U.S Navy Decommissions 3 Warships With 107 Years Of Combined Service In One Week

The U.S. Navy conducted decommissioning ceremonies for three warships as 2026 comes to an end. All the vessels had spent 107 service years combined with the naval fleet, taking part in important missions, special operations, and tasks.

The first one to leave the fleet was USS Germantown, a dock landing ship of the Whidbey Island-class, which remained operational for 40 years.

The 190 m long and 26 m wide vessel was the first to undertake Landing Craft Air Cushion Amphibious Operation. It also played an important role in Operation Desert Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, etc.

Decommissioned in San Diego, the warship had 22 officers and 391 enlisted sailors and an armament comprising two Mk 38 cannons, 2 Phalanx CIWS mounts, 2 Rolling Airframe missiles, and 6 M2HB machine guns.

It also participated in many humanitarian and disaster relief operations, such as the devastating earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc in Japan in 2011 and 2013.

The other two vessels that bid farewell to the Navy included guided missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga-class, the USS Lake Erie and USS Shiloh.

USS Lake Erie said goodbye to naval service after 33 years. The warship played an instrumental role in developing and testing the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

It participated in the 1995 Operation Southern Watch and Operation United Shield. In 2017, it undertook escorts through the Strait of Hormuz in Operation Inherent Resolve.

Before decommissioning, the warship was sent to the Caribbean region, working to counter illegal maritime activities. Named after the Battle of Shiloh, fought during the American Civil War, the 173 m long warship was decommissioned at Hawaii’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after spending 34 years with the Navy.

It was one of the first ships to fire Tomahawk land attack missiles during Operation Desert Strike in 1996 and during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2002. Shiloh was forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, in 2006 for 17 years.

The Navy also decommissioned other vessels this year, including the submarine USS Alexandria of the Los Angeles-class, the USS Fort Worth, a littoral combat ship of the Freedom-class, and 3 replenishment oilers and 2 RORO vessels.