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USS Patriot (MCM-7)
Encyclopedia
USS Patriot (MCM-7), an , is the third U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ship of that name.
Patriot was launched 15 May 1990 by Marinette Marine
Marinette Marine
Marinette Marine Corporation is a shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. MMC was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group, also in Wisconsin, but was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group in 2009...
in Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette, Wisconsin
Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,749 at the 2000 census.Marinette is the principal city of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marinette County, Wisconsin and Menominee...
, and commissioned 13 December 1991 in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. Commander Michael J. O'Moore, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was the commissioning Commanding Officer. Patriot was originally homeported at NS Charleston until 1993, when, she transferred to NS Ingleside, Texas
Naval Station Ingleside
Naval Station Ingleside was a United States Navy base in Ingleside, Texas.It was on the northern shore of Corpus Christi Bay, 12 miles northeast of the city of Corpus Christi. The base is about 150 miles south of San Antonio and approximately 200 miles south of Houston. This region is known as the...
.
History
In 1994 Patriot was called to serve in the Pacific, and since then has served as one of four forward-deployed MCMs in 7th FleetUnited States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
's Amphibious Ready Group. Patriot is operationally assigned to MCMDiv 11, CTF 76, ComSeventhFlt, CinCPacFlt, and USCinCPac. Her administrative chain of command is CoMCMDiv 11, CoMCMRon 1, CoMineWarCom (NAS Corpus Christi, TX
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , also known as Truax Field, is a naval base located six miles southeast of the central business district of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas, USA.-History:...
) recently merged with Naval Anti-Submarine Warfare Command into NMAWC (Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command), and ComNavSurfLant. Although Patriot was permanently assigned to Sasebo
United States Fleet Activities Sasebo
U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, her crew served on a rotational basis from Ingleside, Texas. Each rotation lasted approximately 6 months. In 1996 the crew assignments were changed to permanent overseas assignments.
In March 2003 the major event was TSTA3/FEP. This Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA3)/ Final Exercise Problem (FEP) initially designed to be a training assist visit to assess readiness, was turned into a graded scenario to prove her battle readiness. This advanced stage of training is designed to improve ships operations and give Patriot an opportunity to prove she is ready to perform her primary and secondary missions with utmost efficiency and skill.
Patriot executed her deployment phase during the 2003 calendar year. Along with conducting MINEX, she participated in Exercise Foal Eagle 2003
Foal Eagle
Foal Eagle is an annual combined Field Training Exercise conducted between the Republic of Korea and United States armed forces under the auspices of Combined Forces Command within the Korean Theater of Operations . It is one of the largest military exercises conducted annually in the world...
, a combined naval exercise with the Republic of Korea. Patriot successfully accomplished 100 percent mine-warfare tasking during the integrated exercise. Patriot conducted a WESTPAC Deployment during the months of May and June conducting port visits in Okinawa, Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, JA, Pusan, ROK, Inchon, ROK, and Kagoshima
Kagoshima, Kagoshima
is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwestern tip of the Kyūshū island of Japan, and the largest city in the prefecture by some margin...
, JA. Patriot also took part in the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
with a port visit to Pusan, South Korea.
Patriot routinely participates in a combined Mine Warfare training exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
as part of an annual MINEX and EODEX. MINEX/EODEX is a joint mine countermeasures (MCM) exercise designed to foster US Navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) interoperability through the use of the MCM Triad, surface MCM (SMCM) air MCM (AMCM) and Explosive Ordnance disposal (EOD) teams.
In 2005, Patriot conducted a Selected Maintenance Availability during which the ship was refitted with the most recent equipment upgrades and shipboard alterations. The maintenance period allowed the ship to re-train personnel and in preparations for the ship's Basic Training Phase and Interdeployment Training Cycle.
On 16 February 2007, Patriot was awarded the 2006 Battle "E" award. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=27895
In late November 2007, Patriot and fellow minesweeper sought refueling and refuge from an approaching storm in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...
, but were denied entry without explanation by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Both ships were eventually refueled
Underway replenishment
Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...
at sea and returned safely to their home ports in Japan.
In June 2011, six crew members were given nonjudicial punishment
Nonjudicial punishment
Non-judicial punishment in the United States military, is a form of military justice authorized by Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Non-judicial punishment or "NJP" permits commanders to administratively discipline troops without a court-martial...
and recommended for discharge from the Navy. The discipline was the result of a hazing incident which took place during the preceding Memorial Day weekend.