USS ''Avenger'' (MCM-1) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of mine countermeasures ship, and the third

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

ship of that name.

Service history

''Avenger'' was ordered on 29 June 1982, laid down on 3 June 1983 by the Peterson Shipbuilders Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., launched on 15 June 1985, and commissioned on 12 September 1987. Subsequent to her commissioning and a period of test and trials, ''Avenger'' arrived in her homeport of NS Charleston,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and began operating as a member of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Following the 1990

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i invasion of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, ''Avenger'' deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

as a coalition force member in support of

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

on 16 August 1990. ''Avenger'' was the longest-serving ship from all of the coalition forces during the Shield/Storm conflict, as well as the first ship in the history of naval warfare to locate and neutralize bottom mines. ''Avenger'' was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or ...

for her wartime accomplishments. In 1993, ''Avenger'' shifted homeports to the newly constructed Naval Station Ingleside,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Since that time she deployed to the Eastern Atlantic in 1993 and 1995,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

in 1997 and 1999. In 2001 ''Avenger'' deployed to the Eastern Pacific via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and conducted Joint, Combined, and Bilateral exercises and operations on the West Coast. Late in 2001, ''Avenger'' conducted test operations of a revolutionary jam-resistant electronic navigation system. In 2004, the ''Avenger'' deployed to participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (

RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

), and in October of that year the ship returned to her homeport of Ingleside, Texas. ''Avenger'' completed her most significant modernization in the summer of 2008. In 2009, ''Avenger'' shifted her homeport to San Diego and then in December became permanently forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan. Later that same year the ship commenced her first deployment around the western Pacific. On 30 September 2014, USS ''Avenger'' was decommissioned at San Diego, California. As of 2019, she is a part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

with star * Southwest Asia Service Medal with three campaign stars *

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive Order 13289 on 12 March 2003, by President George W. Bush. The medal recognizes those military service ...

Navy Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...

* Sea Service Deployment Ribbon *

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) The Naut Tahrir al-Kuwait ( ar, نوط تحرير الكويت) (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait) was instituted by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for service during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign. Background The Saudi Arabian v ...

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) The Kuwait Liberation Medal ( ar, وسام التحرير ''Wisām al-Taḥrīr'', , ) is a medal created in 1994 that was issued by the government of Kuwait to both local and foreign military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War's "Liber ...

References

External links

*
navsource.org: USS ''Avenger''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avenger (MCM-1) Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships Minehunters of the United States Gulf War ships of the United States 1985 ships Ships built by Peterson Builders