220626-N-NS602-1204 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) A Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel, littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11), and U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roland A. Franklin)
The U.S. Navy’s USS Sioux City, a littoral combat ship (LCS) valued at $362 million, was decommissioned on August 2023 after less than five years of service in a ceremony aboard Naval Station Mayport, Florida.
Once billed as the future of the fleet, the LCS program has been hindered by mission modules that haven’t materialized, as well as class-wide propulsion and hull crack issues that have plagued the Freedom and Independence LCS classes, respectively. Furthermore, officials now admit to stand little chance of surviving a conventional battle against China or another nation’s navy.
A beautiful picture of an American Flag rippling in the wind over the Chicago skyline at sunset with building silhouettes and orange colored sun reflecting on the water of Lake Michigan.
Naval Surface Force Atlantic spokesman Lt. Cmdr. David Carter said Wednesday that the decision to decommission the ship “was not about the material condition.”
USS New York (LPD-21), is a amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy It is notable for using a symbolic amount of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.
“Ultimately, the Navy has to make difficult decisions on how to invest in the future,” Carter said in an email. “To maintain our strategic advantage, particularly under fiscal constraints, it is important for the Navy to carefully review our force structure regularly and divest of legacy capabilities that no longer bring sufficient lethality to maximize our effectiveness in deterring and defeating potential adversaries.”
220626-A-JJ498-1220 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) A Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel, littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) and U.S. Coast Guard cutters USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) and USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142) and coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ian Miller)
The Sioux City’s history was not entirely devoid of achievement. During its brief tenure, it completed four deployments between December 2020 and October 2022, including operations within the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet’s areas of responsibility.
220626-A-JJ498-1230 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) A Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel and littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ian Miller)
During a hearing last summer, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., displayed a floor chart titled “Leaking Cracked Ships” that contained a picture of each LCS with a lemon, playing on the slang for a defective vehicle.
220626-N-NS602-1204 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) A Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel, littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11), and U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roland A. Franklin)
“We all know what lemon cars are. We have a fleet of lemon LCS ships,” she said at the time.
“We have spent billions of dollars on this fleet when they have no capability to help us deal with our largest threat, which is that of China and Russia. The only winners have been the contractors on which the Navy relies for sustaining these ships.”
220626-N-NS602-1329 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) A Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel and littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roland A. Franklin)
As the last commanding officer of the Sioux City, Cmdr. Michael Gossett, noted during the decommissioning ceremony, the focus should be on the collective memories, culture, and successes forged during the ship’s service—a legacy that will endure beyond its premature retirement.
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“USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts a routine, scheduled transit.” by Official U.S. Navy Imagery is licensed under CC BY 2.0“U.S. Navy Commissions Littoral Combat Ship USS Detroit (LCS 7)” by Official U.S. Navy Imagery is licensed under CC BY 2.0220626-N-NS602-1402 ARABIAN GULF (June 26, 2022) Littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11), U.S. Coast guard cutters USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) and USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142) and coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) sail in the Arabian Gulf, June 26. U.S. naval forces regularly operate across the Middle East region to help ensure security and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Roland A. Franklin)210523-N-RL695-2284
CARIBBEAN SEA – (May 23, 2021) — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) conducts a bi-lateral maritime interdiction exercise with the Dominican Republic Navy coastal patrol vessels Orion (GC 109) and Betelgeuse (GC 102), May 23, 2021. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marianne Guemo/Released)210523-N-RL695-2160
CARIBBEAN SEA – (May 23, 2021) — The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11), top, conducts a bi-lateral maritime interdiction exercise with the Dominican Republic Navy Defiant-class patrol vessel Betelgeuse (GC 102), May 23, 2021. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marianne Guemo/Released)181113-N-OI810-133
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Nov. 13, 2018) The littoral combat ship Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) Sioux City (LCS 11) is moored at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Sioux City, slated for commissioning, Nov. 17, 2018, will be the 13th littoral combat ship to enter the fleet and the sixth of the Freedom variant. It is the first ship named for Sioux City, the fourth-largest city in Iowa. (U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Nathan Burke/Released)MANAMA, Bahrain (June 25, 2022) – Littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11), arrives at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, June 25. Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Terry Vongsouthi)ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 1, 2021) Coast Guardsmen assigned to Tactical Law Enforcement Team 109, Cape Cod Maritime Safety Security Team (MSST), and Sailors assigned to the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Sioux City (LCS 11) participate in a non-compliant vessel pursuit tactics exercise in a rigid-hull inflatable boat, April 1, 2021. Sioux City is operating in the U.S. 2nd Fleet in support of naval operations to maintain stability and security in the Atlantic and Arctic in order to ensure access, deter aggression and defend U.S., allied and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marianne Guemo) 210401-N-RL695-1227130222-N-DR144-174
PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 22, 2013) The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) is underway conducting sea trials off the coast of Southern California. Freedom, the lead ship of the Freedom variant of LCS, is expected to deploy to Southeast Asia this spring. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class James R. Evans/Released)
