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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books USS Comstock History Homeports of USS Comstock About the Name "Comstock" Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS COMSTOCK is the fifth ship in the WHIDBEY ISLAND class and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.
| General Characteristics: | Keel laid: October 27, 1986 |
| Launched: January 16, 1988 | |
| Commissioned: February 3, 1990 | |
| Builder: Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, La. | |
| Propulsion system: four Colt Industries 16 Cylinder Diesels | |
| Propellers: two | |
| Length: 610 feet (186 meters) | |
| Beam: 84 feet (25.6 meters) | |
| Draft: 21 feet (6.4 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 16,000 tons full load | |
| Speed: 22 knots | |
| Well deck capacity: four LCAC or 21 LCM-6 (on deck: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP) | |
| Aircraft: none, but two landing spots allow for operation of aircraft as large as the | |
| Crew: Ship: 20 Officers, 25 Chief Petty Officers, 302 Enlisted | |
| Marine Detachment: approx. 400 + approx. 100 surge | |
| Armament: two | |
| Cost: $153 million | |
| Homeport: San Diego, CA |
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 COMSTOCK. 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 COMSTOCK Cruise Books:
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About the Ship's Name:
USS COMSTOCK is the second ship to be named after the Comstock Lode, an early American pioneer mining site near Virginia City, Nevada. The Comstock Lode, founded in 1859, has become indelible in the history of the American West; it produced more than $500,000,000 in gold and silver.
Equally important as the riches the mine produced were the peripheral effects that it had on other industries. To mine the ore, huge hoisting machines, giant pumps, heavy stamps, drills, cables and hundreds of other tools were manufactured. To drain water from underground reservoirs, engineers completed a five- mile tunnel under the floor of the Carson River to the Comstock mine.
Water required for the 40,000 inhabitants of Virginia City and its surrounding area was transported from an artificial lake, Marlette, 30 miles away in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Using pipes that were cast to fit around mountains, tunnels, flumes and a large inverted siphon, the water transportation and distribution system was a considered an engineering marvel during this epochal period.
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History of USS COMSTOCK:
USS COMSTOCK was built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, laid down on October 27, 1986, launched on January 16, 1988, and commissioned on February 3, 1990. After acceptance trials and shakedown, she shifted to her homeport at Naval Base San Diego and began amphibious warfare certifications with embarked Marines, well-deck operations for LCUs and LCACs, and flight-deck qualifications. In the early 1990s, COMSTOCK became the first U.S. Navy combatant to operate with a fully integrated male-and-female crew, a milestone that paralleled service-wide personnel changes following the end of the Cold War.
COMSTOCK's maiden deployment began on May 29, 1991, as part of an amphibious ready group built around the amphibious assault ship USS PELELIU (LHA 5), operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean in the immediate post-Gulf War period. En route across the Pacific she diverted to the Philippines in June to support Operation Fiery Vigil after Mount Pinatubo's major eruption. COMSTOCK entered Subic Bay on June 18, 1991, to assist the large non-combatant evacuation of U.S. personnel and dependents from Luzon. Later in the cruise she continued into the Arabian Gulf for post-ceasefire presence and maritime security associated with the enforcement of U.N. measures on Iraq before returning to San Diego in the fall.
After refresher training and local operations, COMSTOCK deployed again with a WestPac/Indian Ocean rotation in 1993-1994 during the U.N. humanitarian relief and security effort in Somalia. Between October 18, 1993, and late January 1994 she supported operations tied to RESTORE HOPE's transition to CONTINUE HOPE, moving Marines and equipment, conducting well-deck and boat operations off the Somali coast, and standing by for contingency evacuations as the U.N. mission evolved following the October 3-4, 1993 Mogadishu battle. She returned to San Diego in early 1994.
