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USS Indianapolis (LCS 17)

USS INDIANAPOLIS is the 9th ship of the FREEDOM-class littoral combat ships and the fourth ship in the Navy named for the city of Indianapolis.

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Crew List:

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

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USS INDIANAPOLIS History:

USS INDIANAPOLIS is the ninth ship of the FREEDOM-class littoral combat ships and the fourth U.S. Navy ship named for the city of Indianapolis, continuing a lineage that includes the World War II heavy cruiser USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA 35). She was conceived as a fast, modular small surface combatant optimized for operations in coastal waters and regional seas, with a steel monohull, aluminum superstructure and a mission-bay concept intended to support surface warfare, mine countermeasures and other roles. Her construction began at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin, where on July 18, 2016, the Navy held the keel authentication ceremony. On that date, ship sponsor Jill Donnelly, wife of senator Joe Donnelly, authenticated the keel in a traditional ceremony that formally marked the start of the ship's modular hull construction.

As hull sections were assembled under the evolving FREEDOM-variant design, the future INDIANAPOLIS gradually took shape inside an enclosed assembly building on the Menominee River. On March 30, 2018, the pre-commissioning unit was rolled out of the building for the first time, placed on self-propelled modular transporters, turned 180 degrees on land and positioned at the riverside launch area, a key step in preparing her for entry into the water.

On April 14, 2018, INDIANAPOLIS was christened at Marinette during a morning ceremony at which Jill Donnelly served as sponsor. Four days later, on April 18, after a weather delay, the ship was launched for the first time into the Menominee River. From that point, she entered a lengthy fitting-out period alongside at Marinette, during which shipyard workers and Navy teams installed and tested propulsion equipment, combat systems, communications gear and mission-bay infrastructure while the crew began forming and training around the new hull.

Sea trials on Lake Michigan followed in 2019. On May 18, 2019, INDIANAPOLIS left the Marinette shipyard for the first time to conduct builder's (Alpha) trials, evaluating basic shiphandling, propulsion performance and integrated systems at sea. She made additional one-day underways on June 12 and June 19, the latter serving as formal acceptance trials before the Board of Inspection and Survey, which assessed her readiness for delivery. With those events successfully completed, the Navy accepted delivery of the future USS INDIANAPOLIS on July 26, 2019, during a short ceremony aboard the ship at Marinette. In September, the crew commenced the "crew move aboard" process, gradually shifting from shore-side spaces into the ship while continuing final preparations, and the ship went to sea again from October 15-16 for additional underway training and systems checks before leaving the Great Lakes for good.

On October 19, 2019, pre-commissioning unit INDIANAPOLIS, with Crew 118 (Blue) under commander Colin J. Kane, departed Marinette for the last time. After a brief stop off Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, on October 20, she continued to the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan, mooring at Berth 9 on October 21 for an eight-day visit in preparation for her commissioning. On October 26, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. local time, USS INDIANAPOLIS (LCS 17) was commissioned at Burns Harbor, becoming an active unit of the fleet and the fourth Navy ship to bear the name. The ceremony, held in Indiana rather than at a coastal base, symbolically linked the new ship to her inland namesake and the state's naval heritage.

Immediately after commissioning, the ship began her transit from the Great Lakes to her Atlantic homeport. Just after midnight on October 30 she passed eastbound through the Strait of Mackinac, then later that day transited the Detroit River. She moored at Dock 28W in Cleveland, Ohio, from October 31 to November 1, offering tours to local residents and emphasizing the Navy's practice of using new ships to engage inland communities. On November 2, she transited the Welland Canal, descending from Lake Erie toward Lake Ontario. On November 4, INDIANAPOLIS moored at Wharf 22 in Quebec, Canada, for a four-day visit, then sailed down the St. Lawrence and reached Canadian Forces Base Halifax, Nova Scotia, mooring at HMC Dockyard Jetty NB3 from November 12-14. From November 15-21 she lay alongside Pier 6N at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, a major U.S. submarine hub, before heading south. After a brief stop off Mayport on November 25, she moored at Wharf C1 at Naval Station Mayport on November 26, 2019, for the first time, officially establishing Mayport as her homeport.

