USS Gary (FFG 51)

USS GARY was one of the "long hull" versions in the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY - class and the first ship in the Navy named after Commander Donald A. Gary. In June 2007, the GARY shifted her homeport from Yokosuka, Japan, to San Diego, Calif. After a decommissioning ceremony at San Diego on July 23, 2015, the ship was officially decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on August 5, 2015. The retired GARY was towed from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hi., for lay-up on September 16. In mid-2016, the ship started a conversion in preparation for her transfer to the Taiwanese Navy. Reportedly, this conversion would allow her to serve for another 30 years. On March 9, 2017, the GARY was transferred to the Taiwanese Navy where was recommissioned as FENGJIA by the end of May 2017.

Crew List:

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

About the Frigate's Name, about Commander Donald A. Gary:

Donald Arthur Gary was born on 23 July 1903 in Findlay, Ohio. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy on 12 December 1919 and served as an enlisted sailor until November 1943, when he was commissioned a Lieutenant (junior grade). He progressed to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in March 1946 and, when he retired on 1 June 1950, he was advanced to the rank of Commander on the basis of combat awards. Commander Gary died on 9 April 1977.

His onshore duties during his naval career included assignments in the Third Naval District, New York City; the Office of Assistant Inspector of Machinery, B&W Company, Ohio; the staff of Commander Submarine Group ONE, New York; and the Naval Disciplinary Barracks, Terminal Island, California. His sea duty tours included ELCANO (PG 38), HANNIBAL (AG 1), SWAN (AM 34), IDAHO (BB 42), INDIANAPOLIS (CA 35) for two tours, ENTERPRISE (CV 6), and FRANKLIN (CV 13), that (then) Lieutenant Gary joined as an Engineering Officer in December 1944.

On 19 March 1945, FRANKLIN was operating with a fast carrier task force against remnants of the Japanese fleet when it was severely damaged by fires caused by two Japanese bombs in an attack. Only outstanding efforts on the part of the crew, and Lieutenant Gary in particular, saved the ship from destruction and the lives of many sailors.

Lieutenant Gary was awarded the Medal of Honor, with a citation that stated:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty as the Engineering Officer attached to the USS FRANKLIN when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during operations against the Japanese home islands near Kobe, Japan, March 19, 1945. Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets and ammunition by the hostile attack, Lieutenant Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with smoke and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks beacon increasingly panic-stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions, he confidently assured them he would find a means of effecting their release and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, ultimately discovered an escapeway. Staunchly, he struggled back to the messing compartment three times despite menacing flames, flooding water and the ominous threat of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved. Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when firerooms 1 and 2 were found to be inoperable, entered the number 3 fireroom and directed the raising of steam in one boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring and courageous leader, (he) rendered self-sacrificing service the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude and valor, was responsible for saving of several hundred lives ...."

The damaged FRANKLIN returned to New York harbor, and Commander Gary remained aboard the ship until it was decommissioned in 1947. On 23 January 1946 he was presented the Medal of Honor at the White House by President Harry S. Truman.

USS GARY History:

Built at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, in San Pedro, California, USS GARY was laid down on December 18, 1982, launched on November 19, 1983, sponsored by Mrs. Dorothy Gary with Mrs. George D. (Joyce) Leamer as co-sponsor, and commissioned at Long Beach Naval Station on November 17, 1984. Conceived as an escort optimized for sea control, her core mission set emphasized anti-air, anti-submarine, and anti-surface protection for underway replenishment groups, convoys, amphibious forces, and other military and merchant shipping. During the final phase of the 1980s "Tanker War" period in the Persian Gulf, a major documented early milestone came after USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58) struck an Iranian mine on April 14, 1988. On April 18, 1988, USS GARY participated in Operation Praying Mantis, coordinating with naval aircraft while protecting the mobile sea bases HERCULES and WIMBROWN VII during combat operations against Iranian-occupied oil platforms. In 1988, she also earned a battle "E" award associated with Destroyer Squadron Nine, and in 1989 the ship was used in filming for the motion picture "The Hunt for Red October". By 1995 she was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 and Carrier Strike Group 5 and completed a Western Pacific deployment in the 1995-1996 period, reflecting her long-running employment in forward Pacific surface-force rotations.

