Dock Landing Ship
LSD 46 - USS Tortuga
Type, Class:		Dock Landing Ship; Whidbey Island - class
Builder:		Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: November 26, 1984 Laid down: March 23, 1987 Launched: September 15, 1988 Commissioned: November 17, 1990 ACTIVE UNIT/ in commission (Atlantic Fleet)
Homeport:		Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia, USA
Namesake:		Named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets 60 miles west of Key West, Florida
Ship's Motto:		TOUGH - TALL - TENACIOUS
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Whidbey Island - class Dock Landing Ship
ship images
Malaysia - June 2013 Sasebo, Japan - January 2013 White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan - August 2012 Ominato, Japan - March 2011 Ominato, Japan - March 2011 Japan - March 2011 November 2010 Java Sea - May 2010 Philippines - October 2009 Okinawa, Japan - September 2009 Sasebo, Japan - September 2009 Coral Sea - July 2009 Coral Sea - July 2009 Coral Sea - July 2009 Coral Sea - July 2009 Pacific Ocean - July 2009 Cairns, Australia - July 2009 South China Sea - April 2009 Philippine Sea - April 2009 Philippine Sea - April 2009 April 2009 Gulf of Thailand - February 2009 Gulf of Thailand - February 2009 Gulf of Thailand - February 2009 Gulf of Thailand - February 2009 Sattahip, Thailand - June 2008 Puerto Princesa, Philippines - June 2008 Puerto Princesa, Philippines - June 2008 Pacific Ocean - May 2008 Sasebo, Japan - September 2007 Sasebo, Japan - July 2007 Brisbane, Australia - June 2007 New Orleans, Louisiana - September 2005 New Orleans, Louisiana - September 2005 Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia - May 2003 Caribbean Sea - February 2001 commissioning - November 17, 1990 November 1990 November 1990 November 1990 trials - July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 July 1990 christening - November 1988 September 1988 launching - September 15, 1988 September 1988 September 1988 September 1988 September 1988 September 1988 September 1988
Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA
Namesake & History:
The Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida: The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about 67 miles (108 km) west of Key West, and 37 miles (60 km) west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the Spanish in 1513 by explorer Juan Ponce de León. They are an unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida, and belong to the Lower Keys Census County Division. With their surrounding waters, they constitute the Dry Tortugas National Park.
USS Tortuga (LSD 46): In 1997, Tortuga was commanded by CDR Kenneth M. Rome, and made a Mediterranean deployment from 1 July 1998 until 8 December 1998. In 1999, CDR J.M. Burdon assumed command and commanded the ship until his retirement in late 2000. He was succeeded by CDR James P. Driscoll, and in October 2000, the ship was ordered on an emergency deployment to support UNITAS 2000 in the South Pacific after USS La Moure County had run aground on an underwater mountain off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile suffering catastrophic damage. After successfully finishing the UNITAS deployment, Tortuga returned to Little Creek. In January 2001, Tortuga was assigned as flagship to the Standing Naval Forces Atlantic|SNFL a NATO peacekeeping/quick reaction force. In August 2002, USS Tortuga departed North Carolina with Marines and sailors from BLT 2/2. During this time she was the home to Echo Company, CAAT Red and a section of CAAT Green, as well as LAR and AmTracks. The group was on what was supposed to be a 6 month deployment. In September and October 2002, Tortuga was in Thessaloniki, Greece in support of BLT 2/2 operations in Kosovo. In November Tortuga transited the Suez Canal with the rest of her ARG. They were then assigned to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. In mid-November, Tortuga put Marines from BLT 2/2 ashore in Djibouti. She then proceeded south of the equator to the Seychelle Islands. In March 2003, Tortuga proceeded to the Persian Gulf to deploy her Marines and sailors in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Marines and sailors returned to Tortuga in April and returned to the United States on 27 May 2003 after a 9 month deployment. In 2005, Tortuga was commanded by CDR Mark H. Scovill, homeported at NAB Little Creek, Virginia, and assigned to Amphibious Group 2 of the Atlantic Fleet. On 25 August 2005 Tortuga and her crew were pulled from a training exercise and sent to New Orleans to become part of Joint Task Force Katrina. She was the first Navy ship to sail up the Mississippi River following the hurricane and berthed on the West Bank of New Orleans Naval Station. The ship instantly became a major rally point for the scattered military and civilian forces across New Orleans. Tortuga's crew conducted rescue missions in the flooded Ninth Ward and assisted local officials from St. Bernard Parish. Crew members employed combat rubber raiding craft (CRRCs) which allowed them to search flooded areas with many underwater obstacles. As the crew rescued people from neighborhoods they were brought back to Tortuga with 7 and 11 meter RHIBs. Evacuees were processed, received medical attention, and were forwarded to their next destination at the earliest possible time. As water receded in New Orleans and the CRRCs became useless, the ship served as the headquarters for the 618th ESC "Nasty", and the 307th Eng Bn, 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army camped out on the Naval Station, while they worked in conjunction with U.S. Navy units to conduct rescue and clean up missions. On 14 October 2005, the U.S. Navy announced that Tortuga, would be forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan to replace Fort McHenry (LSD-43). Tortuga arrived in Sasebo 31 March 2006 for turnover and assignment as part of the U.S. Navy’s Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF). On 12 April the crews of the two ships completed an exchange-of-command process. Conducted in 12 days, the hull swap between Fort McHenry and Tortuga was the quickest in the history of the U.S. Navy. Tortuga's former crew departed Sasebo 13 April 2006 to return to Little Creek on board Fort McHenry. On 15 May, only a month following the swap, Tortuga departed for a three-month deployment. The deployment was centered around an annual exercise called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2006. Tortuga joined a newly established task group (TG 73.5) reporting directly to Commander, Logistics Group WESTPAC out of Singapore. The group consisted of five ships, Tortuga, USS Hopper (DDG-70), USS Crommelin (FFG-37), USNS Salvor (T-ARS-52), and USCGC Sherman (WHEC-720). The group visited and operated with the navies of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Philippines. USS Tortuga visited the island of Iwo Jima in March 2008 and March 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of the World War II battle fought there. In 2011, USS Tortuga participated in disaster relief after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. As part of Operation Tomodachi, the ship transported Japanese Self-Defense Force servicemen and equipment from Hokkaido to Honshu island. Divers from the ship helped map and clear debris from the ports of Hachinohe, Aomori and Miyako, Iwate, facilitating both ports to reopen to ship traffic. In April 5, 2013 to April 7, 2013, USS Tortuga participated in a joint annual military exercises together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to enhance regional cooperation and effectiveness in the region. More than 8,000 personnel will be conducted the Balikatan exercises. In August 2013, the USS Tortuga completed a hull swap with the USS Ashland and then returned to its new homeport of Little Creek, Virginia. source: wikipedia
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