Navy
Navy decommissions cruiser USS Antietam, celebrates its 37 years of service
Stars and Stripes
September 29, 2024
The crew departs the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) for the last time during a decommissioning ceremony Friday in Honolulu. Commissioned in Baltimore, Md., in 1987, Antietam completes its service after 37 years. (Paula Hackbart/U.S. Navy)
The Navy celebrated the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam’s 37 years of service during a decommissioning ceremony Friday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
Retired Rear Adm. Christopher Moe, who served as Antietam’s commanding officer from 1997 to 1999, spoke about Antietam’s history and accomplishments and wished the final crew fair winds and following seas.
“I was there ... when USS Antietam was commissioned in Baltimore, Md.,” he said. “The ceremony was a magnificent start to 37 years of service that will end today after thousands of young men and women crossed her quarterdeck, anxious to serve this great nation. This is a remarkable ship and of equal importance is a crew who can only do what they do because they have the love and support of the families at home.”
The ship’s final commander, Cmdr. Victor J. Garza, reflected on the service of his crew and those who came before him.
“The soul of Antietam is in her sailors,” he said. “We bring the heartless steel and iron to life. Today, we lay her to rest. We keep the soul, and until the Navy commissions a fourth USS Antietam, I will be the captain of her soul. We will always be Antietam.”
CG 54, the USS Antietam, was named for the site of the 1862 Civil War Battle of Antietam in Maryland. The Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest day in American history, with nearly 23,000 casualties, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Although the Union Army suffered heavier losses, the battle was a major turning point in the Union’s favor.
The first USS Antietam was a screw sloop of war, and construction began in 1864 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The second was an Essex-class aircraft carrier launched Aug. 20, 1944, and commissioned Jan. 28, 1945.
The Navy is phasing out its Cold War-era Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers in favor of the newer Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The USS Cowpens was decommissioned last month in San Diego.
In January, Antietam left Tokyo Bay for Hawaii after concluding 11 years of service at the homeport of the U.S. 7th Fleet. It arrived in Yokosuka in February 2013 and swapped crews with its sister ship the USS Cowpens.
Antietam regularly deployed with the USS George Washington and USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike groups; it also participated in freedom-of-navigation operations and transits of the Taiwan Strait.
One deployment included a monthlong relief mission to the Philippines following the widespread devastation dealt by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.
In January 2017, the Antietam ran aground on shoals in Tokyo Bay just outside Yokosuka. It was anchored near the base’s ammunition storage area when it drifted into nearby rocks.
Approximately 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid leaked into the bay; the Navy ultimately relieved the ship’s commander at the time, Capt. Joseph Carrigan, due to a loss of confidence in his abilities.
Months later, the Antietam incident was largely overshadowed by two separate collisions involving the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, which resulted in a combined death toll of 17 sailors.