Leased:	27 July 1994
Purchased:	25 March 1998

USS Jesse L. Brown (DE/FF/FFT-1089) was a of the US 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...

. She was named for Jesse L. Brown

Jesse L. Brown

Jesse LeRoy Brown was the first African American naval aviator in the United States Navy, and the first naval officer killed in the Korean War....

, the first African-American naval aviator in the US Navy. Mrs. Gilbert W. Thorne, Ship's Sponsor. This ship was eventually decommissioned and sold to the Egyptian Navy and was renamed Damiyat (F961). The name is also transliterated as Damyat and Damietta in some sources.

Career

Jesse L. Brown, a 3963-ton Knox-class escort ship built at Westwego, Louisiana, was commissioned in February 1973. In July 1975, she was reclassified as a frigate and designated FF-1089. Her career was spent with the Atlantic Fleet, and included several deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf and northern European waters. Jesse L. Brown also participated in two joint operations with Latin American Navies, UNITAS XX in 1979 and UNITAS XXX a decade later.

Jesse L. Brown was operating off the Guantanamo Bay area during January 1979 when mistakenly fired upon a Soviet Oceangoing tug and Foxtrot Class submarine being given to the Cuban Navy. The Farraguat mistook the radar return for the US Navy fleet tug and towed target. During the next approximate 48 hours, Jesse L. Brown and the other ships maintained General Quarters while a state of near war existed, which included constant threat of attack by Cuban missile patrol boats and medium bombers.

Jesse L. Brown (in an episode foreshadowing her later service) was credited with a drug bust as a result of the rescue of an approximate 40 feet (12 m) sailboat in Casco Bay, Maine, while undergoing post yard refit sea trials from Bath Iron Works

Bath Iron Works

Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...

. The ship bears the marks of this operation to this day with visible dents in hull from the strikes from the large sailboat while transferring the seasick crew in heavy sea conditions. The sailboat crew was later transferred to a former Navy ATF Coast Guard Cutter out of Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

, after a failed towing attempt of the sailboat.

Jesse L. Brown frequently lived up to her motto of "Versatility, Victory, Valor." In one episode during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the ship recovered an SH-3 Sea King that couldn't refuel in flight and didn't have enough fuel to return to its carrier. Jesse L. Browns commanding officer ordered ship into the wind and recovered the Sea King onto the limited space flight deck, even though was not rated for helicopters the size of the Sea King. The helicopter landed with her tail wheel in the safety nets and less than 18 inches (45.7 cm) of clearance between her rotors and the collapsed helicopter hangar. Quick repairs by the both the helicopter's and ship's crew remedied the helicopter's fuel problem, and it was able to lift off and properly refuel airborne.

Jesse L. Brown and her crew were the first ship to escort three Pegasus-class Patrol Hydrofoils from Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, to Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, by using the frigates helicopter refueling system as an underway replenishment refueling rig to refuel the three hydrofoils underway.

Jesse L. Brown served as the U.S. liaison and on-scene commander for rescue attempts and subsequent body recovery for a diving bell from the Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum

Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch....

 oil-exploration ship MV Woodeco 5 off the Ivory Coast in October 1979.

During the later 1980s and early 1990s, she engaged in counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean area.

Jesse L. Brown was transferred to the Naval Reserve in January 1992, and was redesignated FFT-1089. Based in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, after October 1992, she was actively involved in training reservists while participating in operations in the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico area. In 1993, she transited the Panama Canal and paid a visit to Ecuador. Jesse L. Brown was decommissioned on 27 July 1994 and leased to the Egyptian Navy the same day. Named Damiyat (F961) in Egyptian service (but also transliterated as Damyat or Damietta in some sources), she was purchased outright by the Egyptians on 25 March 1998. , Damiyat remained active with the Egyptian Navy.

U.S. awards, citations, and campaign ribbons

	Joint Meritorious Unit Award Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...  (with two bronze oak leaf cluster Oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration... s)
	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...  (with one bronze service star Service star A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service... )
	Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....
	Navy "E" Ribbon (3)
	Navy Expeditionary Medal Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is an award of the United States Navy which was first created in August 1936 by General Orders of the Department of the Navy...  (with one bronze service star Service star A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service... )
	National Defense Service Medal National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...  (with one bronze service star Service star A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service... )
	Sea Service Deployment Ribbon Sea Service Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard and the United States Army which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a vessel at sea....
	Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon Special Operations Service Ribbon The Special Operations Service Ribbon is a decoration of the United States Coast Guard which was first created in July 1987 by order of Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul A. Yost Jr. The decoration is authorized for certain acts of non-combat meritorious service, performed in the service...

External links

• US Navy History - USS Jesse L. Brown images