A particularly well-documented chapter began in the late 1990s as USS GARY entered the forward-deployed Yokosuka cycle. On August 16, 1999, she arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, as her new homeport after a three-month western Pacific deployment supporting Carat '99. On August 31, 1999, Cmdr. Steven J. Camacho took command during an exchange of command and crew ("hull swap") ceremony with USS THACH (FFG 43) at Yokosuka, an administrative and operational transition that aligned ship and crew readiness with Seventh Fleet's continuous presence schedule. With broader fleet attention focused on systems reliability ahead of the millennium change, USS GARY departed Yokosuka on September 17, 1999, for Y2K validation and testing, visited Okinawa from September 19 to September 20, and returned on September 22. She then called at Oita on October 14 for a four-day visit, returned on October 20, and got underway again on October 30, pausing at Sasebo from November 1 to November 3 before supporting the annual U.S.-Japan exercise series from November 3 to November 10 and then conducting a dependents' cruise on November 12.

On January 5, 2000, USS GARY departed Yokosuka for a scheduled Middle East deployment as part of Maritime Expeditionary Force 00-1, operating during an era defined by continued Iraq-related sanctions enforcement and maritime interception requirements in the Arabian Gulf. She pulled into Singapore on January 13 for four days, anchored off Phuket from January 19 to January 21, entered the Arabian Gulf on January 28 for maritime interception operations in the northern sector, and then worked out of Manama, Bahrain, from January 30 to February 3. She visited Doha, Qatar, on February 9 for four days, called at Kuwait City from February 21 to February 24, transited southbound through the Gulf of Oman on March 16, returned to Singapore from March 23 to March 24, anchored off Pattaya from March 26 for four days, and then visited Hong Kong from April 3 to April 8 before returning to Yokosuka on April 13 after more than three months underway.

The ship quickly folded back into the western Pacific rhythm: she visited Shimoda from May 11 to May 18 for the Black Ship Festival, conducted Limited Team Training from May 30 to June 3 and a Mid-Cycle Assessment from June 12 to June 15, entered a Selected Restricted Availability, and then conducted sea trials from October 5 to October 7. That autumn, she completed another training progression - Limited Team Training from October 16 to October 20 and Command Assessment of Readiness and Training II from October 23 to October 27 - before supporting the U.S.-Japan exercise cycle again from November 6 to November 21. On November 27, 2000, Cmdr. Michael R. Olmstead relieved Cmdr. Camacho, and the year concluded with an underway period that included a visit to Moji from December 4 to December 13.

In 2001, USS GARY continued the structured readiness cycle that allowed Yokosuka-based ships to surge quickly when events required. She was underway from January 22 to January 26 for Total Ship's Training Availability II, followed by an Underway Demonstration period that included a port visit to Hakodate from January 29 to February 9. On March 2, 2001, she departed for spring patrol as part of the USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63) battle group, pulled into Singapore on March 22 for four days, anchored off Pattaya from April 5 to April 8, and visited Saipan from April 20 to April 30. After participating in Exercise Tandem Thrust as opposition forces, she moored at Garden Island in Sydney on May 24 for five days, stopped at Apra Harbor, Guam, from June 7 to June 8, and returned to Yokosuka on June 11.

Summer operations included an underway period from July 12 to July 22 supporting Counter Special Operations Forces Exercise, multi-ship operations on August 23, a port call to Nagoya from August 27 to August 30, and return to Yokosuka on September 1. Following the September 11 attacks, USS GARY surged on October 1, 2001, deploying with the USS KITTY HAWK battle group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While transiting the Strait of Malacca on October 7 with USS KITTY HAWK and USS CURTIS WILBUR (DDG 54), she helped rescue five Indonesian fishermen from a sinking 40-foot fishing vessel, illustrating how search-and-rescue obligations persisted alongside wartime mobilization. In mid-October she arrived on station in the North Arabian Sea supporting maritime interception operations, and in November she conducted interception operations in the northern Arabian Gulf while also providing surface and air defense support for USS PELELIU (LHA 5) and its amphibious ready group during security operations associated with the World Trade Organization meeting in Doha from November 9 to November 14. She later anchored off Phuket on December 13 for three days and returned to Yokosuka on December 24 after nearly three months operating across Fifth and Seventh Fleet waters.

