USS Ashland (LSD-48)
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Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Infobox ship/subboxTemplate:Infobox ship/subboxTemplate:Infobox ship/subboxTemplate:Infobox ship/subboxUSS Ashland (LSD-48) is a Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for Ashland, the home of Henry Clay, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Ashland was laid down on 4 April 1988, by the Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana; launched and christened on 11 November 1989, sponsored by Mrs. Kathleen Foley, wife of Admiral Sylvester R. Foley, Jr. (Ret.); and commissioned on 9 May 1992, at New Orleans. As of April 2023, Ashland is homeported at Naval Base San Diego, and assigned to Expeditionary Strike Group 3.
History
2005 rocket attack
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". On 19 August 2005, the Ashland and Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". were targeted by three Katyusha rockets while in port in Aqaba, Jordan. The vessels were not hit, but one Jordanian soldier was killed and another was wounded after two rockets hit nearby docks. The third rocket landed on a taxi near the Eilat airport in Israel but did not explode. Responsibility was claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade, which states that it is associated with the al-Qaeda terrorist group.[1] The sailors aboard both warships were awarded the Combat Action Ribbon as a result of the attack.[2]
Later service
In January 2007, the warship was sent to the coast of Somalia to conduct antiterrorist operations as part of the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". task force. On 31 May 2008 The Guardian reported that the human rights group Reprieve said up to seventeen US Naval vessels may have been used to covertly hold captives.[3][4] Reprieve expressed the concern the Ashland had been used as a receiving ship for up to 100 captives taken in East Africa.
In April 2008, Ashland visited Antsiranana, Madagascar.[5]
On 10 April 2010, seven suspected pirates on a skiff shot at the Ashland approximately Script error: No such module "convert". off the coast of Djibouti. Ashland fired two rounds at the skiff from her MK-38 Mod 2, 25mm gun. The people on board the skiff abandoned ship as it became engulfed in flames. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats from the Ashland rescued the six surviving individuals and brought them aboard the ship for medical treatment. The Ashland was not damaged and there were no injuries to the crew.[6][7] On 29 November 2010 Jama Idle Ibrahim was sentenced at a federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia to 30 years in prison for his involvement in the April piracy attacks against the Ashland. "Today marks the first sentencing in Norfolk for acts of piracy in more than 150 years," said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride.[8] On 26 April 2017 the US Justice Department released a statement saying that Mohamed Farah, 31, of Somalia was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the attack.[9][10]
Mid-life extension work on the Ashland, completed in 2012, included normal repair and refurbishment, as well as major alterations to several ship systems. Improvements to the ship's diesel engines, onboard networks, engineering control systems, and power management, and improved capacity for air conditioning and chilled water distribution were made. The biggest long-term change, however, involved the replacement of high-maintenance steam systems with all-electric functionality.
In November 2013, Ashland and Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". supported relief operations in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.[11]
In August 2015, Ashland with portions of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked conducted Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) in Saipan after Typhoon Soudelor passed through the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands.[12]
On 25 October 2017, Ashland rescued two American women who were drifting at sea.[13]
On 14 March 2018, CNN did a 360° look using VR to share what it feels like to live on the Ashland. The 3:09-minute segment showed both sailors and marines going about their daily routines.[14] In 2018, the Ashland received the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Pacific Fleet. This award is presented annually to the ship with the highest score in the Battle Effectiveness Award, the Battle "E."
The Ashland, one of eight active ships in its class, is expected to remain in service and mission-capable to 2038.[15]
In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2023.[16]
In May 2022, Ashland was a part of the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". Amphibious Ready Group in Sasebo.[17]
The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act blocked Ashland's decommissioning and retirement along with three other LSD class dock landing ships.[18]
In April 2023, Ashland completed a permanent change of station arriving at Naval Base San Diego.[19]
References
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- ↑ Hulette, Elisabeth, "Ashland Returns with a Story To Tell: Pirates", Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 16 August 2010.
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Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The ship's history can be found here.
External links
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- history.navy.mil: USS Ashland
- Template:Naval Vessel Register URL
- 1995 command history – Naval History & Heritage Command
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- Pages with script errors
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- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships
- Amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
- Piracy in Somalia
- Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana
- 1989 ships