USS Tarawa (LHA-1) is a United States Navy amphibious assault ship, the lead ship of her class, and the second ship to be named for Tarawa Atoll, site of a Marine landing during World War II. The first Tarawa was the USS Tarawa (CV-40).
History
She was laid down in November 1972 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding, launched December 1, 1973, sponsored by Audrey B. Cushman, the wife of General Thomas J. Cushman, former Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned on May 29, 1976, Capt. James H. Morris in command.
Tarawa is the first of five ships in a new class of general-purpose amphibious assault ships and combines in one ship type the functions previously performed by four different types: the amphibious assault ship (LPH), the amphibious transport dock (LPD), the amphibious cargo ship (LKA), and the dock landing ship (LSD). She is capable of landing elements of a Marine Corps battalion landing team and their supporting equipment by landing craft, by helicopters, or by a combination of both.
The ship departed Pascagoula on July 7, 1976 and set a course for the Panama Canal. She transited the canal on July 16th and, after a stop at Acapulco, Mexico, arrived at San Diego, California on August 6th. During the remainder of 1976, the amphibious assault ship conducted trials, tests, and shakedown in the southern California operating area.
During the first half of 1977, Tarawa was engaged in training exercises off the California coast. On August 13th, she entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard for post shakedown availability which was completed on July 15, 1978. Following four and one half months of intensive individual ship and amphibious refresher training with embarked marines, Tarawa ended 1978 in her home port of San Diego on Christmas stand down.
Missions
Her first deployment came in 1979, where she successfully experimented with AV-8 Harrier jets and later rescued 400 Vietnamese refugees adrift in the South China Sea.
After a second deployment in 1980, and in 1983, during her third deployment, Tarawa went to the Mediterranean to support the UN peacekeepers in Beirut, Lebanon. Several additional cruises followed.
In December 1990, Tarawa was the flagship of a thirteen-ship amphibious task force in support of Operation Desert Storm. She participated in the Sea Soldier IV landing exercise in January that was a deception maneuver suggesting an amphibious assault in Kuwait, and then on February 24th landed Marines in Saudi Arabia just south of the Kuwaiti border.
In May 1991, Tarawa went to Bangladesh in support of Operation Sea Angel, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of a cyclone, delivering rice and water purification equipment.
Her 1992 deployment included visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Australia.
In April 1996, following another complex overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Tarawa left from San Diego on its ninth Western Pacific deployment. A U.S./Thailand amphibious training exercise in the Gulf of Thailand, and exercise Indigo Serpent (with the Royal Saudi Arabian Navy) and exercise Infinite Moonlight (the first-ever exercise between U.S. and Royal Jordanian Navy) in the Red Sea preceded Tarawa's visit to thePersian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the "no-fly zone" over southern Iraq. Tarawa was also part of Operation Desert Strike. Returning to San Diego in October 1996, Tarawa earned both the Federal Energy Conservation Award and the Secretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Award.
In mid October 2000, the Tarawa was passing through the Strait of Hormuz on her way into the Persian Gulf when the USS Cole was attacked. Upon news of the attack, the Tarawa came about and steamed full ahead to the Port of Aden in Yemen where she joined the USS Donald Cook, USS Hawes, and the British ship HMS Marlborough, already providing logistical support and harbor security, as the command ship in charge of force protection in what became "Operation Determined Response". Other US Naval ships involved were the Catawba, Camden, Anchorage, and the Duluth. The Tarawa remained with the Cole until she was secure aboard the Norwegian heavy-lift semi-submersible salvage ship MV Blue Marlin for passage to the US before returning to duty in the Persian Gulf.
Part of the film Rules of Engagement (2000) includes scenes of actor Samuel L. Jackson filmed aboard the Tarawa.
Tarawa's latest deployment from mid 2005 to early 2006 took her to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She transported the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. During this deployment, she visited Darwin, Australia, Dubai, UAE, Bahrain, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Until recently she was deployed in Bangladesh once again as part of the Cyclone Sidr relief efforts with the Kearsarge. Code name for the mission was "Operations Sea Angel II" in recognition of the Tarawa's previous support to Bangladesh in 1991. Currently she is in port in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia before returning to her home port of San Diego.
Leadership
- Commanding Officer - Capt. Brian Luther
- Executive Officer - Capt. David F. Bean
- Command Master Chief - CMDCM(SW/AW) Linda Handley
