After more than 30 year of service, the USS Simpson (FFG 56), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, will leave the Navy at the end of the month.
With a crew of more than 200, the Simpson, the last Perry-class frigate in the service, has been based at Mayport on the First Coast where it has been stationed since the summer of 2001.
Since first being commissioned in 1984, the Simpson has been at the center of historic events. After the Challenger disaster, the Simpson was among the ships assigned to recovery operations off the Florida coast. The Simpson engaged in combat with Iranian naval ships in 1988, sinking one of them. In the 1990s, the Simpson was involved during American operations in the Middle East, Somalia, Haiti and the Balkans. The ship was also impacted by the worst terrorist attack in American history. Capt. Gerald DeConto, who was the captain of the Simpson from 1998 until 2000, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
In Congress on Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., who sits on the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, honored the Simpson and the sailors who served aboard her.
“I rise today to pay tribute to the fine sailors who have served on the USS Simpson,” Crenshaw said. “On September 30, 2015, the Simpson, which is the last active Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, will be decommissioned and leave the active United States Navy fleet.
“The Simpson is named for Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson, who was a distinguished officer during World War II,” Crenshaw continued. “RADM Simpson was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star and Legion of Merit for rescuing and evacuating more than 7,500 Allied prisoners of war and civilians interned in Japanese concentration camps. The USS Simpson was commissioned on November 9, 1985.
“From its first overseas deployment, the USS Simpson and her crew have distinguished themselves in combat,” Crenshaw added. “On April 18, 1988, along with two other Navy ships, the Simpson responded to the Iranian mine attack on the USS Samuel B. Roberts by destroying an Iranian oil platform and sinking the Iranian Navy mission patrol combatant, Joshan.
“Over her 30 years of service, the Simpson made 14 deployments,” Crenshaw continued. “Her final deployment was for seven months to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation in which she conducted theater security cooperation exercises. As in the past, the crew was called on to support various task forces and performed perfectly, never missing an operational commitment. Every sailor made a difference every day. In addition, some of the newest technologies in the Navy were aboard, four Fire Scouts vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.
“The crew on the last deployment was comprised of reservists as well as active-duty individual augmented personnel with zero previous experience with UAV’s,” Crenshaw said. “Despite the challenges, the officers aboard reported the crew achieved the highest ever recorded maintenance readiness and sortie completion rate of any Fire Scout deployment in the program’s history.
“The Simpson will be decommissioned but the friendships and camaraderie this ship established on its decks will last for ages,” Crenshaw said in conclusion. “It is a pleasure and honor to represent the great men and women who serve in the 4th Congressional District of Florida and to see them successfully complete the mission of the USS Simpson. Their hard work and dedication contributes to the important missions of our nation’s defense and reiterates our community’s importance as an anchor of national security.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
