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USS Mobile (LCS 26)

Austal USA Photo

USS MOBILE is the 13th INDEPENDENCE - class Littoral Combat Ship and the fifth ship in the Navy named for the city in Alabama.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS MOBILE. 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 MOBILE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS MOBILE History:

The INDEPENDENCE-variant littoral combat ship MOBILE was built by Austal USA at Mobile, Alabama. Her keel was laid on December 14, 2018, she was christened in her namesake city on December 7, 2019, launched on January 11, 2020, completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico on September 25, 2020, and was delivered to the Navy on December 9, 2020. She was commissioned during a pier-side ceremony in Mobile on May 22, 2021, with the Blue/Gold rotational manning architecture established under Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One (LCSRON-1). After the ceremony the ship began her homeport transit, arriving at Naval Base San Diego on June 26, 2021, to enter basic phase training and post-delivery workups oriented to surface warfare tasking with an embarked MH-60R detachment from HSM-49. Through the remainder of 2021, the crew executed standard LCS qualification events and certifications in the Southern California (SOCAL) operating areas and alongside in San Diego, including a sponsor's visit on October 13, 2021, as the ship completed initial fleet integration.

In early 2022, MOBILE continued workups and alteration/installation periods in San Diego to complete combat-system enhancements for Pacific employment. A Naval Strike Missile (NSM) two-pack launcher module was fitted, with installation completed on April 8, 2022 at Naval Base San Diego, adding over-the-horizon anti-ship capability to the INDEPENDENCE hull. The ship's Blue Crew executed a change of command aboard at San Diego on July 8, 2022, then both crews continued maintenance, crew exchanges and training evolutions through the summer and autumn. On November 28, 2022, MOBILE got underway up the California coast to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, for a scheduled ship "groom", technical support, and systems maintenance before the ship's forthcoming Western Pacific rotation.

MOBILE began her first Western Pacific/Seventh Fleet rotational deployment in early 2023, sailing from San Diego in February for an east-to-west transit and pre-deployment underway periods in the eastern Pacific with HSM-49, then continued across the Pacific for assignment under Destroyer Squadron 7 (DESRON-7) out of Singapore. By May 2023, the ship was at Changi Naval Base, Singapore, where she hosted official visitors and fleet leadership as one of the visiting warships for IMDEX Asia 2023. The show ran May 3-5, 2023, with shipboard tours and engagement events conducted aboard MOBILE on May 3, 2023. Immediately thereafter, the ship shifted to Thailand for the annual bilateral CARAT/MAREX Thailand 2023 series at Sattahip. The opening took place May 8, 2023, with at-sea and ashore phases through May 15, 2023 focused on maritime domain awareness, boarding procedures, gunnery, and aviation operations alongside the Royal Thai Navy. Later in May, MOBILE crossed to Langkawi, Malaysia, to participate in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition LIMA 2023 (May 23-27, 2023), supporting static displays and senior leader engagements while embarked HSM-49 aircrew conducted outreach and cross-deck demonstrations. Across the summer of 2023, MOBILE remained on station in Southeast Asian waters executing routine patrols, theater security cooperation visits, and logistics calls through Singapore. The Blue Crew conducted another change of command at San Diego on September 8, 2023 while the deployed crew rotation and maintenance construct kept the ship forward under DESRON-7 control.

In early 2024, MOBILE continued operations in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea. On March 3, 2024, she was in Manila, Philippines, for a port visit supporting combined engagements and logistics. Returning to Singapore, MOBILE moored again at Changi Naval Base on April 14, 2024, before re-entering the South China Sea for bilateral and multilateral operations. On April 7, 2024, the ship conducted a four-nation maritime cooperative activity and photo exercise with BRP ANTONIO LUNA (FF 151), HMAS WARRAMUNGA (FFG 152), and JS AKEBONO (DD 108) in the central South China Sea - an event emblematic of growing coordination among Philippine, Australian, Japanese, and U.S. forces during that period. The next day, April 8, 2024, MOBILE executed bilateral at-sea operations with HMAS WARRAMUNGA, including maneuvering, communications drills, and integrated flight operations. On May 22, 2024, the ship conducted a bilateral South China Sea operation with the Royal Netherlands Navy, specifically with HNLMS TROMP (F 803), with logistics supported by USNS WALLY SCHIRRA (T-AKE 8), emphasizing allied interoperability for freedom of navigation and sea-control tasks.

As the deployment progressed into late summer, MOBILE operated in and around the Luzon Strait and the northern South China Sea and continued presence missions. On July 31, 2024, she conducted a Maritime Cooperative Activity with the Philippine Navy's BRP RAMON ALCARAZ (PS 16), emphasizing communications, maneuvering, and maritime domain awareness training. During the deployment's homeward sequence in October, MOBILE operated with other U.S. units in the eastern Pacific, including flight operations in support of a U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue mission on October 19, 2024, and replenishment evolutions while in company with THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) on October 1, 2024. The ship then made her Eastern Pacific return, arriving at Naval Base San Diego on October 25, 2024, concluding a 19-month Seventh Fleet rotation marked by freedom-of-navigation presence, multinational cooperative activities, CARAT/MAREX participation, defense exhibitions support, and repeated port logistics periods at Singapore and in the Philippines under the DESRON-7 forward-rotation model. Post-deployment, the ship entered scheduled repair and maintenance in San Diego in late 2024, as the Navy prepared her for follow-on tasking and availabilities.

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USS MOBILE Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the USS MOBILE at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 28, 2021, and one day later after departure from the Naval Base heading for the Pacific for a 4-day underway.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS MOBILE at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 28, 2021.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the USS MOBILE at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 29, 2022.

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