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USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60)
Encyclopedia
USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) is an of the United States 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...
named for Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Sergeant Rodney M. Davis
Rodney M. Davis
Rodney Maxwell Davis was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Vietnam War.-Biography:...
(1942–1967), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his heroism in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Rodney M. Davis was laid down on 28 October 1982 by the Todd Pacific Shipyards
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company...
Co., Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, Ca.; 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 11 January 1986; 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 9 May 1987.
The ship was homeported at Yokosuka, Japan for several years while assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15. As of 2005, Rodney M. Davis is homeported at NS Everett
Naval Station Everett
Naval Station Everett is the United States Navy's most modern facility. It is located next to the marina area of the city of Everett, WA, 25 miles north of Seattle. The Navy Support Complex is located between Marysville and Arlington, 11 miles north of the naval station. Naval Station , Everett is...
, Washington, and assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9.
History
On 28 April 2001 a US Coast GuardUnited States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
Law Enforcement Detachment
Law Enforcement Detachments
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...
(LEDET) assigned to the Rodney M. Davis, with later assistance from the (based in Port Angeles, WA) made the largest cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
seizure in maritime history when they boarded and seized the Belizean F/V Svesda Maru 1,500 miles south of San Diego. The fishing vessel was carrying 26,931 pounds of cocaine.
In the summer of 2005, Davis participated in the 11th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise. CARAT is an annual series of bilateral military training exercises designed to enhance cooperative working partnerships with several Southeast Asian nations. Ensuring freedom of the seas by increasing maritime security efforts in the region is a primary focus of the CARAT series.
In the summer of 2006, with the help of the crew from the Rodney M. Davis, 11 tons of creosote
Creosote
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...
logs were removed from the beaches of NAVMAG Indian Island
Indian Island, Washington
Indian Island is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It is located between Port Townsend Bay and Kilisut Harbor. Parts also border on Oak Bay and Scow Bay. Until the construction of the Port Townsend Ship Canal Indian Island was connected to the mainland...
. The project was completed with no labor cost, due to the support of the Davis crew on this shoreline enhancement project. Removal of creosote contaminant source from the beaches enhances shoreline habitat and marine water quality.
2006-2007 Deployment
Davis departed Naval Station (NAVSTA) Everett for a deployment to the Southern Pacific, November 28, 2006.On March 3, 2007, Sailors from Davis participated in two community relations (COMREL) projects during the ship’s visit to Panama in February. The Davis Sailors' COMREL efforts included visits to local orphanages and maintenance/improvements at a library in the Cinco de Mayo district of the city. Sailors spent their day cleaning, repairing, and painting chairs and cabinets at the Eusebio Morales Library. Five more Davis sailors visited a local orphanage, Hogar Divino Nino, to spend time with infants and toddler orphans to give them some much needed human contact. The Davis sailors took diapers, formula, baby wipes and other child care supplies to aid the staff at the orphanage. The two groups reassembled at another orphanage, Nutre Hogar, to hand out Spanish-language Disney movies to the children, which were part of a generous donation made through the Jacksonville, Fla., area office of the United Service Organizations (USO).
Davis completed her transit of the Panama Canal on March 25, 2007 from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
The Sailors of Davis completed their third community relations (COMEL) project in Panama City, Panama on April 3, 2007. During the ship’s three-day port visit, 21 members of the crew spent a day helping to improve Hogar Nuevo Pacto, a home for abused children in Panama City. The crew raised $1,100 in donations to pay for supplies and improvements for the home. Davis sailors bought equipment to repaint the inside of the house, as well as groceries, new shower curtains, bed sheets, and light fixtures for the children’s living areas. The home, previously U.S. military housing, was greatly in need of some modernization and assistance from able hands. Despite rainy weather outside, the crew spent the day productively inside, painting hallways and bedrooms, installing conveniences like toilet paper dispensers and toothbrush holders in the bathrooms, and replacing lights and correcting electrical safety problems.
On the evening of April 19, 2007, Davis intercepted the fishing vessel Mariana de Jesus in international waters. The 33-foot vessel was overcrowded with 31 migrants. Davis gave the migrants food and water and they were all examined by the ship's medical personnel. Some were treated for mild dehydration and headaches, but overall they were found to be in good physical condition. The migrants were then transferred to the El Salvadoran Navy.
On April 23, 2007, the Costa Rican Coast Guard vessel Juan Rafael Mora (JRM) and Davis intercepted the fishing vessel Kuerubin with 61 Chinese migrants, all of whom were transferred to the JRM. Davis was tasked to ensure their health and safety was maintained by providing food, water, and medical supplies. All were malnourished and dehydrated for they had been without food or water for four days.
The frigate returned to Everett naval base on June 12, 2007 after a six-month deployment in the war on drugs.
The first maritime seizure of liquid cocaine occurred April 25 when the Davis located the fishing vessel Emperador from Ecuador in the Eastern Pacific. A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment
Law Enforcement Detachments
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...
(LEDET) boarded the Emperador and located 3,850 gallons of liquid cocaine. Each gallon of the liquid is the equivalent of 1.3 kilograms of processed cocaine. The Coast Guard boarding team detained the 17 crewmembers of the vessel. Sixteen of the crewmembers were from Ecuador, and one of the crewmembers was Colombian. The Coast Guard boarding team and crew of the Davis transported the vessel to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador, for further examination by officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Ecuadorian authorities. The majority of the liquid cocaine, 3,600 gallons, was turned over to Ecuadorian authorities for destruction.
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...
2008 off Hawaii. While docked in Pearl Harbor prior to the exercise, an unusual helicopter detachment embarked the Davis. For the first time in 10 years, was in Hawaii. She had been the Navy's only forward deployed aircraft carrier until that spring, and she was on her way to San Diego to crossdeck Carrier Air Wing Five
Carrier Air Wing Five
Carrier Air Wing Five , is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington .-Mission:...
to prior to her decommissioning. Onboard Kitty Hawk was a detachment from HS-14
HS-14
Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Fourteen is a U.S. Navy helicopter squadron permanently forward-deployed on NAF Atsugi, Japan and aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington...
out of NAF Atsugi, Japan. The detachment went underway with RMD for the entire exercise, providing a force multiplying ASW capability to a ship that was soon surrounded by "enemy" submarines during the exercise. The RMD/HS-14 Team performed flawlessly, easily allowing her to claim the title of "most deadly" ASW ship in the exercise task group.
2008-2009 Deployment
While on patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, units assigned to the U.S. Navy's 4th Fleet and the U.S. Coast GuardUnited States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
intercepted a fishing vessel carrying more than 4 metric tons of cocaine, December 5. The combined team of USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), with embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL-43) Det. 2, and U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment
Law Enforcement Detachments
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...
(LEDET) 106 intercepted the fishing vessel in an early morning interdiction, capturing nine suspected narcotics smugglers and the large cargo of cocaine with an estimated import value of $90 million. A search of the vessel revealed the large amount of cocaine. The narcotics were seized under the authority the Coast Guard LEDET. The coordinated actions of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) were instrumental to the successful interdiction of narcotics.
Rodney M. Davis, homeported in Everett, Wash., returned from its 6 month CNT deployment on April 21, 2009 during which it was operating in Latin America under the operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet, conducting counter illicit trafficking operations in support of JIATF-South, U.S. law enforcement and U.S. and participating nations' drug control policy.
Rodney M. Davis is also supporting the U.S. Maritime Strategy by conducting theater security cooperation (TSC) events in the Caribbean and Latin America. TSC encompasses a robust strategy that includes military-to-military exchanges, multi-national exercises and training, diplomatic port visits, community relations activities and Project Handclasp distributions.