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USS Normandy (CG 60)

US Navy photo by MC2 Dylan M. Kinee.

USS NORMANDY was the 14^th ship in the TICONDEROGA - class of guided missile cruisers and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. The cruiser held a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on September 25, 2025, before officially being decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on September 29.

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Crew List:

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

• Click here to view the list.

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

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USS NORMANDY Cruise Books:

• Arabian Gulf Cruise Book 2005
• World Cruise Book 2015
• Mediterranean and NorLant Cruise Book 2018

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The lettering, lion, anchor, and perimeter of the shield are gold. The border beneath the lettering and the crest background are dark blue. These are the color traditionally associated with the Navy. The caltraps symbolize mines and German defenses on the Normandy beaches. The anchor characterizes sea power and strength. The chevron is broken and thrust forward, denoting the assault landing and the "breaking through" the enemy defenses; it is white for honor and integrity, edged with red for valor, sacrifice, and bloodshed.

The Crest:

The pole star signifies the Allied Forces that joined for the Normandy Invasion. It also portrays the four points of the globe, signifying the worldwide mission of the NORMANDY. The gold lion, adopted from the Coat of Arms of Normandy, France, represents the location of the assault and characterizes the courage, strength, and determination of the invasion forces. He grasps an inflamed trident in honor of Neptune, mythological lord of the sea, and code name for the Navy's crucial gunfire support and the delivery of land forces in the Battle of Normandy.

The Motto:

The words, "VANGUARD OF VICTORY," underscore the Battle of Normandy as the spearhead of the Allied defense which turned the tide of war in Europe.

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History of USS NORMANDY:

Just one year after her commissioning in Newport, RI, USS NORMANDY sailed into action in order to support the multinational effort to free Kuwait. NORMANDY and her crew left on 28 December 1990 to join United Nations forces conducting OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. As part of the USS AMERICA CARRIER BATTLE GROUP, NORMANDY transited the Suez Canal and the Red Sea on her way to the Arabian Gulf. NORMANDY fired 26 Tomahawk cruise missiles, protected allied ships and aircraft in the area, conducted maritime interdiction operations, and helped to locate and destroy enemy mines.

USS NORMANDY received the Navy Unit Commendation, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal (with two bronze stars) for her efforts in support of OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM.

On 11 August 1993, USS NORMANDY and the USS AMERICA CARRIER BATTLE GROUP deployed to the Adriatic Sea in support of United Nations efforts with the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. NORMANDY's primary duty was Adriatic air-space controller for OPERATIONS PROVIDE PROMISE, DENY FLIGHT, and SHARP GUARD.

In a historic first, NORMANDY embarked 9 WWII veterans on 18 May 1994 for commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Allied landings on the coast of France. These activities took place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and Le Havre, France. Over 15,000 visitors toured the ship while NORMANDY's honor guard embarked veterans participated in various memorial services and events on both sides of the English Channel. USS NORMANDY served as a centerpiece over the two week course of ceremonies, and specifically for national commemorations at Slapton Sands, United Kingdom on 31 May by U.S. Ambassador Crowe, and at the Normandy beach heads on 6 June by President Clinton. NORMANDY received the Navy Unit Commendation Medal in June for participation in the D-Day festivities.

On June 27, 1994, USS NORMANDY participated in the Naval Station New York closing ceremonies. Staten Island's mayor, Guy Molinari, and his daughter Congresswoman Susan Molinari were the featured speakers as the Navy turned the base over to the city's Emergency Services prior to departing for their new homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. NORMANDY was stationed in Staten Island, New York for almost four years.

On August 28, 1995, USS NORMANDY began a six month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea with the USS AMERICA. On September 8, NORMANDY was in the Western Mediterranean conducting turnover with the outgoing Battle Group. Receiving immediate tasking to proceed at best speed to the Adriatic, NORMANDY sped across the 1600 Nautical miles at maximum speed. Arriving in the OPERATION DELIBERATE FORCE Theater of Operations in just under 48 hours, NORMANDY launched a thirteen missile Tomahawk strike against hostile air defense command and control sites in Northern Bosnia-Herzegovina. This precision strike, flawlessly executed on extreme short notice, paved the way for follow-on tactical air strikes against Bosnian Serb Military positions in the region. This action sent a strong signal of United States resolve and played a significant role in convincing the Bosnian-Serb government to cease hostilities and resume peace negotiations.

