USS Avenger (MCM-1) is the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of her class

Avenger class mine countermeasures ship

Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships are a class of 14 ships constructed by the United States Navy 1987–1994. The ships are designed to clear mines from vital waterways. The ships have the hull designator MCM.-Background:In the early 1980s, the U.S...

 of mine countermeasures ship, and 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.

Service history

Avenger was ordered on 29 June 1982, laid down on 3 June 1983 by the Peterson Shipbuilders Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisc.

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,437 at the 2000 census. It is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay, although the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula.-Geography:Sturgeon Bay is...

, launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 15 June 1985, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 12 September 1987.

Subsequent to her commissioning and a period of test and trials, Avenger arrived in her homeport of NS Charleston, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, and began operating as a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet

U.S. Atlantic Fleet

The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...

. Following the 1990 Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i invasion of Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, Avenger deployed to the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 as a coalition force member in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm on 16 August 1990. Avenger was the longest-serving ship from all of the coalition forces during the Shield/Storm conflict, as well as the first ship in the history of naval warfare to locate and neutralize bottom mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

. Avenger was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

 and Combat Action Ribbon

Combat Action Ribbon

The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal military decoration of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard which is awarded to those who, in any grade including and below that of a Captain in the Navy and Coast Guard , have actively participated in ground or...

 for her wartime accomplishments.

In 1993, Avenger shifted homeports to the newly constructed Naval Station Ingleside

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...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Since that time she deployed to the Eastern Atlantic in 1993 and 1995, Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 in 1997 and 1999. In 2001 Avenger deployed to the Eastern Pacific via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 and conducted Joint, Combined, and Bilateral exercises and operations on the West Coast. Late in 2001, Avenger conducted test operations of a revolutionary jam-resistant electronic navigation system. In 2004, the Avenger deployed to participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC

RIMPAC

RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Conducted biennially , it is hosted and administered by the United States Navy, with the United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the leadership of...

), and in October of that year the ship returned to her homeport of Ingleside, Texas. Avenger completed her most significant modernization in the summer of 2008. In 2009, Avenger shifted her homeport to San Diego and then in December became permanently forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan. Later that same year the ship commenced her first deployment around the western Pacific.

Avenger is part of Mine Countermeasures Squadron 2, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

External links

• USS Avenger official website
• navsource.org: USS Avenger
• nvr.navy.mil: USS Avenger
• navysite.de: USS Avenger