In mid-1995, COMSTOCK deployed with the NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11) Amphibious Ready Group - USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11), USS JUNEAU (LPD 10), USS MOUNT VERNON (LSD 39) - to the Arabian Gulf amid continuing sanctions enforcement against Iraq. The ship's itinerary included Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba transits and integrated amphibious workups with the Jordanian Armed Forces during Operation Infinite Moonlight, reflecting closer U.S.-Jordan security ties after the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty. COMSTOCK returned to San Diego in December 1995.
A dock-phased maintenance availability followed from February 5 to June 5, 1996, after which COMSTOCK executed San Francisco Fleet Week in October and additional NORTHPAC training. In 1997, she completed pre-deployment workups and, on August 28, departed for another Western Pacific-Arabian Gulf cruise. Ports included Hawaii, Guam, Singapore, Thailand, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Early in the transit she made a notable at-sea refueling of patrol coastal ships USS HURRICANE (PC 3) and USS MONSOON (PC 4), demonstrating big-small ship interoperability. By December 2, she was in the Northern Arabian Gulf for Exercise EAGER MACE 98 with Kuwaiti forces, continuing combined amphibious and ground training into January 1998 before sailing home via India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Guam, and Hawaii, returning to San Diego on February 27, 1998.
In 1999, COMSTOCK joined Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT 1999), moving through Hawaii and Japan to Southeast Asia for serials with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia focused on amphibious operations, small-boat handling, maritime interdiction, and boarding procedures. She wrapped the year in post-deployment maintenance.
Following Amphibious Specialty Training in early 2001, COMSTOCK participated in KERNEL BLITZ near San Francisco in March, then COMPTUEX/FLEETEX in May-June. She departed mid-August for WESTPAC 2001 and, after the September 11 attacks, supported Operation Enduring Freedom. Port calls during 2001-2002 included Hawaii, Australian ports (Fremantle and Sydney), and Bahrain for logistics and maintenance while serving in maritime security and amphibious lift roles. She returned to San Diego by March 2002, entered dry dock at Southwest Marine in May-June, and conducted sea trials in July before resuming training and certifications.
In early 2003, COMSTOCK surged to the Arabian Gulf for Operation Iraqi Freedom while also supporting maritime expeditionary requirements listed in contemporaneous command histories as "MERO". She operated with embarked Marines and Navy landing craft, staged movements through Guam, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and returned to San Diego by early July after the initial combat phase and the establishment of coalition control ashore. Beginning in the late summer of 2003, USS COMSTOCK shifted from a wartime tempo in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to the reset and readiness cycle typical of San Diego-based amphibious ships. After returning from WestPac/OIF on July 2, she spent August completing inspections and certification events capped by an end-of-month Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). In early September, she made a goodwill visit to British Columbia for liberty and shiphandling in constrained waters before resuming type commander assessments and a late-October change of command that closed out the post-deployment period.
COMSTOCK got back underway for a full work-up sequence in early 2004 and deployed from San Diego on May 27, 2004, with Expeditionary Strike Group elements for the Western Pacific and the Middle East. By July 7, she was conducting well-deck operations in the northern Persian Gulf, launching LCACs to Kuwait Naval Base to sustain Marine movements ashore. On August 15, she joined in maritime interception and security operations enforcing United Nations sanctions and counter-smuggling measures in the North Arabian Gulf, a centerpiece tasking for Gulf amphibs in that period. She completed additional patrols and logistics evolutions in 5th Fleet before turning east for home later that fall.
Back in California, COMSTOCK entered a scheduled depot period at Southwest Marine (San Diego) as part of a multi-ship phased-maintenance contract for the class, completing the availability on September 14, 2005. The yard period bundled hull-mechanical-electrical repairs and modernization to return the well-deck, propulsion and auxiliaries to full readiness ahead of the next deployment cycle.
She sailed again with the BOXER (LHD 4) Expeditionary Strike Group in the fall of 2006, departing San Diego with BOXER, DUBUQUE (LPD 8), BUNKER HILL (CG 52), BENFOLD (DDG 65) and HOWARD (DDG 83). The group entered 5th Fleet on November 8 and commenced maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf - visit-board-search-and-seizure, oil-platform security and sea control - while the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) pushed detachments ashore to Al Anbar later that year as "Task Force Bullrush". The ESG/MEU returned to San Diego on May 31, 2007.
