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USS Montgomery (LCS 8)

USS MONTGOMERY is the fourth INDEPENDENCE - class Littoral Combat Ship and the fourth ship in the Navy to bear the name of the capital of Alabama.

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Crew List:

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

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Accidents aboard USS MONTGOMERY:

Date	Where	Events
September 13, 2016	Gulf of Mexico	USS MONTGOMERY suffers two unrelated engine casualties while proceeding from Mobile, Alabama, to her homeport of San Diego, Calif. The first casualty of the day was caused by a seawater leak in the hydraulic cooling system. A few hours later, the ship suffered a casualty to one of its gas turbine engines. AS a result, the MONTGOMERY was diverted to Mayport, Fla., for repairs.
October 4, 2016	Naval Station Mayport, Fla.	USS MONTGOMERY is hit hard by a tug while she is getting underway from Mayport to avoid Hurricane Matthew. The collision causes a foot-long crack on the starboard side of MONTGOMERY's hull approx. three feet above the waterline. Five strakes were also bent. After temporary repairs, the MONTGOMERY left Mayport and later proceeded to Naval Base Norfolk, Va. The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 12, 2016. The location of the repaired collision damage is the painted-over area on the aft lower hull.
October 29, 2016	Panama Canal	While enroute to her homeport San Diego, Calif., the USS MONTGOMERY collides with the wall of a lock in the Panama Canal. At the time of the collision, the ship had a Panama Canal Pilot on board. MONTGOMERY suffered an 18-inch-long crack between her port quarter and transom plates.

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USS MONTGOMERY History:

USS MONTGOMERY was built by Austal USA at Mobile, Alabama, to the INDEPENDENCE-variant trimaran design. Her keel authentication took place on June 25, 2013, the ship floated off the construction berth and was launched on August 6, 2014, and she was christened at Austal on November 8, 2014 with Mary Blackshear Sessions as sponsor. After completing acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2016, the ship was delivered to the U.S. Navy at Mobile on June 24, 2016 and commissioned there on September 10, 2016. The Navy assigned MONTGOMERY to LCS Squadron ONE with a San Diego homeport plan that would take her around Florida, through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal, and across the Pacific to California.

During the post-commissioning transit in the Western Atlantic, MONTGOMERY suffered two unrelated engineering casualties within about 24 hours on September 13, 2016, prompting a logistics pause and subsequent routing to Mayport for assessment. While sortieing from Mayport to avoid Hurricane Matthew, she was struck by a tug and suffered a crack in the hull plating on October 4, 2016. Temporary repairs permitted the deployment to continue. On October 29, 2016, while transiting southbound through the Gatun and Pedro Miguel locks of the Panama Canal under a Canal Pilot, the ship lightly contacted a lock wall and sustained an additional crack between the port quarter and transom plates. The casualty did not compromise watertight integrity and was addressed by repair teams alongside. With repairs complete and the transit resumed, MONTGOMERY crossed into the Pacific, arriving at her new homeport of Naval Base San Diego on November 8, 2016, thus completing her maiden voyage from Mobile.

With construction complete but pre-deployment work still to finish, MONTGOMERY entered Post-Shakedown Availability in San Diego. She docked at BAE Systems' ship repair facility on May 19, 2017, for PSA work that incorporated trial-card fixes and early modernization items for the INDEPENDENCE variant. In parallel, the Program Office executed the class's final builder-responsibility milestone when MONTGOMERY successfully completed Final Contract Trials on March 17, 2017. The PSA then continued through mid-2017 with additional dry-dock periods and topside alterations, including work on forward mooring stations documented at the end of July. Coming out of PSA, the ship began a progressive work-up path across 2018 that included Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT) events in the Southern California Operating Areas. The ship executed live-fire validations - among them employment of the Mk 110 57 mm gun and SeaRAM - and completed CSSQT on July 16, 2018, certifying combat systems for deployment.

In early 2019, the crew shifted from integration and systems checks to a full tactical work-up. MONTGOMERY became the first LCS to complete the Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) phase, finishing on April 30, 2019 with Warfare Tactics Instructors evaluating sensors-to-weapons performance, kill-chain timelines, and multi-ship tactics alongside embarked HSC-23 aviation detachments. With Blue/Gold crew rotations established, the ship quietly departed San Diego in late May for her first Western Pacific deployment. After an en-route fuel and logistics stop at Pearl Harbor on June 7, 2019, she continued across the Central Pacific and made her first deployment port call to the Philippines at Davao City from June 29 to July 1, 2019, hosting local officials and youth groups and participating in community-relations events before weighing anchor.

After the Mindanao visit, MONTGOMERY proceeded to Singapore, arriving July 6, 2019 to stage with Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific and DESRON SEVEN for a sequence of Southeast Asia exercises. The first was CARAT Indonesia 2019: MONTGOMERY and USCGC STRATTON (WMSL 752) arrived July 31, 2019 at Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, and the exercise formally opened August 1, 2019. The sea phase commenced August 4, 2019 in the Java Sea, with integrated events alongside TNI-AL units including KRI SULTAN ISKANDAR MUDA (367). CARAT Indonesia concluded at Surabaya on August 7, 2019, marking the 25th iteration of the series and the 70th anniversary year of U.S.-Indonesia diplomatic relations.

