History:
USS ANZIO is the twenty-second vessel in the
TICONDEROGA-class of Aegis cruisers and the fifteenth built by
Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS. Her keel was laid on
August 24, 1989 and she was launched on November 2, 1990. USS
ANZIO's sponsor, Mrs. Lee Baggett, wife of Adm. Lee Baggett,
Jr., USN (Ret.), christened ANZIO on November 10, 1990. USS
ANZIO was commissioned in Norfolk, VA, May 2, 1992.
USS ANZIO deployed to the Mediterranean on October 20,
1994, as part of the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) Battle
Group for a six-month deployment. During that deployment it took
part in operations conducted in the Mediterranean Sea, Indian
Ocean, Arabian Gulf, Adriatic Sea and Black Sea. Upon relieving
the GEORGE WASHINGTON Battle Group, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER and its
support ships began operations in the Arabian Gulf region which
included support for Operations Southern Watch and Vigilant
Warrior. Steaming into the Adriatic, the battle group
participated in peacekeeping and sanctions-enforcement
operations including Deny Flight, Provide Promise and Sharp
Guard. On the diplomatic front, the battle group helped reaffirm
ties with traditional allies and foster new friendships with
emerging nations through more than 96 bilateral and multilateral
military exercises and exchanges with 20 nations. USS ANZIO
returned home in mid-April, 1995.
Following successful live missile firings and testing of
the U.S. Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) by USS
ANZIO and USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG 71), near the AEGIS Combat
Systems Center, Wallops Island, VA, the CEC received final
approval for fleet tactical use, on September 30, 1996.
USS ANZIO departed on May 23, 1997, and took part in
Exercise BALTOPS '97 in the Baltic Sea, from June 16 to 27,
1997, joining 47 other ships from 12 European nations in the
Partnership for Peace exercise. During that exercise, USS ANZIO
served as the flagship, for the Commander of Cruiser Destroyer
Group Eight, who commanded the exercise.
As part of the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) Carrier
Battle Group (CVBG), USS ANZIO, along with the USS SAIPAN (LHA
2) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), took part in Joint Task Force
Exercise 98-2 from April 27 through May 13, 1998. The exercise
took place in waters off Virginia and North Carolina, as well as
the Puerto Rico operating area. The exercise involved more than
10,000 service members from the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force
and incorporated the third in a series of Navy "Fleet
Battle Experiments". This particular exercise was called
Fleet Battle Experiment Charlie (FBE-C) and featured two
amphibious assaults one in Camp Lejeune, NC, and the other at
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Following the exercise, the DWIGHT
D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69), USS ANZIO, USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG 71)
and USS SUPPLY (AOE 6) were to depart the exercise area and
proceed directly on deloyment, thus enabling the Navy to
maintain its current tasking of providing a two-carrier presence
in the Arabian Gulf. The units were to return home six months
after the JTFEX 98-2 start date.
On 26 June 1998, with the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Carrier
Battle Group, USS ANZIO conducted a routine, previously
scheduled deployment to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Battle Group arrived in the Mediterranean
on June 20. Units of the DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Battle Group
participated in 14 exercises during their deployment to the
European Theater of operations, including several NATO and
multinational exercises throughout the Mediterranean and Black
Seas. USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69), USS CAPE ST. GEORGE and
USS ANZIO operated in the Adriatic sea in support of NATO's
operation "Joint Forge", "Deliberate Forge"
and the continued Stabilization Force (SFOR) - contributing to
the secure environment necessary for the consolidation of peace
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While deployed with the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Battle
Group for a routine six-month deployment, USS ANZIO took part in
a French-sponsored bilateral carrier battle group exercise,
FANCY '98, scheduled from September 24-29, 1998, in the Western
Mediterranean. Seven ships from the French FS FOCH carrier
battle group and six ships from the DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER carrier
battle group conducted at sea and overland combined air, surface
and sub-surface training.
As part of the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER battle group, USS
ANZIO participated in a series of increasingly demanding
exercises and operations. The training culminated in Joint Task
Force Exercise 00-1 held in December 1999. However, because it
was unable to complete live-fire training with ground spotters,
and thus complete training prior to deploying on February 18,
2000, USS ANZIO had to perform its Naval Surface Fire Support
training at the Cape Wrath, Scotland training range. This came
as a result of the Navy training range at Vieques, Puerto Rico,
being closed since April. The use of the range at Cape Wrath was
a unique circumstance demonstrating cooperation with British
allies who operate the range. Working through heavy seas and
high winds, USS ANZIO, as well as the USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG
71) and USS MAHAN (DDG 72) were able to complete their training
and attain certification in naval surface fire support. The
training at Cape Wrath was performed with ground spotters for
directing fire. However, the training lacked the coordinated
live-fire exercises with Marines ashore, which is a hallmark of
the training received at the Navy's Atlantic Fleet Weapons
Training Facility range on Vieques. The ships and squadrons
returned home in August.
In mid-2000, USS ANZIO took part in one of the largest
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) exercises Dynamic Mix
2000. The purpose of Dynamic Mix 2000 was to enhance U.S.
military force warfighting and interoperability skills and to
develop a common understanding of NATO operational procedures
that could apply to future NATO warfighting missions. NATO
forces that participated in the operation included military
elements from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and
England.
In late September 2000, USS ANZIO took part in Underway
No. 10", one in a series of tests leading to the
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Operation Evaluation
(OPEVAL) scheduled for Spring 2001. The CEC system provides the
capability to cooperatively engage targets by a warship using
data from other CEC-equipped ships, aircraft, and land-based
sensors, even in an electronic-jamming environment. It also
provides a common, consistent and highly accurate air picture,
allowing battle group defenses to act as one seamless system.
The test, off Wallops Island, VA, simulated missile firings from
some of the Navy's most technically advanced ships against
unmanned drones.
USS ANZIO left its homeport of Norfolk, VA, on May 21,
2001, and took part, in the Baltic Sea, in the 29th annual
maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2001. With naval
vessels and over 40 aircraft of 14 nations taking part, the
exercise is intended to improve interoperability with Baltic Sea
nations and Partnership for Peace countries by conducting a
peace support operation at sea. The operation involved exercises
in gunnery, replenishment-at-sea, undersea warfare, radar
tracking, mine countermeasures, seamanship, search and rescue,
and maritime interdiction operations. Additionally, the nations
conducted personnel exchanges amongst the ships so that officers
and sailors could see how their contemporaries from other navies
live and operate.
In summer of 2002, ANZIO and CAPE ST. GEORGE returned to
the Baltic Sea for BALTOPS 2002. The exercise was concluded with
a 4-day port visit to Kiel, Germany from June 21-24.
In late January 2003, ANZIO participated in the Composite
Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) of the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(CVN 71) Battle Group in the Puerto Rican Operating Area. On
February 4, 2003, the Battle Group, including ANZIO, left the
Caribbean and deployed to the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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