_transits_the_Atlantic_Ocean.jpg) USSIwo Jima in the Atlantic Ocean on 6 September 2008 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Iwo Jima |
| Namesake | Battle of Iwo Jima |
| Ordered | 28 February 1995 |
| Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 12 December 1997 |
| Launched | 4 February 2000 |
| Sponsored by | Zandra Krulak |
| Christened | 25 March 2000 |
| Commissioned | 30 June 2001 |
| Homeport | Naval Station Norfolk |
| Identification |
|
| Motto | Uncommon Valor |
| Status | in active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Wasp-classamphibious assault ship |
| Displacement | 40,500 long tons (41,150 t) full load |
| Length | 843 ft (257 m) |
| Beam | 104 ft (31.8 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft (8.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Two boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, 70,000 shp (52,000 kW); |
| Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) |
| Range | 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Well deck dimensions | 266-by-50-foot (81 by 15.2 m) by 28-foot (8.5 m) high |
| Boats & landing craft carried | |
| Troops | 1,687 troops (plus 184 surge)Marine Detachment |
| Complement | 1,208 |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried |
|
USSIwo Jima (LHD-7) landing helicopter dock is aWasp-classamphibious assault ship of theUnited States Navy. The ship was named for theBattle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and is in service.
Fabrication work forIwo Jima began atIngalls shipyard on 3 September 1996, and the ship'skeel was laid on 12 December 1997. At the keel laying ceremony, United States Army CaptainJacklyn H. Lucas, who was awarded theMedal of Honor for his actions while serving as a Marine at the Battle of Iwo Jima, placed his Medal of Honor citation in the hull of the ship, where it remains today.[2] She was launched on 4 February 2000. USSIwo Jima waschristened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, wife of GeneralCharles C. Krulak, the formerCommandant of the Marine Corps, inPascagoula, Mississippi on 25 March 2000. The commissioning crew moved aboard in April 2001, and made the ship's maiden voyage on 23 June 2001, accompanied by more than 2,000 World War II veterans – many of them survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima. She was commissioned a week later inPensacola, Florida, on 30 June 2001.
Shortly thereafter, the ship and crew began an accelerated Inter Deployment Training Cycle, which tested virtually every system on board in realistic combat conditions.Iwo Jima was also the first ship on the waterfront open to the public after the terrorist attacks of11 September 2001. In 2002,Iwo Jima participated inFleet Week inNew York City.
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Iwo Jima and the Marines of the26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26 MEU) along with two otheramphibious assault ships formed theIwo JimaAmphibious Ready Group.Iwo Jima left port on 4 March 2003 in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom and deployed Marines in April 2003 from theMediterranean Sea into NorthernIraq for theIraq War. In July 2003,Iwo Jima deployed to the coast ofLiberia as part ofJTF Liberia in response to theSecond Liberian Civil War. During this operation, theSouthern European Task Force (SETAF) as the command element of JTF Liberia andIwo Jima with the 26 MEU landed Marines in Liberia to perform humanitarian assessments. "At its height, JTF Liberia consisted of over 5,000 service members from the SETAF headquarters, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the three-shipIwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, 3rd Air Force's 398th Air Expeditionary Group, U.S. Army Europe's21st Theater Support Command, and Army Special Forces."[3]
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In 2004,Iwo Jima participated in Fleet Week.Iwo Jima served as the2nd Fleetflagship in 2005, based out ofNorfolk, Virginia.
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On 31 August 2005,Iwo Jima was sortied to theGulf of Mexico to provide disaster relief and to conduct support operations in the wake ofHurricane Katrina.Iwo Jima sailed up theMississippi River to the city ofNew Orleans to directly support relief operations and act as the central command center for all federal, state and local disaster recovery operations.
During this critical period,Iwo Jima also served as the region's only fully functional air field for helicopter operations, conducting over one thousand flight deck operations; provided hot meals, showers, drinking water, and berthing to thousands ofNational Guardsmen and relief workers; provided medical services, including first aid and surgical services, for disaster victims; and conducted clean-up operations in the city and suburbs of New Orleans.
Iwo Jima served as flagship for the commander-in-chief,George W. Bush, duringHurricane Katrina Joint Task Force,[4] and is only the second Navy ship to have been presented theflag of the president of the United States.
On 6 June 2006,Iwo Jima left her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, and began a regularly scheduled six-month deployment to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command area of responsibilities, as flagship for theIwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, encompassing 6,000 sailors and Marines. The ship was also a part of the evacuation effort of American citizens from theconflict in Lebanon.[5]
News reports on 15 July 2006 stated thatIwo Jima, flagship of the24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, would be used to evacuate U. S. citizens fromLebanon after theIsraeli Defense Force made theBeirut International Airport unusable through bombing its runways and fuel storage areas.[citation needed]
On 16 February 2007,Iwo Jima was awarded the 2006Battle "E" award.[6]
In 2009, 2010, and 2011,Iwo Jima participated at the annual Fleet Week in New York City.
On 3 November 2010,Iwo Jima was deployed toHaiti in anticipation of providing humanitarian assistance due to an impendingTropical Storm Tomas.[7]
On 27 March 2012,Iwo Jima was deployed as part of theIwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with Marines from the24th Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting maritime security operations and security cooperation efforts in the U.S.5th and6th Fleet areas of responsibility.[8]
On 11 April 2012, anMV-22 fromVMM-261 crashed nearAgadir,Morocco, during a joint training exercise after taking off from USSIwo Jima. Two US Marine crew chiefs were killed and the two pilots were seriously injured.[9][10][11]
Early in May 2012,Iwo Jima was operating in theGulf of Aqaba and in the south of theRed Sea. In November 2012,Iwo Jima was dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean, during escalating warfare between Israel andHamas, in case the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Israel was required, delaying the scheduled return ofIwo Jima to Norfolk.[12]
In August 2014,Iwo Jima shifted homeport toMayport.[13]
In January 2015,Iwo Jima,USS Fort McHenry andUSS New York were positioned off the coast ofYemen on standby to evacuate the staff of the US embassy should the need arise due to thecollapse of the Yemeni government.[14]
In October 2016,Iwo Jima sailed toHaiti to relieveUSS Mesa Verde, assisting victims ofHurricane Matthew.[15]
In October and November 2018,Iwo Jima participated inNATO'sExercise Trident Juncture 2018 in Norway.[16]
In December 2021,Iwo Jima shifted homeports fromNaval Station Mayport toNaval Station Norfolk as a part of the Navy's plan to consolidate the East Coast-based amphibious ships to the Norfolk area.[17]
The ship's motto, "Uncommon Valor", is based on Fleet AdmiralChester W. Nimitz's words when he spoke of Sailors and Marines who fought atIwo Jima: "Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."[19]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
