Military


AFSB(I) 15 Ponce
LPD 15 Ponce
"Proud Lion"

Originally scheduled to be decomissioned in March 2012, it was first reported on 28 January 2012 that the decision had been made to send Ponce to the Middle East in response to a request of US Central Command (CENTCOM) to serve as a floating base for special operations forces. US Fleet Forces Command (USFF) began requesting volunteers from USFF activities to the Ponce for operations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility on 2 February 2012. It was also announced that the Ponce would be redesignated from LPD 15 to AFSB(I) 15 (Afloat Forward Staging Base [Interim] 15). The ship was to be commanded by a Navy captain and manned by a combined crew of officers, enlisted sailors, and Military Sealift Command government civilian mariners. Ponce would remain homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virignia. While deployed to the CENTCOM area of responsibility, Ponce would support Mine Counter Measure and Coastal Patrol ships, and aircraft operations with the capability to support multiple mission packages as detachments when requested by CENTCOM and/or US Fifth Fleet.

USS Ponce is the 12th and last ship in the Austin class of Amphibious Transport Docks (also known as a Landing Platform Dock or LPD). The contract to build the Ponce was awarded on 17 May 1965, the keel was laid on 31 October 1966 and she was launched on 20 May 1970. She was delivered to the Navy by Lockheed on 25 June 1971 and she was commissioned on 10 July 1971.

USS Ponce's insignia is comprised of four major elements: a rampant lion signifying the high spiritedness of the Navy-Marine Corps team that serves in her; a trident, emblematic of the U.S. Naval Power and supremacy; an anchor chain, linking the ships name and its designator symbols; the total purple lion, which is the coat of arms of Juan Ponce de Leon, a continuing reminder of our bond with the people of our namesake city. You may overhear several of the crew refer to our ship as the "Proud Lion".

More than 1,100 Atlantic Fleet Sailors and Marines left Norfolk on 10 June 1996 aboard USS Ponce (LPD 15) to support security operations off the coast of Liberia. The landing platform dock ship compliment included a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) from Marine Corps bases in North Carolina. The SPMAGTF, more than 700 combat-ready Marines, could conduct special operations, rescue downed pilots, and enhance security at facilities ashore. Once on station, Ponce supported security needs of the US Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia. It relieved USS Guam (LPH 9), USS Portland (LSD 37), and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

USS Ponce (LPD 15) returned to Norfolk on 24 August 1996, after a 2-and-a-half month mission of providing security and other assistance to the US Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia. Deploying with only 10 days notice, Ponce carried a crew of more than 300 Sailors and 700 Marines from SPMAGTF 8, from Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. This was not the first time Ponce deployed to Liberian waters. In 1990, Ponce had also responded to Operation Sharp Edge, guarding American interests and supporting troops assigned to the area at the time.

On or about 31 December 2002, the USS Saipan and the USS Ponce departed Norfolk and headed to Naval Weapons Station Earle to onload ammunition, according to the Associated Press. Such a movement was highly unusual as neither of these ships was due to deploy until August 2003, and Amphibious Ready Groups normally make the trip to Earle only a few months prior to a deploment.

On 10 January 2003, a report in the Associated Press confirmed that the USS Ponce would deploy in support of the war against terrorism. Early indications were that the ship, along with the USS Saipan, would depart on or about 12 January 2003 and would either head to North Carolina to begin taking on elements of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade or would receive the Marines in Norfolk, Virginia.

Ponce demonstrated its capability to function as a staging platform in 2011. The joint operational capabilities of the United States armed forces were on display in the middle of "the Med" as amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD 15) acted as a staging platform for a detachment of HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the US Air Force's 56th Rescue Squadron on 27 March 2011. Based out of RAF Lakenheath, England, the 2 helicopters and support personnel were forward deployed aboard the Ponce in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn, a joint coalition effort to enforce the UN Resolution 1973 that established a no-fly zone over the country of Libya.

The saltwater environment required the 56th Rescue Squadron's maintainers to step up the frequency of aircraft wash downs. While aboard Ponce they had to clean the aircraft almost daily to keep the salt corrosion under control. On a land base they would not have had to wash the aircraft so often to keep them in a high state of readiness. Life at sea also presented the unique experience of a living on a deck that moved on its own due to high seas. The Airmen of the 56th Rescue Squadron experienced generally good weather while aboard Ponce.

Amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD 15) began what was planned to be her final operational assignments on 11 October 2011 as the crew prepared to close out the ship's nearly 41-year career. During the 2 months of training and port calls, the "Proud Lion" provided some final training services to the Marine Corps, as well as visit Port Canaveral, Florida; the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the ship's namesake city of Ponce, Puerto Rico; before returning to Naval Station Norfolk to begin the long decommissioning process. Ponce was homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and was scheduled to be decommissioned 20 March 2012. Over her nearly 41-year history, the ship had made numerous visits to Puerto Rico, but only 3 to Ponce.




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