During the six month deployment NORMANDY again served as Adriatic air-space controller for OPERATIONS DENY FLIGHT, SHARP GUARD, and DECISIVE ENDEAVOR. NORMANDY was awarded her third Navy Unit Commendation and the Meritorious Unit Commendation for her actions during her time in the Adriatic.

On 3 October 1997, NORMANDY once again began a six month deployment. This time, as Air Defense Commander of the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON BATTLEGROUP. Throughout the month of October, NORMANDY participated, along with 27 other international units, in EXERCISE BRIGHT STAR off the Egyptian coast. Upon completion of BRIGHT STAR, NORMANDY was directed to proceed at best speed to the Arabian Gulf. Beginning November 16th, NORMANDY, along with other units of the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON Battle Group, transited the Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Arabian Sea. In a record-setting five days, NORMANDY and GEORGE WASHINGTON entered the Arabian Gulf and joined the NIMITZ BATTLE GROUP in an impressive show of force and United Nation resolve with Iraq. Immediately, NORMANDY assumed the duties as the "Ready Strike" platform in the Gulf and, later, also assumed the duties as the air-defense commander for the entire Arabian Gulf. For four months NORMANDY patrolled the Gulf in support of OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH. During this time, she conducted several successful maritime-interception operations along with her strike and air-defense duties. Throughout her most recent deployment, NORMANDY achieved more than 300 mishap free hours of flight operations, conducted 27 underway replenishments and sailed a total of 48,000 miles. Underway for the holidays NORMANDY hosted pop singer Paula Cole on the 23rd of December and the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm Jay Johnson, along with his wife and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, ETCM John Hagan, on Christmas morning. NORMANDY was relieved by the JOHN C. STENNIS BATTLE GROUP in the Arabian Gulf and returned to her homeport of Norfolk on April 3, 1998. NORMANDY finished a major overhaul period in Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 28 February. Additionally, NORMANDY was awarded the Majorie Sterrett Battleship Award for the most battle ready warship on the East coast.

On June 21, 2000, NORMANDY again, along with the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON Battle Group, deployed to the Mediterranean and Arabian Sea, returning to Norfolk on December 19 - just in time for the holidays.

Beginning in 2001, NORMANDY spent the year primarily in the basic and integrated training cycle out of Norfolk to reset after her 2000 Mediterranean-Arabian Sea cruise and to prepare for the next carrier strike group deployment. Workups continued into early 2002 and culminated in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 02-2 off the U.S. East Coast in May, the final certification event for the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON Carrier Battle Group. On June 20, 2002, NORMANDY deployed with the group, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in early July and pressing through Suez to join Operation Southern Watch/early Enduring Freedom tasking in the North Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf during the post-9/11 air policing and maritime security period. After months of air-defense commander duties, escort tasking, and Strait of Hormuz transits, she swung back into the Mediterranean in late autumn and made a scheduled liberty stop at Souda Bay, Crete, on December 3, 2002, before returning to Norfolk on December 20, 2002 to close the seven-month cruise.

Through 2003, NORMANDY operated under Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two, executing training in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean and periodic independent steaming to keep air-defense and strike warfare certifications current. In early 2004, she again focused on East Coast training events and advanced radar/weapon system groom phases that set conditions for expeditionary operations with amphibious forces the following year.

On March 25, 2005, NORMANDY sortied as part of the KEARSARGE (LHD 3) Expeditionary Strike Group for a Mediterranean-Red Sea-Arabian Gulf deployment timed to evolving 5th Fleet maritime security requirements in the wake of the Iraq transition period. After transiting the Suez Canal, she operated along the Gulf of Aden-Arabian Sea seam and, on April 29, 2005, took aboard 89 persons in distress from an overcrowded craft in the Gulf of Aden, transferring them safely to Yemeni authorities - one of several ad hoc search-and-rescue and maritime-interdiction tasks that spring. She continued into the Northern Arabian Gulf for oil-platform defense and coalition MSO (maritime security operations), worked with embarked coalition liaisons, and returned to the Red Sea for turnover in late summer. On May 29, 2005, in a separate case, her crew provided medical aid and supplies to a small vessel at sea, reflecting the persistent humanitarian component of MSO. NORMANDY concluded the ESG cruise at Norfolk on October 31, 2005.

