USS Gary (FFG-51): Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=OctoberAugust 20122021}}

|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Surface combatant type|Hull symbol]]: FFG-51

*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]: NDAG

|Ship statusfate=Slated for saleSold to Taiwan by the Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2013

|Ship class={{Sclass-|Oliver Hazard Perry|frigate}}

'''USS ''Gary'' (FFG-51)''' was an {{sclass-|Oliver Hazard Perry|frigate}} in the [[United States Navy]]. She was named for [[Medal of Honor]] recipient [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Donald A. Gary]] (1903–1977).

''Gary'' was laid down on 18 December 1982 at [[Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division]], [[San Pedro, Los Angeles|San Pedro]], [[California]]; [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 19&nbsp;November 1983, co-sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy G. Gary, widow of the late Cmdr. Gary, and Mrs. Joyce Leamer, the late Medal of Honor recipient's niece;<ref name="DANFS" /> and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 17&nbsp;November 1984 at [[Naval Station Long Beach]], Commander Harlan R. Bankert&nbsp;Jr. in command.<ref>{{cite web

|accessdateaccess-date=14 December 2011 }}</ref> The ''Gary'' was decommissioned from the US Navy on 5 August 2015 with the Taiwanese crew taking possession on 13 March 2017, and arrived at the [[Republic of China Navy|ROCN]] [[Zuoying District|ZyoyingZuoying]] Naval Base on 13 May. She was formally commissioned into ROCN as the '''ROCS ''Feng Jia'' (PFG-1115)''' on 8 November 2018.

''Gary'' is the forty-fifth ship of the {{sclass-|Oliver Hazard Perry|frigate|0}} of [[guided missile frigate]]s. These ships were built to provide air, surface and sub-surface protection for underway replenishment groups, convoys, amphibious groups and other military and merchant shipping. While a capable surface combatant in these traditional warfare areas, ''Gary''{{'}}s role has expanded from that of the early 1980s to meet the threats and contingencies of the 21st century. Being the smallest multi-mission surface combatant in the U.S. Navy, ''Gary''{{'}}s shallow draft gives her an advantage over larger cruisers and destroyers in the littoral operations that have characterized recent conflicts.

One of the U.S. Navy's premiere anti-submarine warfare platforms, ''Gary'' routinely deploys for bilateral anti-submarine exercises and real-world contingency operations in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. During [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], she displayed her versatility, deploying to the Arabian Sea, [[Persian Gulf]], [[Gulf of Aden]] and Red Sea, conducting carrier escort and air defense, intelligence gathering and presence missions, terrorist interdiction operations, rescue at sea and escorted dozens of merchant and military supply ships through the [[Strait of Hormuz]] and [[Bab-el-Mandeb]] strait. From 1999 to 2007, ''Gary'' was forward-deployed to [[Yokosuka, Japan]], as part of the United States Seventh Fleet. During 2007, ''Gary'' completed a hull-swap/crew-swap with {{USS|McCampbell|DDG-85|3}} and isto nowbe home-ported at Naval Station, San Diego.

An Iranian mine damaged guided missile frigate {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|FFG-58|2}} in the [[Persian Gulf]] on 14 April 1988. On 18 April the U.S. launched retaliatory [[Operation Praying Mantis]] against the Iranian-occupied Rakhsh, Salman (Sassan), and Sīrrī-D (Nassr) [[oil platforms]]. As the Task Unit Commander of joint forces in the Northern Persian Gulf, ''Gary'' coordinated her efforts with naval, Air Force and Army aircraft as well as special operations boat units while protecting Mobile Sea Bases Hercules and Wimbrown VII during the fighting.<ref name="DANFS">{{cite web | url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/Gary.html | title=Gary (FFG-51) | publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command | date=28 July 2015 | accessdateaccess-date=6 January 2016 | author=Evans, Mark L.}}</ref> She even claimed to have shot down a [[Silkworm missile]], but this was never officially credited nor was she officially commended for her actions due to political reasons at that time.<ref name="Zatarain2">"America's First Clash with Iran: The Tanker War" by Lee Allen Zatarain, Chapter 17: "Multiple Silkworms Inbound"</ref>

While ''Gary'', with a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] law enforcement detachment team embarked, deployed for [[Operation Martillo]] (Spanish for "Hammer"), a [[counter-narcotics]] patrol, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, she intercepted a suspicious vessel on 4 January 2013. The Coast Guardsmen and Sailors from the ship's "[[visit, board, search, and seizure]]" (VBSS) team boarded the suspected smuggler and seized {{convert|600|lbs|kg}} of [[cocaine]] with an estimated street value of $22 million. "This was one of those vessels we were chasing in the dark," Leatrice Daniels, ''Gary''{{'}}s embarked [[Naval Criminal Investigative Service]] (NCIS) agent explained, "There was great open communication with everybody involved. Everything just flowed, from pursuit to initial contact and boarding." The investigators deemed the smuggler a hazard to navigation and sank her. This case concluded a hectic week in which ''Gary''{{'}}s crewmembers and Coast Guardsmen boarded three boats, disrupting more than {{convert|2,0002000|lbs|kg}} of cocaine destined for the United States with a street value of $272 million.<ref name="DANFS" />

The ship capped her deployment by seizing an additional vessel smuggling more than {{convert|2,2002200|lbs|kg}} of cocaine valued at $81 million. "It was a complex operation," Lt. (j.g.) Christian Gotcher, the ship's navigation officer, recalled, "involving a law enforcement boarding, boat and helicopter searches, precision driving, detainee handling, and multiple deck operations, but ''Gary''{{'}}s crew proved they were fully capable of handling it and scored a big win."<ref name="DANFS" />

Gary was decommissioned on 23 July 2015 at Naval Base San Diego, California.<ref name="DANFS" /><ref name=foxsd>{{cite news |url=http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/07/23/uss-gary-decommissioned-at-naval-base-san-diego/ |title=USS Gary decommissioned at Naval Base San Diego |work=[[Fox News|Fox 5]] |date=24 July 2015 |accessdateaccess-date=7 August 2015}}</ref>

The ship was inactivated on 5 August 2015 and then prepared for transfer to Taiwan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newberryobserver.com/news/opinion/50181932/Navy-decommissioning-plan-2015--farewell-to-the-frigates?template=art_smartphone |title=Navy decommissioning plan 2015 —– farewell to the frigates |publisher=NewberryObserver.com |date=6 August 2014 |last=Crisp |first=Thomas |accessdateaccess-date=24 February 2015}}</ref> The [[Republic of China Navy]] inaugurated the ship as the '''ROCS ''Feng Jia (PFG-1115)''''' on 8 November 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tu |first1=Aaron |last2=Chin |first2=Jonathan |title=US-purchased warships inaugurated |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2018/11/09/2003703872 |accessdateaccess-date=9 November 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=9 November 2018}}</ref>

{{NVRNaval Vessel Register|{{NVRNaval Vessel Register urlURL|id=FFG49}}}}