Early operations from Mayport began almost immediately. On December 9, 2019, INDIANAPOLIS went to sea again and then headed north for integrated training, mooring at Naval Station Norfolk from December 11-12 at Berth 4, Pier 12, and again from December 13-14 at Berth 2, Pier 1. These visits supported combat-systems qualification and fleet integration in the Virginia Capes operating area. On December 17, she returned to Mayport, mooring at Wharf B1 to close out her first year in commission.

Through 2020, the ship focused on shakedown, combat-systems testing and post-shakedown maintenance. On January 27, 2020, USS INDIANAPOLIS (Blue) moored at Wharf B3 at Mayport after a three-day underway period in the Jacksonville operating area. She sailed again on February 13, routing north to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, where she moored at Pier 13N from February 15-19 for a four-day port call while preparing for Combat Systems Ship's Qualification Trials in the Virginia Capes. On February 21, she made a brief stop at Lynnhaven Anchorage "B", then moored at Berth 6, Pier 12 at Naval Station Norfolk on February 26. Two days later, she shifted into the magnetic-treatment facility at Lambert's Point for deperming, a process that reduces a ship's magnetic signature to lower vulnerability to magnetic mines, and on March 3 she conducted degaussing runs to calibrate her onboard magnetic-signature control system.

On March 5, 2020, INDIANAPOLIS made a brief logistics stop at Mayport, mooring at Wharf C2 before shifting to Wharf C1 the next day. After a short pier-side period, she conducted a brief underway on April 15, followed by another underway from April 16-19 for further combat-systems and shiphandling training. On May 29, she moored at Wharf E2 after a two-day local underway, then sailed again on June 3 and returned to Wharf C1 on June 4. A further short underway followed from June 15-16, and on June 29 she operated in the Virginia Capes area for SeaRAM missile testing, validating the ship's point-defense weapon system against target profiles representative of modern anti-ship threats.

On July 1, 2020, LCS 17 moored at Quay Wall West at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, then shifted the same day to the Dogleg Berth. She sailed again on July 2 for additional trials and, after returning to the Dogleg Berth, remained there from July 5-12. On July 18, she returned to Mayport, mooring at Wharf C1, then moved to Wharf B1 on July 20, to Wharf C2 on July 28 for a brief ammunition offload, and finally to Wharf F1 on July 31 in preparation for a major maintenance period. On August 4, USS INDIANAPOLIS was moved "dead-stick" from Mayport to a floating dry dock at BAE Systems' Jacksonville shipyard for her post-shakedown availability, during which yard workers and Navy teams corrected deficiencies found during shakedown and incorporated early-life upgrades. She undocked on October 29 and moored pierside at BAE Systems to complete the availability alongside.

After completion of PSA, the ship returned to regular operations in 2021. On March 23, 2021, USS INDIANAPOLIS (Blue) moored at Wharf C2 at Mayport after a brief underway off the Florida coast, then conducted sea trials from March 25-26 and again on March 30 to verify system performance following the yard period. She shifted to Wharf C1 on April 1, then to Wharf D2 on May 7, before moving back to Wharf C1 on June 23. Through late July and early August, she conducted further underways out of Mayport, including periods around July 21-22 and August 5, and a one-day underway on August 18, advancing her readiness profile. On September 21, she shifted from Wharf C1 to Wharf C2 for a brief ammunition onload, then returned to sea on November 30 and moored at Wharf B3 on December 2. She ended the year by returning to Wharf C1 on December 9.

Crew rotation and deployment preparation accelerated in 2022. On January 8, 2022, rotational LCS Crew 212 (Gold), commanded by commander Joseph B. Mitzen, formally assumed command of USS INDIANAPOLIS during a crew-exchange ceremony aboard the ship. On January 19, she moored at Wharf C1 after a one-day underway in the Jacksonville operating area, then sailed again on January 21. From January 24-26 she moored at the Dogleg Berth at Little Creek-Fort Story, reflecting continued integration with amphibious and expeditionary forces. On February 3, she moored at Berth 2, Pier 5 in Norfolk after operating in the Virginia Capes, shifted to Berth 5, Pier 4 on February 4, and went to sea again on March 8. From March 10-14 she lay alongside Pier 14S at Little Creek-Fort Story.

