USS Jouett (CG 29)

- formerly DLG 29 -
- decommissioned -
- sunk as a target -

USS JOUETT was the fourth ship in the BELKNAP - class of guided missile cruisers and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on January 28, 1994, the JOUETT spent the following years laid-up at Suisun Bay, Benicia, California, as part of the Reserve Fleet. From there, she was towed to Guam in 2007 where she was finally sunk as a target during exercise Valiant Shield 2007 on August 10, 2007. JOUETT was last homeported in San Diego, Ca.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: September 20, 1961
	Keel laid: September 25, 1962
	Launched: June 30, 1964
	Commissioned: December 10, 1966
	Decommissioned: January 28, 1994
	Builder: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash..
	Propulsion system:4 - 1200 psi boilers; 2 General Electric geared turbines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 548 feet (167 meters)
	Beam: 55 feet (16.8 meters)
	Draft: 28,5 feet (8.7 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 8,100 tons
	Speed: 30+ knots
	Aircraft: one SH-2F (LAMPS 1) helicopter
	Armament: two Mk 141 Harpoon missile launchers, one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun, two 20mm Phalanx CIWS, one Mk-10 missile launcher for Standard missiles (ER) and ASROC, Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts
	Crew: 27 officers and 450 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS JOUETT. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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Click here to see which USS JOUETT memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS JOUETT Cruise Books:

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About the Ship's Namesake:

Rear Admiral James Edward Jouett was born February 7, 1826, near L.exington, Kentucky. He was the son of a celebrated painter, Matthew Harris Jouett and Margaret Henderson Allen. He was appointed as a Midshipman on September 10, 1841. His early Naval career involved extensive world travel. In the so-called "Berribee War" off the coast of Liberia in 1843, he served in DECATUR in a squadron under Matthew C. Perry He was off the east coast of Mexico in JOHN ADAMS during the Mexican War, being one of those sent to defend Point Isabel. After a year at the Naval School at Annapolis, he was sent to the Mediterranean in ST. LAWRENCE. He later cruised the Pacific in LEXINGTON and ST. MARY'S. During 1858-1859, he was a lieutenant on board the steamer M.W. CHAPIN in the Paraguay Expedition.

Jouett was captured by Confederates at Pensacola at the outbreak of the Civil War. He escaped and joined the Union Blockade at Galveston where he distinguished himself on the night of November 7, 1861. Leading a boat expedition from SANTEE, he captured the Confederate crew of the armed schooner ROYAL YACHT. Though wounded several times in hand-to-hand combat, he brought off the crew as prisoners and burned the Confederate schooner. He was then given command of METACOMET, one of the fastest gunboats in Farragut's squadron.

In the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, Farragut's flagship HARTFORD and Jouett's METACOMET were lashed together. At the critical moment, Farragut, in the port shroud of HARTFORD, gave his historic command, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" A little later, Jouett's METACOMET was sent after Confederate gunboats. By fast pursuit and skillful navigation in hazardous shoal water, Jouett riddled the gunboat GAINES and captured SELMA. His dashing exploit won praise from Farragut, and Jouett was advanced thirty numbers in rank for heroism in battle. After varied service ashore and afloat, Jouett took command of the North Atlantic Squadron in 1884. During this duty, he is credited with inaugurating the custom of all hands saluting the colors when they are raised and lowered. In 1889, he commanded a naval force of eight ships and 2,648 men sent to re-open transit across the isthmus of Panama.

Rear Admiral Jouett retired in 1890 and was voted full pay for life under an Act of Congress. After a short stay in Orlando, Florida, he spent his remaining years near Sandy Springs, Maryland in a house he named "Anchorage". He died September 30, 1902, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

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USS JOUETT's Commanding Officers:

Period	Name
December 3, 1966 - November 28, 1968	Captain Robert S. Hayes, USN
November 28, 1968 - May 22, 1970	Captain R. C. Barnhart, USN
May 22, 1970 - June 2, 1971	Captain Samuel L. Gravely, Jr., USN
June 2, 1971 - July 25, 1972	Captain Edward S. Briggs, USN
July 25, 1972 - February 12, 1974	Captain Ralph E. Wilson, Jr., USN
February 12, 1974 - January 23, 1976	Captain R. Frederick Stadler, Jr., USN
January 23, 1976 - January 31, 1978	Captain William E. Poling, USN
January 31, 1978 - May 17, 1980	Captain Donald Martin, USN
May 17, 1980 - May 22, 1982	Captain Gerald A. Fulk, USN
May 22, 1982 - March 10, 1984	Captain R. Scott McCartney, USN
March 10, 1984 - April 26, 1986	Captain James P. Cormack, USN
April 26, 1986 - August 19, 1988	Captain Michael E. Mays, USN
August 19, 1988 - January 11, 1991	Captain Jerrold J. Negin, USN
January 11, 1991 - April 24, 1993	Captain Floyston A. Weeks, USN
April 24, 1993 - January 28, 1994	Commander Thomas J. Gregory, USN

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USS JOUETT History:

USS JOUETT was built by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington, and was commissioned on December 3, 1966, under the command of Captain Robert S. Hayes.

Homeported in San Diego, California, from the beginning, JOUETT has made twelve extended deployments to overseas areas. These deployments have varied from five to up to nine months in duration, and have all been through the waters of the Western Pacific.

Several of JOUETT's deployments have included operations in the Indian Ocean and Middle East, including Operation Desert Shield. JOUETT was in the van of the USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) Battle Group, the first new U.S. force to arrive in the Middle East after Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, arriving in the Gulf of Oman on August 6.

JOUETT's early deployments were during the Vietnam conflict and included numerous periods of patrol duty in the Gulf of Tonkin. During these periods, JOUETT performed duties on Search and Rescue stations, and maintained a surveillance picture of all aircraft operating over North Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin. Controlling and identifying aircraft was exactly the mission for which JOUETT was designed.

JOUETT won several unit citations over the years. The Navy Unit Commendation was awarded for operations during 1990 with Battle Group Delta in conjunction with Operation Desert Shield. Additionally, two Meritorious Unit Commendations have been received. The first was for a deployment to the Arabian Sea during the 1979 hostage crisis, and the second was for a deployment to the Arabian Sea during late 1986. JOUETT has won Battle Efficiency awards, garnering first place in two of these eighteen-month long competitive periods.

Fully operational and viable to the end, JOUETT made history by participating in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's first Navy LEAP (Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile) missile firing ever done on the West Coast in September 1993. The ship successfully launched a small satellite, or Kinetic Kill Vehicle, into outer space utilizing a standard shipboard Navy missile.

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USS JOUETT Patch Gallery:

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USS JOUETT Image Gallery

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