In 2002, the ship's schedule alternated maintenance, training, and forward patrols. USS GARY departed Yokosuka on February 4, 2002, for multi-ship exercises and a missile exercise off Okinawa, visited Saipan from February 17 to February 20, and returned on February 23. After an ammunition offload from March 20 to March 21, she commenced a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability on March 25, conducted sea trials from May 30 to June 1, completed an ammunition onload from June 3 to June 4, and supported a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force midshipmen cruise on June 21. She visited Kure from June 24 for three days and returned on June 29, then conducted commanding officer's time from July 8 to July 10. On July 15, 2002, Cmdr. Tito P. Dua relieved Cmdr. Olmstead, and within days USS GARY departed Yokosuka on July 19 for operations that combined readiness and regional engagement: Hong Kong from July 25 to July 29, Busan from August 4 to August 6, White Beach, Okinawa, from August 10 to August 12, and return to Yokosuka on August 15. September brought local operations, an emergency sortie to avoid a typhoon on September 13, a brief Okinawa visit from September 17 to September 18, return on September 20, and another underway beginning September 27. She arrived at Chinhae Naval Base on September 30 for a short visit before participating in a Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare Readiness and Evaluation Measurement exercise, returned to Chinhae from October 11 to October 14, and returned to Yokosuka on October 17, followed by local operations on October 18. On October 25, 2002, USS GARY departed Yokosuka for fall patrol with the USS KITTY HAWK battle group. During this period she supported the annual U.S.-Japan bilateral maritime exercise series from November 11 to November 22, then visited Hong Kong from November 29 for four days and returned to Yokosuka on December 13.

On January 29, 2003, USS GARY surged again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during the period when U.S. and coalition forces were also tightening maritime security measures across the Arabian Sea and Gulf region ahead of the Iraq War. On March 13, 2003, shortly before major combat began in Iraq, she rescued all eight fishermen from the motor vessel KAPTAIN MUHAMADAT at about 5:30 p.m. local time roughly 20 miles south of the Iranian coast. She later visited Cochin (Kochi), India, on June 19 for three days and returned to Yokosuka on July 26 after a six-month Middle East deployment. Late that year, the ship underwent a significant command and readiness inflection: on December 12, 2003, Capt. Samuel Perez, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, relieved Cmdr. Dua for loss of confidence and Cmdr. Henry D. Derbes II assumed temporary command. The ship had recently failed an inspection and survey assessment, an outcome that typically drives a focused period of maintenance and training remediation.

On January 8, 2004, Cmdr. Robert G. Marin relieved Cmdr. Derbes. In the summer of 2004, USS GARY participated in the Fleet Response Plan surge-era readiness environment: on August 19, 2004, she pulled into Apra Harbor, Guam, during a deployment with the USS KITTY HAWK carrier strike group connected to Summer Pulse 2004 and Joint Air and Sea Exercise activity with the USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) carrier strike group. In October she made a port call to Goa, India, as part of Exercise Malabar 2004, reflecting the period's expanding U.S.-India maritime cooperation, and she returned to Yokosuka in November 2004 after about three months underway.

USS GARY departed Yokosuka on February 8, 2005, for spring patrol with the USS KITTY HAWK carrier strike group, visited Hong Kong on February 22, and then operated off the Korean Peninsula during the major combined exercise cycle. On March 18 she departed Chinhae after a four-day call tied to Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration events associated with Foal Eagle. On March 29, 2005, she arrived in Ho Chi Minh City for a four-day port visit, a notable engagement in the context of a steadily evolving U.S.-Vietnam defense relationship. On April 13, 2005, she entered Dry Dock No. 4 at Yokosuka Naval Ship Repair Facility for a Selected Restricted Availability, and on September 16, 2005, Cmdr. Joseph A. De Leon relieved Cmdr. Marin. In 2006, she spent additional time in maintenance status. On July 11, 2006, she was in dry dock at Yokosuka Naval Shipyard for a maintenance availability. On October 15, 2006, she departed Yokosuka for fall patrol with the USS KITTY HAWK carrier strike group, made a brief call at Hong Kong, and on October 24 departed the harbor to participate in a search and rescue exercise.

