USS Dubuque (LPD-8)

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Career (US)
USS Dubuque
Ordered:	25 January 1963
Laid down:	25 January 1965
Launched:	6 August 1966
Commissioned:	1 September 1967
Status:	Active in service as of 2007.
Homeport:	San Diego, California
General Characteristics
Displacement:	9521 tons light, 17252 tons full, 7731 tons dead
Length:	173.7 meters (570 feet) overall, 167 meters (548 feet) waterline
Beam:	30.4 meters (100 feet) extreme, 25.6 meters (84 feet) waterline
Draught:	7 meters (23 feet) maximum
Speed:	21 knots
Complement:	61 officers, 600 men

USS Dubuque (LPD-8), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Dubuque, Iowa. Her keel was laid down on 25 January 1965 by Ingalls Shipbuilding. She was launched on 6 August 1966 and commissioned on 1 September 1967 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. In November 1967, the ship arrived at its first homeport of San Diego, California after transiting the Panama Canal.

From 1968 until 1975, Dubuque made five Western Pacific deployments that saw extensive duty in Vietnam. In a highly publicized event in October 1968, the ship returned 14 repatriated prisoners of war to North Vietnam. From 1969 until 1971 the ship conducted ten "Keystone Cardinal" troop lifts to Okinawa as part of the "Vietnamization" of the war. From February to June of 1973 the ship operated helicopters that conducted naval mine clearance operations in Haiphong Harbor as part of Operation Clean Sweep. In April 1975 the ship participated in the evacuation of Saigon and the rescue of refugees fleeing South Vietnam.

On 15 August 1985 Dubuque departed San Diego for its new homeport of Sasebo, Japan. The ship arrived in Sasebo on 4 September 1985 to join the Seventh Fleet Overseas Family Residency Program. Since joining the Seventh Fleet, the primary mission of the ship was to support the Marine Corps in the Western Pacific.

In May 1988 Dubuque deployed to the Persian Gulf and served as the control ship for mine sweeping operations to protect US-flagged tankers during the Iran-Iraq War. For its participation in this operation the ship was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation. In 1989 the ship participated in the contingency operation to evacuate American personnel from the Philippines during a failed coup attempt.

Immediately following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Dubuque received tasking in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. The ship functioned as the leading element of Amphibious Ready Group Bravo, which transported Marine Regimental Landing Team Four to Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia during the critical early stages of the multi-national build up.

In November 1998 Dubuque deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of the Belleau Wood Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) on support of Operation Desert Fox.

Need information from 1992 to present.

On 30 July 1999, Dubuque was relieved by USS Juneau (LPD-10) as part of the forward-deployed naval forces. Since that date she has been once again homeported in San Diego, California.

From June to September of 1999 Dubuque participated in the first SHIP-SWAP with her sister-ship Juneau, where each ship's crew remained in their original home ports, allowing Dubuque to return to the homeport of San Diego.

Life aboard the Dubuque is discussed in Nathaniel Fick's memoir, One Bullet Away.

1 Awards
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Awards

Official ribbons as of March 3, 2002

Dubuque has received three Battle Efficiency Awards and participated in countless amphibious exercises and operations throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

[edit] Trivia

Starting September 21, 2001, ten days after 9/11, the USS Dubuque (LPD-8) spent nearly 90 days at sea before receiving authorization to hold Beer day.