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USS Wichita (LCS 13)

USS WICHITA is the seventh FREEDOM - class Littoral Combat Ship and the third ship in the Navy named after the largest city in Kansas. Since commissioning, WICHITA has been designated as the training ship for Mine Division Two Two, responsible for training MCM variant LCS crews at sea.

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Crew List:

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

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The partition of field of the shield (Gyronny) and the Zia Sun are properties from the flag of the City of Wichita. The anchor is the principal element of the design, symbolizing the United States Navy. The buffalo skulls call to mind the Native American Wichita (Quivira) tribe that hunted buffalo throughout Kansas and also commemorate the name "WICHITA".

The Crest:

The torse or wreath take the first metal and color from the shield. The buffalo skull is symbolic of the Wichita Native Americans who were known to display tattoos with solid and dotted lines and circles. In tandem with the two other buffalo skulls, the represent LCS 13 as the third commissioned U.S. Navy ship to bear the name and pay homage to the City of Wichita. The wheat stalks depict the main crop of Kansas and the vigor of the City and its residents. The feathers represent Wichita's long history and rich heritage of Native American tribes.

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USS WICHITA History:

USS WICHITA's construction began at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin, with the keel laying on February 9, 2015. She was christened and launched on September 17, 2016, sponsored by Kate Lehrer. After fitting-out and trials preparation on the Great Lakes, WICHITA completed acceptance trials on Lake Michigan in July 2018 and was formally delivered to the U.S. Navy on August 22, 2018. She departed Marinette in October 2018 to begin the multi-lock, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence transit to the Atlantic and her future homeport. Commissioned at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, on January 12, 2019, the ship joined LCS Squadron TWO as a FREEDOM-variant littoral combat ship configured to support surface warfare, intelligence/surveillance, and mine countermeasures mission packages as assigned. Post-commissioning, WICHITA conducted shakedown and local operations out of Mayport during 2019, qualifying crew watch teams and exercising the ship control, aviation, and boat operations core to the LCS concept. In parallel, SURFLANT designated WICHITA to support Mine Division Two Two training at sea, aligning the ship's early at-sea periods with fleet mine warfare readiness and the growing LCS mine countermeasures enterprise.

During 2020, WICHITA's operational activity remained centered on the Western Atlantic and Mayport operating areas due to COVID-19 constraints, but the ship still figured into 4th Fleet's theater integration efforts. On November 4, 2020, while pier-side at Mayport, the ship hosted a ceremony in which the 4th Fleet commander and the Marine Corps Forces, South commander signed the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Maritime Campaign Support Plan, a four-year framework to strengthen Navy-Marine integration in the U.S. Southern Command area.

WICHITA commenced her maiden U.S. 4th Fleet deployment in early 2021. Getting underway from Mayport on February 25, 2021 with the "Sea Knights", HSC-22 Detachment 8, and an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), the ship proceeded into the Caribbean for counter-illicit trafficking and interoperability missions in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South. On April 1, 2021, coordinated with a Dominican Republic maritime patrol aircraft, WICHITA intercepted a go-fast vessel. The embarked helicopter provided overwatch as the ship's small craft and LEDET effected the boarding and detention of three suspects and recovered an estimated 400 kilograms of cocaine. A little over five weeks later, while on routine patrol, the embarked MH-60S again cued a surface intercept that culminated in the detention of three suspected traffickers and the seizure of approximately 289 kilograms of cocaine and other contraband assessed at $12 million. Throughout spring 2021, WICHITA interleaved interdiction patrols with bilateral training to deepen regional partnerships - on April 9, the ship conducted a live-fire exercise with HMJS CORNWALL of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, integrating aviation, surface gunnery, and small-boat events. The deployment also included logistic and maintenance stops in the theater: on May 19-20, 2021, WICHITA was pier-side at Ponce, Puerto Rico, where HSC-22 conducted phase maintenance on an embarked MH-60S. By early July, WICHITA participated in a 4th Fleet maritime training event alongside other deployed FREEDOM-variant LCS, demonstrating multi-ship coordination at sea. The ship returned to Naval Station Mayport on July 8, 2021, her homecoming delayed one day by Tropical Storm Elsa. Over the course of this first deployment, WICHITA assisted in disrupting an estimated 2,367 kilograms of cocaine and removed 26 suspected traffickers, while completing five bilateral maritime exercises with Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Dominican Republic - advancing 4th Fleet's persistent presence and interoperability goals in the Caribbean basin.

Following post-deployment maintenance and holiday stand-down, WICHITA deployed again with 4th Fleet in March 2022, this time with HSC-28 Detachment 6 embarked and a sequence of LEDETs rotating during the cruise. In early May, operating off Santo Domingo, the ship conducted a bilateral maritime interdiction exercise with the Dominican Republic Navy coastal patrol vessel ALTAIR (GC 112) and the Boston Whaler interceptor DUHBE (LI 164), employing the 11-meter RHIB and embarked MH-60S to rehearse detection, approach, and visit/board/search/seizure procedures with a partner nation. Later in May, WICHITA made a port visit to Cartagena, Colombia, coinciding with the "Sail 2022" tall-ships event. While in port, the crew hosted the Colombian Chief of Naval Operations and senior officers aboard to discuss capabilities and U.S.-Colombia maritime cooperation. During the deployment, the ship also conducted deck-landing qualifications with U.S. Army helicopter crews assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo in Honduras, expanding joint aviation interoperability from a small-deck surface combatant. Patrol operations continued through summer and early autumn, with WICHITA, HSC-28 Det. 6, and embarked LEDETs disrupting an estimated 4,520 kilograms of cocaine, removing 20 suspected traffickers from the flow, and executing additional bilateral events with regional partners. WICHITA returned to Mayport on October 21, 2022, having reinforced the Navy-Coast Guard-interagency model that underpins maritime interdiction in the Caribbean.

In 2023, WICHITA entered a maintenance and modernization window reflecting fleetwide corrective actions associated with the FREEDOM-variant's combining gear and propulsion plant reliability. By mid-August 2023, industry-government efforts documented the installation of a new engine and associated fixes, part of the broader program to restore full mission availability and extend service life for deployed FREEDOM-variant hulls. With propulsion reliability measures in place, the ship resumed local operations and workups out of Mayport into 2024, supporting LCS squadron training, type commander evolutions, and periodic detachments for mine warfare training as tasked. Throughout this period, WICHITA continued to feature in SURFLANT and 4th Fleet engagement sequences, including embarkations by Naval Sea Systems Command and fleet staff visitors to showcase LCS capabilities and discuss readiness progress while at Mayport.

The ship remained active into 2025. On June 10, 2025, WICHITA held a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Station Mayport marking the relief of command and continuity of leadership for ongoing operations. In late summer 2025, the ship was photographed underway off the U.S. East Coast near Norfolk, Virginia, during fleet operations - evidence of continued employment beyond Western Hemisphere interdiction patrols. As of late 2025, despite earlier Navy planning proposals that considered early retirements across several FREEDOM-variant hulls, WICHITA continued in commission, homeported at Mayport and assigned to LCSRON TWO, available for Western Atlantic, Caribbean, and interagency missions and for fleet training duties tied to the LCS program's mine warfare training and surface warfare readiness.

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USS WICHITA Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS WICHITA at BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair in Jacksonville, Fla., on October 12, 2023.

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