USS ''Competent'' (AM-316/MSF-316) was an acquired by the

United States 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 ...

. ''Competent'' was a U.S. Navy oceangoing minesweeper, named after the word "competent", meaning adequate, capable, or fit. HMS ''Amelia'' (BAM-3) was launched 30 January 1943 by General Engineering and Dry Dock Co.,

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

sponsored by Miss M. S. Upton; retained for use by the U.S. Navy; assigned the name ''Competent'' and reclassified AM-316, 23 January 1943; and commissioned 10 November 1943.

Service history

World War II

''Competent'' arrived in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

on 21 January 1944. Eight days later she departed to escort munitions carrier to

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

, where ''Competent'' swept mines and acted as harbor entrance control and pilot ship from 5 February to 31 March. Returning to Pearl Harbor 7 April she continued to escort convoys to the

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...

until 15 July. ''Competent'' reached Port Purvis on

Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...

, in the Solomons, on 24 August for exercises in the area until 8 September when she sailed to

Kossol Passage Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
a ...

to sweep and patrol the west entrance during the invasion of

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. H ...

. She escorted a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

back to Port Purvis 13 October, and on 2 November departed for a

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

overhaul. On 8 April 1945 ''Competent'' cleared

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California, with a convoy bound for

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. From her arrival 20 May she patrolled and screened the transports, then swept mines from 5 July to 25 August. During September she lay at Okinawa, then swept off Chusan

Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

during October. She operated out of

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, Japan, on various duties in support of the occupation until 6 March 1946 when she cleared for San Francisco, California, arriving 21 April. She operated on the west coast until placed out of commission in reserve 30 January 1947 at

Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...

Korean War

Recommissioned 29 February 1952 as a result of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, ''Competent'' put to sea from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, 7 July and arrived at Sasebo, Japan, 7 August. From this port she swept and patrolled

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n waters until returning to Long Beach, California 5 February 1953. During her second Far Eastern tour from 5 October 1953 to 2 June 1954, she patrolled with task force TF 95 off Korea to preserve the truce.

Decommissioning and sale

Reclassified MSF-316, 7 February 1955, ''Competent'' operated along the west coast until she was decommissioned and placed in reserve 15 April 1955. After seventeen years in "mothballs", she was sold to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in September 1972. She served in the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

as ARM ''Ponciano Arriaga'' until 1988.

Awards

''Competent'' earned five

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

service and two

for the Korean War.

References

External links

*
USS Competent (AM-316, later MSF-316), 1943-1972

* ttp://pigtrail.uark.edu/people/rcordell/Defense/march_45.html March 1945 Deck Log
The Daybook (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Competent (AM-316) Auk-class minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built in Alameda, California 1943 ships World War II minesweepers of the United States Korean War minesweepers of the United States Valle-class patrol vessels Pacific Reserve Fleet, Long Beach Group