USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) - Operational History

Operational History

Homeported in NS San Diego, California in October 1978, Belleau Wood participated in her first full-scale operation in 1979 off the coast of Hawaii. In early 1979, she reported to Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, California for a one-year engine overhaul.

Belleau Wood began her first major deployment in January 1981. The ship rescued 150 Vietnamese refugees, earning the crew the Humanitarian Service Medal. The deployment included three major exercises and eight port visits. Belleau Wood returned to San Diego in August 1981.

In August 1982, the ship began her second deployment, and participated in four major amphibious exercises including Jade Tiger 83. Her third successful deployment ran from January to July 1984. The ship then completed an 11-month complex overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington.

In January 1987, Belleau Wood got underway for her fourth deployment. The crew participated in four major exercises, including the first winter amphibious exercises conducted in the Aleutian Islands since World War II, and introduced the ship to the AV-8B Harrier "jump jet". The ship also received the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for Aviation Safety in 1987.

In January 1989, Belleau Wood departed for the Western Pacific. Over the next five months, the ship participated in Exercise Team Spirit 89 in Korea and Exercise Valiant Usher in the Philippines and Korea.

On 4 October 1989, the ship hosted the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union during his historic visit to the United States.

Belleau Wood entered her second complex overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1990. Major work included an upgrade to CIWS and installation of the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) System.

On 31 August 1992, Belleau Wood sailed out of San Diego for the last time, bound for her new homeport in Sasebo, Japan. During this transit, the ship provided disaster relief to the people of Kauai, Hawaii after Hurricane Iniki ravaged the island. For this, the crew was awarded its second Humanitarian Service Medal. Upon arrival in Japan, Belleau Wood joined Amphibious Group 1 and Amphibious Squadron 11, and became the world's only forward deployed large deck amphibious ship.

On 24 November 1992, Belleau Wood became the last ship to sail out of the Philippines while conducting the final withdrawal of U.S. forces from Subic Bay Naval Base and Naval Air Station Cubi Point.

Following her move to Japan, Belleau Wood became a familiar sight at joint military exercises such as Valiant Usher in Australia, Team Spirit in Korea, Cobra Gold in Thailand, and Tandem Thrust near Guam (originally in Australia). Belleau Wood also became the first large-deck Navy ship to undergo pierside maintenance by COMLOGWESTPAC in Singapore.

From January to April 1995, Belleau Wood served as the Command Platform for Operation United Shield

Belleau Wood was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 5 to 28 October 1999.

In July 2000, Belleau Wood took part in the largest crew swap to date when she was relieved as forward deployed amphibious assault ship. The procedure started when USS Essex (LHD-2) arrived in Sasebo on 13 July 2000. The swap was part of a planned rotation of forward deployed naval forces in Japan, and was the third crew-swap exchange. The ships’ crews simply switched ships, minimizing the impact of moving families from homeport to homeport. Sailors in Sasebo assigned to Belleau Wood, moved on to Essex, while sailors from San Diego assigned to Essex moved aboard Belleau Wood. Belleau Wood and the San Diego-based crew then returned to San Diego in mid-August to begin overhaul and maintenance cycles.

During 2002, Belleau Wood was the backdrop for the making of the movie Antwone Fisher.

In November 2003, Belleau Wood was the site of another first when Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina took command of Expeditionary Strike Group Three, of which Belleau Wood was the flagship. This event marked the first time in history that a United States Marine Corps officer took command of a naval flotilla.