS Ponce (LPD 15): USS Ponce (LPD-15), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, is the only ship of the United States Navy that is named for Ponce in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which in turn was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, the first governor of Puerto Rico and European discoverer of Florida. Her keel was laid down on 31 October 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 20 May 1970 sponsored by Mrs. John J. Hyland, and commissioned on 10 July 1971. 1980s and 1990s On 2 February 1982 during a towing exercise while en route to Portsmouth, England, Ponce collided with USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30), causing minor damage to Ponce's port side, mainly to the accommodation ladder and flight deck catwalk. On 14 February 1984, while attempting to move an assault craft to Radio Island, near Morehead City, North Carolina, Ponce suffered a major casualty when her stern gate was damaged and eventually lost. She was later repaired in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. On 5 August 1990 as part of Operation Sharp Edge to remove US citizens caught in civil war in Liberia, Ponce, together with Saipan (LHA-2), Sumter (LST-1181), and Peterson (DD-969), inserted a United States Marine Corps reinforced rifle company into the U.S. Embassy compound in Monrovia for increased security. In the first half of 1992, Ponce completed a four month maintenance availability in Norfolk. In June she took on midshipmen for a training cruise off the Virginia Capes, which earned her the "CORTRAMID '92 Surface Warrior of the Week". In September she arrived in Miami for Hurricane Andrew relief efforts. In October she commenced counter drug operations in the Caribbean with a USCG Law Enforcement Detachment on board. On 17 March 1993 the Ponce departed on a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of Operations “Deny Flight” and “Provide Promise”. She was accompanied by the USS Saipan and USS Pensacola. During the deployment she operated bilaterally with Greek units in exercise "Alexandros '93" and conducted amphibious landing exercises with the Tunisians in "Phiblex '93". 2000s On 29 August 2001 Ponce crewmembers boarded two derelict Italian boats, a 19-foot motorboat and a 12-foot sailboat, in the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Calabria. The civilian vessels were adrift, creating a navigational hazard. A boarding party in a rigid hull inflatable boat found both derelicts unmanned, though the motorboat was well stocked. They towed both boats back to Ponce, which flooded her welldeck, brought the boats aboard, carried them into Catania, and turned them over to the Guardia Costiera (Italian Coast Guard). On 10 January 2003 Ponce received orders to depart Norfolk, Virginia, and take on Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. That duty kept Ponce at sea through February. At the end of February, she became the flagship of the Commander of Mine Countermeasure Squadron Three, designated as Commander, Task Group 55.4. The Task Group included a US Navy special clearance team, two explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units, a detachment of MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron FOURTEEN (HM-14), a United Kingdom unit and an Australian team. The ships involved included the mine coastal hunters USS Cardinal (MHC-60) and Raven (MHC-61), mine counter measure ships Ardent (MCM-12) and Dextrous (MCM-13), and dock landing ship Gunston Hall (LSD-44). After breaking the Squadron's pennant at her yardarm, Ponce's crew (and Gunston Hall's) enjoyed liberty ashore in Manama, Bahrain, beginning on 28 February. On 5 March, however, the amphibious ships got underway again. Humanitarian aid to Iraq was being blocked by naval mines in the Khawr Abd Allah river and the port of Umm Qasr. The weeks-long minesweeping operation was directed from Ponce, the flagship of the Task Group. The Group used a variety of methods, including MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters towing magnetic minesweeping sleds, trained marine mammals, unmanned underwater vehicles and EOD divers. On 28 March a 200-yard-wide channel was declared safe, and RFA Sir Galahad (L3005) docked at Umm Qasr Port and began offloading hundreds of tons of food and water. Work continued for weeks after that, widening the channel. On 25 March 2005, Ponce again departed Norfolk, deploying with the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) for six months. Following a port visit to Augusta Bay, Sicily, Ponce spent three months in the Persian Gulf conducting operations in support of the global War on Terrorism. While in the Gulf, she made port visits to Bahrain and Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Ponce departed the Gulf in August 2005. On 19 August, she was ordered into the Gulf of Aqaba in response to the Katyusha rocket attacks on USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and Ashland, to backload Marines that had previously been offloaded in Jordan to participate in Operation Infinite Moonlight. Ponce conducted port visits to Malta and Rota, Spain before returning to Norfolk on 27 September. 2010s On 2 March 2011, Ponce, along with Kearsarge, traveled through the Suez Canal in response to the 2011 Libyan civil war. Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet (C6F) relieved the commanding officer and executive officer of Ponce on 23 April 2011. Vice Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., relieved Cmdr. Etta Jones, Ponce's commanding officer, due to demonstrated poor leadership, and failure to appropriately investigate, report, and hold accountable sailors found involved in hazing incidents. Additionally, she failed to properly handle a loaded weapon during a security alert which endangered some of her crew. The relief of the executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Kurt Boenisch, was due to his failure to provide support to the command and commanding officer. On 26 October 2011, Ponce began a three week tour which would take her to Port Canaveral, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and her namesake city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Upon her return to Norfolk, in December 2011, she was to begin the process of decommissioning. On 2 December 2011, Ponce came home to await decommissioning on 30 March 2012, when she would be towed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and be placed with the mothball fleet. On 17 April 2012, Ponce received a new commanding officer when Capt. Jon P. Rodgers relieved Cmdr. Cole Hayes. On 1 June 2012, Ponce deployed to the Fifth Fleet area in the Middle East. It was reported on 22 June 2012, that Ponce was passing through the Suez Canal on her way to Bahrain. She arrived in Bahrain on 5 July. Afloat Forward Staging Base, Interim (AFSB-I) On 24 January 2012, the Military Sealift Command posted a bid request to retrofit the USS Ponce on a rush-order basis. In response to requests from United States Central Command, the ship was converted to a staging base for mine countermeasures helicopters and ships/boats. The ship is expected to be completely transformed in an estimated four to five months. The ship will be operated jointly by active-duty Navy officers and sailors, as well as government civilian mariners from Military Sealift Command. The USS Ponce will be modified as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) to support mine-sweeping MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters. MSC issued requests for proposal to upgrade and refit the ship. The work includes upgrading the ship’s navigation systems, bringing habitability up to MSC standards and general refurbishment. The Ponce will be designated as AFSB(I) 15, (I) for the interim. The ship is now in the Persian Gulf to serve as the Pentagon's first floating staging base for military operations or humanitarian assistance. source: wikipedia (08/2012) - more history wanted
patches
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