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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia History Image Gallery to end of page |  |
USS JACKSON is the third INDEPENDENCE - class Littoral Combat Ship and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name of the capital of Mississippi.
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: December 29, 2010 |
| Keel laid: October 18, 2012 | |
| Launched: December 14, 2013 | |
| Commissioned: December 5, 2015 | |
| Builder: Austal USA, Mobile, Ala. | |
| Propulsion system: two LM2500 gas turbine engines, two diesel engines, four waterjets | |
| Length: 418 feet (127.5 meters) | |
| Beam: 104 feet (31.5 meters) | |
| Draft: 13 feet (4 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 3,104 tons full load | |
| Speed: 47 knots | |
| Armament: one Mk-110 57mm gun, two Mk-50 33mm guns, one SeaRAM CIWS | |
| Aircraft: two MH-60 helicopters | |
| Homeport: San Diego, Calif. | |
| Crew: 8 officers, 32 enlisted (two crews, a gold and a blue one) and up to 35 mission crew |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS JACKSON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageUSS JACKSON History:
USS JACKSON entered the Navy's rolls as the INDEPENDENCE-variant trimaran ordered from Austal USA under the December 29, 2010 block-buy, named for the city of Jackson, Mississippi on March 25, 2011. First aluminum was cut at Mobile on August 2, 2011; the keel was authenticated on October 18, 2012 by ship's sponsor Dr. Katherine Holmes Cochran. Launched at Mobile on December 14, 2013 and christened on March 22, 2014, JACKSON completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico on June 26, 2015 and was delivered to the Navy at Mobile on August 11, 2015. She commissioned at Gulfport, Mississippi on December 5, 2015 before shifting to Navy custody for follow-on testing and fleet introduction.
In 2016, JACKSON executed the Navy's Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST) off Florida to validate the INDEPENDENCE-variant's survivability. The first of three detonations occurred on June 10, the second on June 22, and the third on July 16; each event used a 10,000-pound charge at progressively shorter stand-off ranges while roughly 260 sensors recorded responses throughout the ship. Post-trial assessments reported the seaframe performed well and returned to port under own power. As planned at delivery, JACKSON operated from Naval Station Mayport during FSST and post-trial work before joining her San Diego homeport with LCSRON-1 later in 2016.
Following shock-related inspections and corrective actions, JACKSON completed Final Contract Trials on May 19, 2017 in the Southern California operations area. She then entered a Post-Shakedown Availability at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair later in 2017, a period of industrial work and upgrades that extended into 2018 as the INDEPENDENCE-variant configuration matured. Routine local operations, certifications and crew training continued through 2019-2020 in the San Diego area. On June 19, 2020 the Blue Crew held a change-of-command aboard the ship at Naval Base San Diego.
JACKSON departed San Diego for her first Western Pacific deployment on July 11, 2021, employing the LCS dual-crew model and forward maintenance support to remain away from homeport throughout the deployment. During the fall, she operated with allied and partner navies; notably, JACKSON and sister ship TULSA (LCS 16) sailed with the German frigate FGS BAYERN (F 217) in the Philippine Sea and hosted BAYERN sailors at Guam in October. Across late 2021 and early 2022 the ship supported Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI) tasking and other Seventh Fleet operations with forward logistics hubs in Guam, Hawaii and Singapore.
In Southeast Asia during 2022, JACKSON made a scheduled engagement in Brunei by mid-January. On April 20 she conducted integrated flight operations with the MQ-8C FIRE SCOUT unmanned helicopter from HSC-23, reflecting the LCS aviation/surface warfare package. The ship arrived in Singapore on May 2 for logistics and theater engagement, then participated in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand beginning May 23 under U.S. Seventh Fleet and DESRON-7 tasking. In September, JACKSON crossed the South Pacific to French Polynesia, arriving at Papeete, Tahiti on September 20 and concluding the port visit on September 24 as part of sustained presence operations across Oceania.
JACKSON returned to Naval Base San Diego from her initial deployment on October 15, 2022. Shortly thereafter she integrated with U.S. Marine Corps and joint forces during exercise Steel Knight 23 in Southern California in December, working alongside unmanned systems and expeditionary elements - a period that also coincided with LCS lethality enhancements, including the class-wide fielding of the Naval Strike Missile on INDEPENDENCE-variant hulls.
In 2023 JACKSON deployed again for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief cooperation during PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2023. Over a four-month embarkation she supported mission stops in Fiji and Samoa alongside the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Royal Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy, and operated in company at times with USS PEARL HARBOR (LSD 52). She returned to San Diego on October 6, 2023, then shifted pier-side to Broadway Pier for Fleet Week San Diego beginning November 7 to host public tours and community outreach.
As LCS manning concepts evolved, JACKSON transitioned from the Blue/Gold dual-crew to a single-crew model in 2023. On July 19, 2024, Cmdr. Michael Winslow was relieved by Cmdr. John "Nick" Van Wagoner during a change-of-command ceremony in the ship's hangar bay at Naval Base San Diego, with LCSRON-1 leadership presiding - formal continuity for the ship's ongoing Southern California training and maintenance cycle.
As of 2025, JACKSON remains active with LCSRON-1 in San Diego, conducting readiness training, certifications, and regional engagement consistent with Third and Seventh Fleet tasking, with the ship's public-facing command pages and recent Navy imagery reflecting continued operations and community interface.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS JACKSON Image Gallery:
The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JACKSON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 6, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JACKSON at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair for a Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) on October 11, 2017.
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The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the JACKSON at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair for a Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) on November 10, 2017.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JACKSON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JACKSON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 2, 2019.
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The photo below was taken by me and shows USS JACKSON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on July 26, 2024.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS JACKSON departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 15, 2024.
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