During 2008, COMSTOCK's year opened with a Continuous Maintenance Availability (CMAV), 3-M assessment and INSURV, punctuated by repeated local underway periods for certifications. In June-July she took part in RIMPAC 2008 out of Pearl Harbor, with amphibious rehearsal and multinational well-deck drills around the Hawaiian Islands, then returned to San Diego in early August to prepare for late-year inspections and integrated training events (CERTEX and ULTRA-E).
In early 2009, COMSTOCK departed again with the BOXER Amphibious Ready Group and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit - BOXER, NEW ORLEANS (LPD 18) and COMSTOCK forming the amphibious trio - for a deployment that focused on counter-piracy support and maritime security in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and North Arabian Gulf. ARG/MEU operations included extended presence missions during the peak of Somali pirate activity. By early July the group was headed across the Pacific for home.
In mid-2010, COMSTOCK returned to Hawaii for Rim of the Pacific 2010, arriving at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 24 and cycling through amphibious and gunnery events with partner navies before resuming training on the West Coast.
On February 22, 2011, she deployed with the BOXER ARG alongside GREEN BAY (LPD 20), executing 7th and 5th Fleet tasking through the spring and summer - maritime security patrols, theater security cooperation, and logistics support. During the transit home she made a port call in Hong Kong on August 31, a brief respite during what was otherwise a high-tempo patrol, and the group completed its return to San Diego in late September.
After local operations and maintenance, COMSTOCK joined the MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8) Amphibious Ready Group in 2014 with MAKIN ISLAND and SAN DIEGO (LPD 22), departing San Diego on July 25 for a 7th/5th Fleet cruise shaped by unrest ashore and heavy at-sea tasking. The ARG paused for a three-day visit to Hong Kong from August 20-23, then pressed west. By October the ships were operating under U.S. Central Command in the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Sea with few port breaks as regional crises in Iraq, Syria and Yemen drove presence and contingency requirements. COMSTOCK and the ARG resumed port visits in Southeast Asia on the return leg - mooring at Changi Naval Base, Singapore on January 16, 2015, visiting Sepanggar, Malaysia from January 22-29, and Sattahip, Thailand in early February - before entering San Diego on February 25 to end the deployment. The broader ARG narrative recorded very long stretches at sea during this period, reflecting the operational environment.
Following post-deployment upkeep, the Navy awarded a fiscal-year 2015 phased-maintenance availability (PMA) package in April 2015 to BAE Systems San Diego to update combat systems, hull, and hotel services - work that set conditions for the next cycle.
COMSTOCK sailed again with the MAKIN ISLAND ARG on October 14, 2016, departing San Diego with MAKIN ISLAND and SOMERSET (LPD 25) for 3rd, 5th and 7th Fleet operations. The group's track included a November 2016 stop at Subic Bay, then a winter transit through the Indian Ocean and back into the Western Pacific. In April 2017, COMSTOCK embarked elements of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit for a theater-security cooperation engagement in Papua New Guinea, arriving Port Moresby on April 15 and concluding a military-to-military exchange with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force on April 18. The ARG simultaneously handled a four-day Hong Kong visit (April 7-11) and other 7th Fleet port calls before returning stateside later that spring.
In 2019, COMSTOCK shifted north for the Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise (AECE), arriving Kodiak, Alaska on September 10 and then Seward on September 16-19. The ship transported and operated the Amphibious Bulk Liquid Transfer System - an expeditionary fuel and water offload capability - from San Diego to Seward, marking the first time the system had been carried and employed from an amphibious ship in that manner, while also conducting LCU well-deck operations and logistics over-the-shore training in sub-arctic conditions.