Returning to Mayport, INDIANAPOLIS moored at Wharf E1 on March 18, moved to Wharf E2 on March 23, to Wharf C2 on June 7, back to Wharf E2 on June 9 and to Wharf C1 on September 27, reflecting internal base movements while the crew completed certification events. She shifted to Wharf E2 on October 2 and to Wharf C2 on October 18. On October 20, she returned from a one-day underway in the Jacksonville operating area to Wharf E2, then sailed again on October 24 and moored at Wharf A2 on October 25. On November 4, rotational LCS Crew 112 (Blue), commanded by commander Larry R. Ford Jr., took over the ship during another crew-exchange ceremony. Three days later, on November 7, INDIANAPOLIS moved from Alpha Wharf to Wharf C1. Later in November and December, she spent extended periods at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, moored at Pier 17N from late November to early December and again from December 14-17, before returning to Mayport on December 19.

By early 2023, the ship was ready for extended operations. On February 14, 2023, USS INDIANAPOLIS moored at Wharf C1 after a one-day underway out of Mayport. On March 6, 2023, she departed Naval Station Mayport on her maiden deployment with the Blue crew, commanded by commander Matthew D. Arndt, and with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Detachment 10, embarked. Her initial movements took her through the Caribbean: on March 14 she moored at Berth 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a five-day liberty visit, underscoring her connection to U.S. 4th Fleet and regional engagement. During this Caribbean leg, she conducted a replenishment at sea with USNS KANAWHA (T-AO 196), demonstrating her ability to sustain operations away from port.

By early April 2023, INDIANAPOLIS had crossed the Atlantic to Europe. From April 3-5 she moored at Berth 3, Pier 1 at Naval Station Rota in Spain, a key logistics hub for U.S. 6th Fleet, then transited the Strait of Gibraltar eastbound on April 5 and the Strait of Sicily on April 8, entering the central Mediterranean. On April 9, she made a brief refueling stop at the NATO fuel pier in Augusta Bay, Italy, before continuing to Souda Bay, Crete. There she moored at Berth K14 from April 12 into May for emergent repairs, using the well-equipped facility at Souda Bay to correct technical issues discovered early in deployment while remaining within theater.

In early May 2023, the ship transited the Suez Canal southbound, entering the Red Sea and the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. On May 23, she conducted a passing exercise in the northern Red Sea with the Egyptian frigate ENS ALEXANDRIA (F911), practicing communications, maneuvering and interoperability with a regional navy. Later in May, she moored at Aqaba Naval Base in Jordan for a port visit supporting U.S. Central Command's partnerships in the northern Red Sea. By this stage of the deployment, USS INDIANAPOLIS had effectively transitioned from 4th Fleet to 6th Fleet and then into 5th Fleet, reflecting the Navy's use of the ship for multi-theater presence.

In June 2023, rotational LCS Crew 212 (Gold), commanded by commander Matthew Appleton, assumed command of the ship during a crew-exchange ceremony while she was moored at Tanker Berth 10 in the port of Djibouti. INDIANAPOLIS then remained pierside in Djibouti for approximately two months, conducting emergent repairs and maintenance while forward-deployed. She departed Djibouti in August and re-entered routine 5th Fleet operations. By mid-September 2023, she had shifted to Mina Salman Port in Manama, Bahrain, mooring at Berth 7 for a crew-exchange, then moving to Berth 13 on September 19. She got underway again on October 22 and later moored at Hamad Port, Qatar, underscoring her role in routine Gulf patrols and partner-nation port visits.

During the autumn of 2023, INDIANAPOLIS became a central platform in the Navy's experimentation with unmanned systems. On November 21, 2023, she departed Manama under the Blue crew to support exercise Digital Talon 2.0 in the central Arabian Gulf with Task Force 59, the Navy's first unmanned and artificial-intelligence task force. On November 27, in international waters of the central Gulf, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command used USS INDIANAPOLIS as a staging base and command center for multiple unmanned surface vessels and an unmanned aerial vehicle during live-fire events, demonstrating "manned-unmanned teaming" against a target boat. On November 29, she moored at Quay 9 in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, for a liberty visit to Dubai, after transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In December, she moored at the Navy terminal in Duqm, Oman, for another crew exchange, remaining there until December 27.

