Everett-based USS Ford’s service will soon end

EVERETT — The frigate USS Ford, one of three frigates based at Naval Station Everett, will be decommissioned at the end of the month as part of a long-range reshuffling plan.

A decommissioning ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 31 at the Navy base.

The ship is scheduled to be replaced in Everett by a destroyer next year, as part of the Navy’s long-term plan for the base, according to Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen.

The USS Ford’s 131 crew members will be reassigned and spread out to other ships and duty stations, said Kristin Ching, spokeswoman for Naval Station Everett.

The USS Ford is an older ship, commissioned in 1985. The guided-missile frigate is named after Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Patrick O. Ford for heroism during the Vietnam War, according to the base. Ford was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions, which saved the lives of two of his shipmates.

Members of Ford’s family, along with former Ford Commanding Officer Capt. David Matawitz (Ret. USN) are expected to attend the decommissioning ceremony.

The Ford’s last deployment was in 2011 in the Western Pacific where it participated in an international exercise titled Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, aimed at promoting communication and understanding between military forces from different nations, according to Naval Station Everett.

The Navy base is home to three frigates: the USS Ford, the USS Rodney M. Davis and the USS Ingraham. One of the two remaining frigates is scheduled to depart Everett and be immediately replaced by a destroyer in fiscal year 2017, and the other will follow in 2020, according to Larsen’s office.

Including Naval Station Everett’s two current destroyers, the USS Momsen and USS Shoup, the base will have a total of five destroyers by 2020, with all the frigates having been replaced under the plan.

The base’s lone aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, is slated to be homeported in Everett at least through 2022, except for a period in routine dry-dock in Bremerton around 2015.

Eventually, when all the ships have been switched out, nearly 300 more sailors will be stationed in Everett. The bump from 3,956 today to 4,235 in 2020 represents about a 7 percent increase.

“While it’s always sad to see a ship leave Naval Station Everett, the Ford’s decommissioning is the first step of the Navy’s plan to bring newer, bigger ships here,” Larsen said in a written statement. “The Ford and the hundreds of sailors who sailed on her served our nation ably. I look forward to welcoming her replacement as the Navy continues to invest in our community.”

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.