The USS Newport (LST-1179) was the third ship to bear the name of the Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 city

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

. The first of her class

Newport class tank landing ship

Newport-class tank-landing ships are an improved class of American tank-landing ship , intended to provide substantial advantages over their World War II-era predecessors...

 of LSTs, she was capable of a sustained speed of 20 knots (39.2 km/h). Her ability to adjust her draft, accompanied by her unique bow-ramp design, helped bring a new degree of responsiveness to the amphibious

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 fleet

Naval fleet

A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....

.

Built by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...

, she was christened

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 3 February 1968 by Mrs. Nuella Pell; wife of Rhode Island's Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, Claiborne Pell

Claiborne Pell

Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...

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While assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Newport completed ten deployments

Military deployment

Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world.-United States:The United States Military defines the term as follows:...

 to the Mediterranean, as an asset of the Sixth Fleet. She also completed numerous deployments to the North Atlantic and Caribbean, in support of U.S. foreign policy. She assisted in the 1976 evacuation of Lebanon, and the 1990 Liberian Civil War; as well as operating in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, from a station in the Mediterranean.

During her service, she earned the 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 (for Battle Efficiency), (twice), 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...

 (one 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...

 (one service star), Humanitarian Service Medal

Humanitarian Service Medal

The Humanitarian Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States armed forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under...

, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (nine service stars), and a Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

 Tribute of Appreciation.

Deployments

• May 1970; Caribbean
• April 1971 - Oct 71 Mediterreanean
• August 1972; Caribbean
• November 1973 – June 1974; Regular Overhaul
• August 1974 – Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
• January 1975 - March 1975; Caribbean
• August 1975 ; Caribbean
• October 1975 – December 1975; North Atlantic
• March 1976; Caribbean
• June 1976 – December 1976; Mediterranean
• June 1977; Caribbean
• February 1978 – August 1978; Mediterranean
• September 1978 – September 1979; Regular Overhaul

Initially dry docked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...

, followed by move to Horn Brother, Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

. Commander William Naldrett relieves Commander Fred - June 1979.

• October 1979; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba/Haiti
  Haiti
  Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
  
  

Refresher training after Regular Overhaul included a post visit to Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....

, Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

.

• February 1980; North Atlantic

March 12, 1980 - Crosses Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 off the coast of Norway.

• July 1980; Caribbean
• August 1980 – February 1981; North Atlantic-Mediterranean–Indian Ocean
  Indian Ocean
  The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
  
  

November 5, 1980 - Shellback Initiation off the coast of Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

• January 1982 – Mediterranean-Indian Ocean

March 17, 1982 - Fire destroys #3 Engine Room while anchored off Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

• April 1982 – December 1982; yard period
• December 1982; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
• January 1983 - April 1983; North Atlantic
• September 1984 – February 1985; Mediterranean
• April 1986; Caribbean Included port call in St. John's, Antigua
• August 1986 - October 1986; Northern Wedding
  Northern Wedding
  Northern Wedding was a NATO Cold War naval military exercise conducted every four years, designed to test NATO's ability to rearm and resupply Europe during times of war.-Exercises:...
  
   Included crossing of Arctic Circle in August, port calls in Bergen, Norway and Edinburgh, Scotland and traverse of Kiel Canal, Germany
• January 1987 – August 1987; Mediterranean, Included port calls in Genoa and Naples, Italy; Marseilles and Villefranche sur mer, France; Valencia, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal; Completed OPPE on return trip
• December 1988 – June 1989; Mediterranean
• September 1989 – March 1990; regular overhaul
• April 1990; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
• August 1990 – March 1991; Mediterranean – West Africa

December 1990 - Shellback Initiation off the coast of Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

• November 1991 – June 1992; Mediterranean
• September 1992; decommissioned

Fate

USS Newport was decommissioned on 30 September 1992, at her homeport of NAB Little Creek

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek

The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach, Virginia totals...

, Virginia. After several years in the Navy's mothball facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, she was sold to the Mexican Navy. Rechristened at Mexican Naval Shipyard Number 1 (ASTIMAR-1), Tampico

Tampico

Tampico is a city and port in the state of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located in the southeastern part of the state, directly north across the border from Veracruz. Tampico is the third largest city in Tamaulipas, and counts with a population of 309,003. The Metropolitan area of...

, Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

 Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, as Mexican Navy Ship (ARM in Spanish) Papaloapan (P-411).

In late 2005, the ARM Papaloapan (P-411) (former USS Newport) answered the call of the United States once again, bringing aid and supplies to citizens of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, who fell victim to Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

.

In January, 2010, she was deployed with 5000 tons of cargo in a humanitarian mission to Haiti.

External links

• navsource.org: USS Newport