In early 2007, USS GARY remained in the western Pacific engagement and presence cycle. On January 25, 2007, she departed Yokosuka for patrol, departed Sepanggar Naval Base on February 5 after a four-day visit to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and on February 9 arrived in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, for a widely noted port visit described at the time as the first by a U.S. Navy ship in three decades. On March 16, 2007, Cmdr. Joker L. Jankins relieved Cmdr. De Leon, and on March 20 USS GARY departed Yokosuka for a scheduled underway period before a major basing transition. On September 10, 2007, she arrived at San Diego after a four-week transit from Yokosuka, shifting from the forward-deployed Seventh Fleet model to a stateside readiness-and-deployment cycle.

On March 25, 2008, USS GARY operated as opposition forces during the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) carrier strike group's Composite Training Unit Exercise. On June 5 she visited Portland, Oregon, for Rose Festival events, and on September 9, 2008, Cmdr. Daniel J. Senesky relieved Cmdr. Jankins during a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Base San Diego. From November 3 to November 6 she hosted civilian leaders underway off southern California as part of the "Leaders to Sea" program. On April 8, 2009, she departed San Diego for a counter-illicit trafficking deployment in the eastern Pacific, a mission set that would increasingly define her final years. On August 19, 2010, Cmdr. Christopher J. Budde relieved Cmdr. Senesky, and on December 8, 2010, USS GARY again served as opposition forces during the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70) carrier strike group's Composite Training Unit Exercise.

On February 4, 2011, USS GARY departed San Diego for a scheduled counter-illicit trafficking deployment in the eastern Pacific, beginning the year with the accumulated experience of a previous patrol credited with significant narcotics seizures. During this 2011 deployment she made a port call at Vasco Nunez de Balboa Naval Base in the Panama City area in February. On August 18, 2011, she returned to San Diego after a six-and-a-half-month deployment to U.S. Fourth Fleet waters during which she was credited with interdicting more than four metric tons of cocaine and visiting partner nations including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Colombia. On May 4, 2012, Cmdr. James E. Brown relieved Cmdr. Budde, and on June 28 USS GARY pulled into Pearl Harbor to participate in RIMPAC 2012.

On October 4, 2012, USS GARY departed San Diego with an embarked HSL-49 Detachment 3 for a scheduled deployment supporting counter transnational organized crime operations. She arrived in Golfito, Costa Rica, on October 22 for a week-long visit, then repeatedly used Balboa's naval facilities for logistics: a port call on November 7, a brief refueling stop on December 9, and another scheduled visit beginning December 21. Early 2013 saw an operational tempo shaped by repeated interdictions. On January 4, 2013, she and her embarked U.S. Coast Guard team retrieved more than 600 pounds of cocaine after interdicting a go-fast vessel, following a week in which three boardings disrupted more than 2,000 pounds. She returned to Balboa for a routine port call on January 22. On February 3, 2013, Capt. Michael L. Elliot, commander of Destroyer Squadron 1, relieved the executive officer, Cmdr. James M. Pickens, for loss of confidence. USS GARY returned to Balboa again on February 6, and on February 23 retrieved more than 1,100 pounds of cocaine after interdicting another go-fast vessel roughly 300 miles off Colombia. After another Balboa stop on March 1 for fuel and supplies, she returned to San Diego on April 5, 2013, after a six-month Operation Martillo deployment credited with nine interdictions and disruptions resulting in seizures of more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine. The remainder of 2013 mixed local operations and focused law-enforcement training: she got underway for local operations on June 17, conducted joint training with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team 101 from August 26 to August 29, conducted a task group exercise from October 7 to October 11, and on November 22, 2013, Cmdr. Steven R. McDowell relieved Cmdr. Brown.

