U.S. Navy Decommissions Avenger-class Mine Countermeasures Ships in Bahrain

"As you carry the plank you own of Douglas fir away with you today, remember that with it you carry the legacy of the thousands of Sailors who come before you," said Lt. Cmdr. Alex Turner, commanding officer, USS Devastator. "Today, Devastators' watch has ended; her service is complete, but her legacy will endure... and in every Iron Man who is honored to call this wooden ship home, there are truly no greater heroes."

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. George Wikoff, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) presided over the final decommissioning ceremony that recognized the proud history of not only Devastator, but also USS Sentry (MCM 3), USS Dextrous (MCM 13) and USS Gladiator (MCM 11).

"For more than three decades, USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator and USS Sentry have been critical to maritime missions around the globe - defending the freedom of navigation, promoting stability and deterring and defeating efforts by adversaries to harm the innocent," said Wikoff. "To all, past and present, who have served on [these ships], thank you for standing the watch, being true trailblazers in the fleet and maintaining a constant presence in our area of operations… what a proud legacy you leave in your wake."

Avenger-class ships were designed as mine sweepers/hunter-killers capable of finding, classifying and destroying moored and bottom mines. The ships used sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that could be released and detonated by remote control. They were also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships were a fiberglass-sheathed, wooden hull construction.

U.S. 5th Fleet's Task Force 55/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 50, responsible for surface forces across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, including patrol craft, independently deploying ships and now, littoral combat ships, is charged with the mine countermeasures mission.

Four littoral combat ships (LCS) are slated to deploy to Bahrain to replace the decommissioned MCM ships that have operated forward in 5th Fleet area of operations for decades.

USS Canberra (LCS 30) was the first Independence-variant LCS to deploy with the mine countermeasures mission package to the region and arrived at NSA Bahrain, May 22. Canberra has an integrated suite of unmanned maritime systems and sensors, and is designed to locate, identify and destroy mines while increasing the ship's standoff distance from a threat.

NAVCENT/C5F is the maritime component commander of U.S. Central Command, whose area of responsibility encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 21 countries, includes three critical chokepoints at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen.