USS Shenandoah (AD-44)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Shenandoah.

History
United States
Builder	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Laid down	2 August 1980
Launched	6 February 1982
Commissioned	15 August 1983
Decommissioned	3 September 1996
Stricken	28 July 2001
Fate	Scrapped in 2012
General characteristics
Class and type	Yellowstone-class destroyer tender
Displacement	20263 tons
Length	642 ft (196 m)
Beam	85 ft (26 m)
Draft	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion	steam turbines, 20,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	20 knots
Complement	87 Officers 1508 Enlisted
Armament	2 20mm cannon, 4 .50 caliber machine guns

USS Shenandoah (AD-44) was the fourth and final ship of the Yellowstone-class of destroyer tenders. AD-44 was the fifth ship to bear the name, USS Shenandoah as named for the Shenandoah Valley. She was commissioned in 1983, only three years after the decommissioning of the previous USS Shenandoah (AD-26), also a destroyer tender.

In 1993,^[1] USS Shenandoah was unexpectedly diverted to the Arabian Gulf to tend ships of the U.S. Seventh Fleet's USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Battle Group. This was documented in the Shenandoah's Tenth Anniversary cruise book. The Shenandoah and her crew members were awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with one campaign star and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).

Following her decommissioning in 1996, at only 13 years old, the USS Shenandoah was re-located at the James River Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, Va., awaiting final disposal. In FY15, the ex-Shenandoah was sold for dismantlement, departed the JRRF and was withdrawn from MARAD inventory.

Awards and decorations

The USS Shenandoah received the following unit awards in its history:^[2]

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 4 service stars	Navy E Ribbon w/ 3 Battle E devices	National Defense Service Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ 1 campaign star	Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 7 service stars	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

• Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
  • 1 May 1987 to 1 September 1988
  • 12 June 1989 to 31 October 1989
  • 1 June 1991 to 12 December 1991
  • 15 April 1993 to 4 October 1993
  • 21 November 1994 to 13 September 1996
• Navy Battle "E" Award
  • 1 April 1985 to 30 September 1986
  • 1 October 1986 to 31 March 1988
  • 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1995
• National Defense Service Medal
  • 2 August 1990 to 30 November 1995; for service during the Gulf War
• Southwest Asia Service Medal
  • 10 July 1991 to 10 August 1991; campaign star: (Cease-Fire Campaign)
• Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
  • Multiple deployments
• Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
  • 10 July 1991 to 10 August 1991

References

1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pnav/is_199308/ai_2328464742 US Navy Press Release: USS Shenandoah Changes Course, Steams to Persian Gulf
2. "Unit Awards Query, Search = Shenandoah". Chief of Naval Operations : U.S. Navy Awards. Archived from the original on 2015-05-15. Retrieved 10 March 2013.

External links

• USS Shenandoah (AD-44) Official Crew Website
• Unofficial Navy site
• US Navy Press Release: USS Shenandoah Changes Course, Steams to Persian Gulf