On June 10, 2014, USS GARY departed San Diego for RIMPAC 2014 and, on June 22, an embarked MH-60S helicopter medically evacuated Norwegian Air Force Capt. Kristofer Pedersen from HNoMS FRIDTJOF NANSEN to USS PELELIU for emergency surgery, an example of routine coalition mutual support during large-scale at-sea periods. USS GARY arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 25 for the in-port phase, got underway for the at-sea phase on July 9, and returned to San Diego in August 2014. On September 24, 2014, she departed San Diego for her final deployment, embarking HSL-49 Detachment 4 and continuing counter transnational organized crime operations. She made a brief refueling stop at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, on October 3, and then entered a long sequence of interdiction operations in the eastern Pacific: on October 16 she retrieved more than 2,100 pounds of cocaine after interdicting a vessel; on November 9 she disrupted a shipment of 1,150 pounds; on November 17 she and the embarked Coast Guard law enforcement detachment disrupted 1,300 pounds after interdicting a go-fast vessel; and in December she was credited with seizing more than 3,600 pounds.

That interdiction pace continued into 2015. On January 11, 2015, USS GARY seized more than 700 pounds of cocaine after interdicting a go-fast vessel, and on February 10, 2015, she interdicted a shipment of more than 143 kilograms of cocaine. In early March 2015, operating in international waters off Central America, USS GARY - working in coordination with USCGC BOUTWELL and HMCS WHITEHORSE - intercepted a suspected narcotics-trafficking merchant vessel and was credited with a seizure estimated at more than 5,200 kilograms of cocaine. This operation was described in official reporting as the largest seizure in the eastern Pacific since 2009 and as the ship's tenth successful interdiction since October 2014. On April 17, 2015, USS GARY returned to San Diego after nearly seven months deployed to U.S. Fourth Fleet waters. She then completed post-deployment ordnance logistics, mooring at Berth 5, Pier 1 on May 22 after a four-day underway period that included ammunition offload support at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. On July 23, 2015, USS GARY held her decommissioning ceremony at Pier 1 in San Diego. On August 5, 2015, she was officially decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, and on September 16, 2015, the ex-USS GARY departed San Diego under tow by USNS NAVAJO (T-ATF 169) for transit to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she entered the inactive-ship pipeline while preparations for transfer progressed.

Her service continued under a new flag as part of Taiwan's program to modernize and expand its surface fleet. After preparations in the United States that culminated in an ocean transit beginning on March 13, 2017, the former USS GARY arrived at Zuoying Military Harbor on May 13, 2017, together with the former USS TAYLOR (FFG 50) as the two ships entered Republic of China Navy custody. On November 8, 2018, Taiwan held a commissioning ceremony at Zuoying for the pair, and the former USS GARY entered service as ROCS FENG JIA (PFG 1115).

The photos below were taken by me and show the GARY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif, on March 10, 2008.

The photo below was taken by Thomas Heinrich and shows the GARY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif, on March 21, 2009.

The photos below were taken by me and show the GARY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif, on September 29, 2011. Note the platform for the Mk 38 Mod. 2 gun above the former Mk 13 missile launcher.

The photos below were taken by me and show the GARY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif, on May 8, 2012.

The photos below were taken by me and show the GARY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif, on October 3, 2012. The last two photos show her departing San Diego one day later for a scheduled deployment in support of Counter Transnational Organized Crime (C-TOC) operations in the U.S. 4th Fleet AoR.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: December 18, 1982
	Christened: November 19, 1983
	Commissioned: November 17, 1984
	Decommissioned: August 5, 2015
	Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards Co., Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, Ca.
	Propulsion system: two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, two 350 Horsepower Electric Drive Auxiliary Propulsion Units
	Propellers: one
	Blades on each Propeller: five
	Length: 453 feet (135.9 meters)
	Beam: 45 feet (13.5 meters)
	Draft: 24,6 feet (7.5 meters)
	Displacement: 4,100 tons
	Speed: 28+ knots
	Aircraft: two SH-60 Sea Hawk (LAMPS 3)
	Armament: one Mk 75 76mm/62 caliber rapid firing gun, MK 32 ASW torpedo tubes (two triple mounts), one Phalanx CIWS, one Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm machine gun system
	Crew: 17 Officers and 198 Enlisted

Period	Homeport
commissioned at Long Beach, Calif.
1984 - 1992	Long Beach, Calif.
1992 - 1999	San Diego, Calif.
1999 - 2007	Yokosuka, Japan
2007 - 2015	San Diego, Calif.