After a stateside maintenance and proficiency period in 2006, NORMANDY deployed on a NATO tasking in spring 2007. She departed Norfolk in April 2007 to join Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1), completed training off the U.K. and in the Baltic/North Sea approaches, and made a logistics and liberty stop at Souda Bay, Crete, on July 15, 2007. On August 28, 2007, she arrived at Cape Town, South Africa, beginning the southern leg of a NATO circumnavigation of Africa intended to expand maritime partnerships and counter piracy and trafficking around the continent's littorals. The group entered the Indian Ocean in September, conducted presence operations off East Africa, and made a scheduled port visit in Mombasa, Kenya, from September 14-18, 2007. In late September, while northbound in the Red Sea, the group provided assistance to Yemeni authorities after the eruption of Jabal al-Tair, then transited the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, pausing again at Souda Bay in early October before completing the 12,500-nautical-mile African circumnavigation. NORMANDY returned to Norfolk on October 31, 2007.

From 2008 into 2009, the cruiser's schedule centered on Atlantic Fleet training, combat systems groom, and short underway periods off the Virginia Capes, with intermittent shiphandling and deck evolutions captured in Navy imagery during spring and summer 2008 and 2009. In January 2010, following the Haiti earthquake on January 12, NORMANDY was ordered south for Operation Unified Response. She arrived off Haiti on January 17, 2010, embarked assessment teams, moved relief cargo ashore by small boat and helicopter along the Tiburon Peninsula - including at Petit-Trou-de-Nippes on January 23 - and supported pier-assessment and distribution missions at several coastal sites through February before returning to Norfolk to reset. After a brief maintenance and workup period, she deployed again on May 20, 2010, for a roughly seven-month 5th Fleet cruise supporting maritime security and air-defense operations tied to ongoing coalition activity around Iraq and in the broader CENTCOM maritime theater. NORMANDY returned to Norfolk on December 12, 2010.

In spring 2011, the ship shifted to public outreach and regional readiness events between maintenance windows, arriving at Port Everglades, Florida, on April 25, 2011, for Fleet Week, then participating in Hampton Roads community engagements in June. In 2012, she executed a focused Northern European deployment to the Baltic Sea. NORMANDY arrived in Kiel, Germany, on June 15, 2012, for BALTOPS 2012, conducted air-defense coordination and serial exercises at sea from June 7 onward, and then shifted east to Baltiysk, Russia, on June 24 for the opening of FRUKUS 2012. The ship completed FRUKUS at-sea training and ship-rider exchanges by June 29 and subsequently hosted Russian Navy counterparts during a ship tour in St. Petersburg around June 30, 2012, before returning to home waters in July.

The next several years were weighted toward readiness generation with Carrier Strike Group Twelve. In late 2014, NORMANDY took part in integrated training in the Western Atlantic ahead of the THEODORE ROOSEVELT world-cruise the following year. In spring 2015 she deployed with the THEODORE ROOSEVELT strike group to the Mediterranean and Red Sea. As the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and Houthi missile activity increased, NORMANDY, together with THEODORE ROOSEVELT, repositioned toward the Arabian Sea and approaches to the Gulf of Aden on April 20-21, 2015, to strengthen maritime presence and help counter potential weapons flows to Yemen by sea. Through summer 2015, she performed air-defense commander duties and escort operations in the Gulf region, made a routine port call to Manama, Bahrain, in late July, observed an August 31 change of command for the ship, and then turned east with the strike group to the Indian Ocean for bilateral and multilateral events. From October 16-19, 2015, NORMANDY participated in the U.S.-India-Japan exercise MALABAR in the Bay of Bengal, where air-defense, anti-submarine and VBSS training anchored the schedule. She continued east with the strike group, called at Singapore in late October, and completed a globe-circling return to Norfolk later in 2015 - an around-the-world cruise subsequently profiled as a wide-ranging deployment with diverse port calls and missions.

In 2016, the cruiser entered a Selected Restricted Availability at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair under a contract awarded on January 28. Work ran through much of the year and included depot-level maintenance, alterations and modernization. She completed post-availability trials and basic phase certifications in 2017, with multiple October Atlantic evolutions documented as the crew regained full mission readiness.

