USS ''Richard L. Page'' (FFG-5) was a
''Brooke'' class frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
in the
United States Navy.
''Richard L. Page'' was laid down on 4 January 1965 by the
Bath Iron Works,
Bath, Maine. She was launched on 4 April 1966, sponsored by Miss Edmonia Lee Whittle and Mrs. Nannie Page Trinker, granddaughters of the ship's namesake, Brigadier General
Richard L. Page
Richard Lucian Page (December 20, 1807 – August 9, 1901) was a United States Navy officer who joined the Confederate States Navy and later became a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Early life
Rich ...
, and commissioned as a guided missile destroyer escort at
Boston, Massachusetts on 5 August 1967 with the hull number DEG-5.
Operational history
In mid-October 1967, ''Richard L. Page'' moved from Boston to her homeport of
Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, then sailed south for shakedown exercises in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. On 21 December 1967, she returned to Newport and, after post-shakedown availability, began operations with Escort Squadron SIX (CORTRON 6). Into 1968, she operated in the western Atlantic and, in the fall, she deployed to the Mediterranean for duty with the
6th Fleet. On that duty until 10 February 1969, she returned to Newport on 18 February and in March 1969 resumed operations with the
2nd Fleet. On 1 July 1969, she relieved as
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of Destroyer Division ONE TWO(DESRON 12), then conducted exercises in the Caribbean.
''Richard L. Page'' spent all of 1971 and the first eight months of 1972 in port at Newport and in operations along the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. In mid-August 1972, she steamed out of Newport, bound for an extended deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean.
From 1973 to 1975, she was forward deployed to Athens, Greece, and on 30 June 1975 she was reclassified as a guided missile frigate with the new hull number of FFG-5. Returning from Europe, ''Richard L. Page'' underwent a year-long modernization overhaul, returning to the Atlantic Fleet and a new homeport of
Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia in 1976. Over the next four years, she repeatedly deployed to the Mediterranean, Middle East, the eastern coast of Africa, and Northern Europe, interspersed with brief periods in her stateside homeport of Norfolk.
During this same four-year period, in 1979, ''Richard L. Page'' was the recipient of both the
Battle Efficiency "E" that year from Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, designating her as the best guided missile frigate among all guided missile frigates in the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
, and the
Battenberg Cup
The Battenberg Cup is an award given annually as a symbol of operational excellence to the best ship or submarine in the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet. The cup was originally awarded as a trophy to the winner of cutter or longboat rowing c ...
, designating her as the surface warship with the highest operational excellence of any warship in the entire
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
.
In early 1980, she temporarily relocated to
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
where she received various sonar and electronic warfare system upgrades before returning to the Fleet in August 1980. She then completed independent operations in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, and following completion of Refresher Training (REFTRA) at
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returned to Norfolk to participate in Exercise SOLID SHIELD 81. During the rest of 1981, she operated as a unit of
Standing Naval Force Atlantic.
Deploying in late 1983, she joined the carrier battle group, deploying to both the Mediterranean, where she supported both the
U.S. 6th Fleet
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
and multinational peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, and to the North Atlantic and Norway as part of
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
operations as a deterrent force to the
Red Banner Northern Fleet
Severnyy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem
, start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...
of the
Soviet Navy.
Following her return to Norfolk in 1984, ''Richard L. Page'' underwent another yard period overhaul at Bath Iron Works in Maine before returning to the Fleet from 1986. In 1987, with the acquisition of the newer ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class guided missile frigates nearly complete, a decision was made to retire the entire ''Brooke'' class of frigates from the U.S. Navy in 1988 and 1989 and earmark them for transfer to a foreign navy.
Fate
''Richard L. Page'' remained in U.S. naval service until decommissioned on 30 September 1988. Earlier, in 1982, the
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
administration approved a US$3.2 billion military and economic aid package to Pakistan. As part of that package, Pakistan acquired ''Richard L. Page'' on a five-year lease in 1989. On 31 March 1989, she was leased to Pakistan, recommissioned in the
Pakistani Navy and renamed PNS ''Tabuk'' (D-163).
However, as a result of the
Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov.
Planning for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union (USSR) from t ...
in February 1989, President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
was advised a few months later to no longer certify that Pakistan was not involved in the development of nuclear weapons in accordance with the
Pressler Amendment Pressler (or Preßler) () is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Johann Valentin Pressler - German ancestor of Elvis Presley who changed his name to Presley during the American Civil War
* Kimberly Pressler (born 1977), Am ...
, which banned most economic and military assistance to Pakistan unless the President certified on an annual basis that "Pakistan does not possess a nuclear explosive device and that the proposed United States assistance program will reduce significantly the risk that Pakistan will possess a nuclear explosive device." The Pressler Amendment was subsequently invoked on 1 October 1990. The lease of the ship expired in March 1994 and she was returned to United States control that same month.
As a result, the ship was struck from the Navy Vessel Register on 12 January 1994 and transferred
to the
Maritime Administration (MARAD) for disposal on 28 March 1994. On 29 March 1994, the ex-''Richard L. Page'' was returned to the U.S. Navy, acting as executive agent for the MARAD, at Singapore and sold to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd. c/o Jacques Pierot, Jr. & Sons Inc., New York City, N.Y. for $626,850.00 for eventual scrapping.
Awards
During her service with the U.S. Navy, ''Richard L. Page'' was awarded the
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944.
History
Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...
, the
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
with 1 bronze star (2 awards), the
Navy E Ribbon (2 awards), the
Navy Expeditionary Medal, the
National Defense Service Medal, the
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Navy
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a Un ...
.
The ship and crew was also the 1979 recipient of the
Battenberg Cup
The Battenberg Cup is an award given annually as a symbol of operational excellence to the best ship or submarine in the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet. The cup was originally awarded as a trophy to the winner of cutter or longboat rowing c ...
.
Battenberg Cup
The Battenberg Cup is an award given annually as a symbol of operational excellence to the best ship or submarine in the United States Navy Atlantic Fleet. The cup was originally awarded as a trophy to the winner of cutter or longboat rowing c ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard L. Page
Brooke-class frigates
Cold War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States
Ships built in Bath, Maine
1966 ships