On January 1, 2024, USS INDIANAPOLIS (Gold) moored again at Quay 9 in Jebel Ali for a routine visit, returned briefly on January 8 for refueling and then stayed once more from January 11-14. These repeated Jebel Ali calls reflected her use as a forward-deployed 5th Fleet asset cycling through a major regional logistics hub. On March 14, 2024, she moored at Berth 2, East Wharf in Karachi, Pakistan, for a three-day visit, reinforcing naval ties with the Pakistani Navy and signaling continued U.S. presence in the northern Arabian Sea, before returning to Mina Salman Port in Bahrain on April 4. On May 15, rotational LCS Crew 112 (Blue) again assumed command of USS INDIANAPOLIS during a crew-exchange ceremony in the pilot house at Manama, while the Gold crew returned to Mayport on May 16 after what Navy releases described as a historic six-month deployment to the 5th Fleet area, then the longest such deployment for a FREEDOM-variant LCS crew.

In mid-2024, the ship continued intensive Gulf operations. On July 23, she shifted from Berth 13 to Berth 7 at Mina Salman, then sailed on July 24 for routine training in the Arabian Gulf before returning to Berth 13 on August 2. In September, she departed Manama and transited the Suez Canal northbound in early October, returning toward the Mediterranean after an extended period in 5th Fleet. During this northbound movement, USS INDIANAPOLIS became the first littoral combat ship to experience and respond to high-end combat. From September 25-27, 2024, while operating as part of a surface action group with the guided-missile destroyers USS STOCKDALE (DDG 106) and USS SPRUANCE (DDG 111) off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea during a northbound Bab el-Mandeb transit, the three ships were targeted by several salvos of one-way unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. Over the course of the multi-day attacks, U.S. reports indicate that the ships collectively detected, engaged and defeated roughly two dozen incoming threats, with no hits recorded on the U.S. vessels and no U.S. casualties. Subsequent Navy documentation and public reporting note that USS INDIANAPOLIS executed dynamic kinetic responses during these engagements and that her crew received the Combat Action Ribbon for actions between September 25 and September 27, 2024, making her the first LCS to be recognized as "combat-tested".

After clearing the Red Sea, INDIANAPOLIS continued into the Mediterranean. On October 5, 2024, she made a brief refueling stop at Berth K12, East Refueling Wharf, in Souda Bay, Greece, then proceeded to the Adriatic. From October 8-24, she underwent emergent repairs at the Viktor Lenac shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia, moored at Berth 3, addressing material issues accumulated over the long deployment and the recent combat environment. After completion of this work, she transited the Strait of Gibraltar westbound and headed back across the Atlantic. On November 26, 2024, USS INDIANAPOLIS moored at Wharf C2 at Naval Station Mayport, concluding a nearly twenty-one-month deployment that had taken her through the U.S. 5th, 6th and related fleet areas of responsibility, with repeated crew exchanges and sustained forward presence. On December 17, she shifted berths within Mayport from Charlie Wharf to Wharf E3, entering a post-deployment period of maintenance and reset.

In the aftermath of the Red Sea engagements, the Navy accelerated lethality upgrades on the FREEDOM-class ships. By January 2025, open reporting described USS INDIANAPOLIS as among the first LCS hulls equipped with an upgraded surface-to-surface missile module using vertically oriented Longbow Hellfire missiles not only against small craft but also against unmanned aerial threats, with installation work completed while she was deployed in 5th Fleet and supported by facilities in Bahrain. This change reflected the lessons of 2023-2024 in the Gulf and Red Sea, where drones and cruise missiles had become central threats to surface combatants.

Leadership continued to rotate as the ship remained active. On September 10, 2025, at South Quay Wall in Mayport, commander Timothy J. Orth relieved commander Matthew D. Arndt as commanding officer of USS INDIANAPOLIS during a change-of-command ceremony, closing a period in which Arndt and successive crews had taken the ship from her maiden deployment through an extended forward presence and combat operations in the Red Sea.

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