After almost five years of service, the U.S. Navy has decommissioned the littoral combat ship USS Sioux City, almost since the end of the Second World War, a very short period of active duty. The decommissioning took place at Mayport, Florida, where the ship was retired, at least leaving the legacy of nearly five years of service, no matter how seemingly short its operational life was.
The USS Sioux City was commissioned on November 17, 2018, at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She is a Fincantieri Marinette Marine-built ship in Wisconsin and the first U.S. Navy warship to bear the name of the city of Sioux City, Iowa, recognizing the proud heritage of the Sioux Nation, combining the Dakota and Lakota Native American tribes.
In all, Sioux City has completed four deployments in service, from December 2020 to October 2022. It operated in the U.S. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Fleets, participating in a variety of missions ranging from maritime security to joint exercises with partner navies, through to counter-drug trafficking operations with the U.S. Coast Guard. Sioux City was the first LCS to operate in both the U.S. Fifth Fleet and Sixth Fleet in the Atlantic, where it was vital in the seizure of over 10,000 kg of cocaine, estimated to be worth $500 million.
“Our ship’s service ends today, her legacy does not. For years to come, the Sailors who served onboard will carry forth lessons learned and career experiences gained,” said Capt. Daniel Reiher, Commander of the Littoral Combat Ship Training Facility Atlantic in the decommissioning ceremony. He reaffirmed experiences obtained from such service would continue to better the Navy for time to come.
While it has had many operational successes, this has been the case with the Freedom-class LCS, into which Sioux City falls. Things like faulty designs have allowed these ships to never hit their top speed due to issues with the combining gear, and delays in mission package development have crippled their Mine Countermeasure, Surface Warfare, and Anti-Submarine missions. These problems led to the Navy announcing that all nine of the Freedom-class LCS variant vessels would be retired well over ten years earlier than the intended 25-year service life design.
Cmdr. Michael Gossett, commanding officer of Sioux City, remarked about the journey the ship made and the dedication of the people serving on it. “It’s impressive and humbling to see the shipmates here, past and present, and all the well-wishers in attendance today. It’s easy to get locked into the day-to-day grind of running a ship and forget about those who came before you and those who hope and pray for your success,” he said. He urged everyone to remember the memories made, the culture built, and the successes achieved.
Sioux City will be placed into a Foreign Military Sales disposition status upon decommissioning, and her sailors will receive follow-on orders to new assignments. Sioux City’s decommissioning is one of several planned for the Freedom-class first ships, including Freedom (LCS-1) and the first two Independence-class ships Independence (LCS-2) and Coronado (LCS-4).
This is all part of a broader Navy plan to save $4.3 billion in projected upgrades and maintenance, as the Freedom-class LCS program has been unsustainable in its current form. The recent launching of the future USS Cleveland (LCS 31) was not only the last one of the LCS series; it closed a chapter in naval shipbuilding.
But the legacy of the USS Sioux City will be the Sailors who served aboard her, carrying forward the lessons and experiences gained in its brief but impactful service.