The ship then shifted northwest for MTA Malaysia 2019. MONTGOMERY entered Lumut Naval Base on August 13, 2019 for the in-port phase, operating alongside the Royal Malaysian Navy and, uniquely for that year's MTA, U.S. Coast Guard and USNS SALVOR (T-ARS 52) plus USNS MILLINOCKET (T-EPF 3) for diving, maritime interdiction, and at-sea maneuvering drills. A closing ceremony at Lumut on August 18, 2019 capped the engagement. After Singapore logistics, the ship proceeded to the Gulf of Thailand to join the first ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX). From September 2-6, 2019, MONTGOMERY operated with USS WAYNE E. MEYER (DDG 108) and maritime forces from all ten ASEAN states. On September 4, 2019, she participated in a photo exercise that formed an international diamond with HTMS KRABI (OPV 551), UMS KYANSITTHA (F 12), and other regional ships - paired with VBSS and information-sharing events that anchored the exercise's interoperability aims.

In October the ship turned to CARAT Brunei 2019. Ashore events opened at Muara on October 28, 2019, with VBSS workshops that included the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and Police. At sea on October 29, 2019, MONTGOMERY and USNS MILLINOCKET maneuvered with KDB DARULAMAN (OPV 08) and KDB SYAFAAT (19) in the South China Sea. A notable first occurred when the MQ-8B FIRE SCOUT unmanned helicopter (operated with HSC-23) conducted surveillance support to CARAT Brunei - the first FIRE SCOUT participation in an Indo-Pacific exercise - demonstrating the LCS aviation detachment's evolving role in maritime domain awareness.

MONTGOMERY continued presence operations through late 2019, including multinational MTA Sama Sama 2019 centered on Puerto Princesa, Palawan, October 14-21, 2019. The activity, which for the first time included Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force participation, paired the ship with U.S. and Philippine units and regional partners for sea control, search-and-rescue, and MIO scenarios that underlined alliance commitments amid South China Sea tensions. The ship remained with Seventh Fleet into 2020 and, on January 25, 2020, conducted a presence operation in the Spratly Islands area, with Navy public affairs imagery highlighting the sortie through the South China Sea while embarked aircraft executed surveillance and the crew drilled maritime security boarding procedures.

As pandemic restrictions reshaped exercise schedules in spring 2020, MONTGOMERY continued independent steaming and bilateral interoperability events. On May 7, 2020, she operated with USNS CESAR CHAVEZ (T-AKE 14) and an embarked MH-60S near the Malaysian drillship WEST CAPELLA in the South China Sea - part of a period of maritime security patrols and presence operations supporting freedom of navigation and the lawful rights of coastal states to develop offshore resources. With the mission set complete, the ship crossed the Pacific and returned to Naval Base San Diego on June 10, 2020, concluding a roughly 12-month Western Pacific deployment that included six strategic port visits and five multilateral/bilateral exercises.

Following the post-deployment maintenance period, MONTGOMERY's crews rotated for sustainment and certification in 2021. The Gold Crew completed a change of command on February 12, 2021, with the ship "coming out of a long maintenance period" and preparing for TYCOM Sea Trials, a standard readiness gate to re-enter operations after deep maintenance. In 2022, the ship figured in a class milestone: on May 12, 2022, while at sea in the Pacific, MONTGOMERY launched an AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire from the Surface-to-Surface Missile Module against a land-based target in a proof-of-concept event, demonstrating a new LCS land-attack capability. Later that year, she supported local Navy outreach, mooring at Broadway Pier, San Diego, on November 2, 2022 for STEM Days during San Diego Fleet Week. Routine rotations and upkeep continued into 2023-2024. Documented public events included an LCS-8 change of command at Naval Base San Diego on December 12, 2024.

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USS MONTGOMERY Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 12, 2016. On the second photo the MONTGOMERY is being refueled by USNS PATUXENT (T-AO 201) while both ships are pierside.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 20, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the MONTGOMERY at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair for a Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) on October 11, 2017.

The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 10, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 2, 2019.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base Pearl Harbor, Hi., on June 8, 2019.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 28 and November 29 (aerial photos), 2021.

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

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 29, 2022. Note that the two Mk-50 33mm guns are back on board (aft of the big radomes on the bridge roof). They were missing on the photos from November and December 2021 (see above).

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS MONTGOMERY departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2022.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning on November 5, 2022, during an open ship event aboard USS MONTGOMERY (LCS 8) as part of Fleet Week San Diego, Calif.

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The photos below were taken by me and show the MONTGOMERY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on July 26, 2024.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS MONTGOMERY departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 15, 2024.

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