NORMANDY deployed with the HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group in 2018. She crossed the Atlantic in April and operated in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the air-defense screen and long-range strike architecture, then paused for liberty at Santorini, Greece, on May 29, 2018. On May 22, 2018, she held a change-of-command ceremony at sea in the Mediterranean. After a summer reset in home waters, she returned to the North Atlantic for NATO's TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 off Norway in October-November, conducting high-latitude air-defense and sea-control operations in the Norwegian Sea and inside Vestfjorden near Bodo alongside allied units. She arrived back in Norfolk in early December 2018.

In autumn 2019, NORMANDY deployed to the 6th Fleet area as part of an East Coast Surface Action Group. She made a port visit to Souda Bay, Crete, on October 6, 2019 - during which a senior U.S. defense official visited the ship - and then shifted west for a scheduled port call at Naval Station Rota, Spain, December 2-5, 2019. Shortly thereafter, she rejoined carrier operations and entered the 5th Fleet theater with the HARRY S. TRUMAN group, mooring at Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, on December 24, 2019, for a holiday maintenance and liberty period. On February 9, 2020, while conducting maritime security operations in the northern Arabian Sea, NORMANDY interdicted a dhow and seized a large cache of Iranian-made weapons - including advanced 358 surface-to-air missiles - assessed as bound for Yemen in violation of U.N. resolutions. She completed turnover in the spring as the COVID-19 pandemic altered port schedules fleet-wide and returned to the U.S. for maintenance and training through 2021.

Beginning in 2022 and into early 2023, the cruiser's schedule focused on certifications and integrated training, culminating in a composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) with elements of Carrier Strike Group 12 in April 2023. She then deployed with the GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78) Carrier Strike Group on the carrier's first major overseas cruise, operating in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea in May-June 2023 (including participation in high-visibility presence events around Norway), and shifting into the Mediterranean under 6th Fleet through summer. On September 18, 2023, NORMANDY entered Bar, Montenegro, for a port visit and senior-leader engagement, remaining in port until September 21. Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and subsequent Israel-Gaza war, the strike group was directed to the Eastern Mediterranean for heightened deterrence and air-defense posture. Within that period, NORMANDY made two calls at Piraeus, Greece - arriving December 3, 2023, for the first, and calling again on December 26, 2023 - supporting logistics and liberty while the strike group maintained presence off the Levant.

In the first days of 2024, the ship began her homeward transit. She exited the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar on January 5, 2024, paused at Naval Station Rota for logistics on January 5 and again on January 12, and made her Norfolk homecoming on January 22, 2024, concluding more than eight months away with extended operations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

After a short maintenance availability and basic phase events early in 2025, NORMANDY deployed under U.S. 4th Fleet from February 25, 2025, for a nearly three-month Caribbean and South American patrol focused on maritime cooperation, counter-illicit trafficking, and presence operations. On March 27, 2025, she conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Guyana Defence Force offshore patrol vessel SHAHOUD (1039), one of several bilateral at-sea training events during the cruise. NORMANDY returned to Naval Station Norfolk on May 15, 2025.

In July 2025, NORMANDY participated in Exercise Atlantic Alliance 2025 off the US northeast coast. After a weapons offload at NWS Yorktown in late August, she moored at Fort Trumbull State Park in New London, Conn., for a four-day port visit in conjunction with the annual Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival. Returning to Norfolk on September 9, NORMANDY held a decommissioning ceremony on September 25 before being officially decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on September 29, 2025.

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Homeports of USS NORMANDY:

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Accidents aboard USS NORMANDY:

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USS NORMANDY Patch Gallery:

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USS NORMANDY Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by Karl-Heinz Ahles and shows USS NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 11, 1999.

The photo below was taken by me and shows the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on November 9, 2008.

The photos below were taken by me and show the NORMANDY dry-docked at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Va., on February 3, 2009.

The photos below were taken by me and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 6, 2012.

The photos below were taken by Carl Groll and show the NORMANDY during her early morning arrival in Kiel, Germany, after her participation in BALTOPS 2012. The photos were taken on June 15, 2012.

The photos below were taken by me and show the NORMANDY during her early morning arrival in Kiel, Germany, after her participation in BALTOPS 2012. The photos were taken on June 15, 2012. Note that she is not wearing any command excellence awards at all.

The photos below were taken by me and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 16 and 17, 2012.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 28, 2013.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 23, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair on April 12, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair on October 12, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va, on October 4, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va, on December 26, 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va, on September 6, 2022.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the NORMANDY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va, on May 31, 2025.

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