2022: The Decommissioning of a U.S. Navy Patrol Ship

March 21, 2022

After more than a quarter-century of service, the patrol ship USS Whirlwind (PC-11) was decommissioned at the U.S. Navy base Naval Support Activity Bahrain. (That military installation in the Kingdom of Bahrain serves as home to both U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet.) Whirlwind had been built at Bollinger Shipyards in the town of Lockport, Louisiana. She was commissioned in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 1, 1995.

Whirlwind was subsequently stationed at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek (now part of Join Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story) in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The ship’s notable activities on the home front included being used to help monitor and secure New York Harbor in the wake of the terrorist attacks in this vicinity on September 11, 2001.

Starting about five years later, Whirlwind was reassigned to the Middle East for routine coastal operations there. The pivotal role of Whirlwind and other Navy patrol vessels in that part of the world was highlighted during her decommissioning ceremony, “Our patrol coastal ships have made a lasting impact here in the region supporting naval operations and safeguarding maritime security,” asserted Robert Francis, the captain serving as commander of the Fifth Fleet’s Task Force 55. “This was only made possible by the dedicated Sailors who served aboard these ships for nearly three decades.”

Martin K. Dineen, the lieutenant commander who ultimately became Whirlwind’s last commanding officer, used the occasion to specifically commend both the ship and the members of her crew over the years. “Whirlwind proudly served our country for decades and her history is written in the stories of the sailors that have served on this mighty warship,” said Dineen. “Life as a patrol coastal sailor is different from any other experience in the Navy. It’s a tough and demanding life, but that is what makes this crew the best.”

This ship is one of only two Navy vessels that have been named Whirlwind. The first of these vessels, USS Whirlwind (SP-221), was originally a civilian yacht that was commissioned into the Navy in 1917 and again the following year.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the decommissioning of USS Whirlwind (PC-11), please check out https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2972301/whirlwind-crew-marks-end-of-ships-us-navy-service-at-decommissioning/