A major maintenance chapter followed. On December 3, 2020, the Navy awarded General Dynamics NASSCO a $100 million Docking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) for COMSTOCK, a long-term docking overhaul to modernize hull-mechanical-electrical systems and combat suites; the package scheduled completion by November 2022. Even as that work was programmed, COMSTOCK executed a noteworthy fall 2020 patrol in the Philippine Sea: embarking Mark VI patrol boats and expeditionary mine-countermeasures detachments in Guam to integrate Commander Task Force 75 forces with amphibious shipping. Embarked Mark VI craft conducted refueling at sea and maritime security drills as COMSTOCK operated with I MEF's Task Force Ellis, demonstrating littoral security concepts tailored to the First Island Chain. By January 28, 2021, the ship returned to San Diego after employment across both 7th and 4th Fleets and then entered the heavy DSRA phase that carried through 2021-2022.
Post-overhaul reconstitution and training accelerated through 2023, including a change of command on August 18 at Naval Base San Diego and completion of basic to integrated phase events. The ship re-entered high-end amphibious training in spring 2024, participating in Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) on May 27 and a Rolling Airframe Missile live-fire on June 14, then deployed to the Indo-Pacific, returning to San Diego on October 8 after nearly four months in 7th Fleet.
In early 2025, COMSTOCK surged west again for a focused three-month employment in U.S. 7th Fleet, operating as an independent amphibious platform and plugging into bilateral exercises. She joined the U.S.-India humanitarian-assistance and amphibious interoperability series TIGER TRIUMPH in April, working alongside RALPH JOHNSON (DDG 114) and Indian Navy and Coast Guard units, and then shifted to the Philippines for BALIKATAN 2025. There, on April 25, she conducted a live-fire gunnery exercise in formation with USS SAVANNAH (LCS 28) and Philippine Navy frigates BRP RAMON ALCARAZ (PS 16) and BRP APOLINARIO MABINI (PS 36), one of multiple at-sea events tied to the exercise's combined maritime operations. COMSTOCK returned to San Diego on June 5, 2025, closing a deployment that also featured cross-deck helicopter operations and cross-well-deck evolutions in the Indian Ocean during TIGER TRIUMPH. A subsequent change of command took place June 12, 2025, keeping leadership continuity as the ship cycled back into 3rd Fleet training and maintenance.
back to top go to the end of the pageHomeports of USS COMSTOCK:
| Period | Homeport |
|---|---|
| commissioned at New Orleans, La. | |
| 1990 - present | San Diego, Calif. |
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USS COMSTOCK Image Gallery:
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The photos below were taken by Ian Johnson and show the COMSTOCK arriving at Fremantle, Australia, on April 29, 2007 (the first two photos) and in the harbor on May 3, 2007. At the time, COMSTOCK was part of the BOXER (LHD 4) ESG.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the COMSTOCK leaving Naval Base San Diego, Calif., as part of the USS PELELIU (LHA 5) Amphibious Strike Group on March 10, 2008.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.
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The photos below were taken by me on September 30, 2011. They show the COMSTOCK in the morning returning to San Diego, Calif., after a seven-month deployment as part of the BOXER (LHD 4) Amphibious Strike Group. The last photo was taken in the late afternoon and shows the COMSTOCK berthed at the Naval Base.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 10, 2012.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the COMSTOCK at NASSCO in San Diego, Calif., during her Extended Docking Phased Maintenance Availability. The photos were taken on October 3, 2012.
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The photo below was taken by Henry Schnutz and shows the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on August 27, 2013.
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The photo below was taken by Lydia Perz and shows the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 3, 2014.
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The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee on August 20-23, 2014, and show the COMSTOCK during a port visit to Hong Kong while assigned to the USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8) Expeditionary Strike Group.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard, on October 2, 2015.
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The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 18, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard, on October 11, 2017.
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The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the COMSTOCK undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard, on November 10, 2017.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard, on September 28, 2018.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 2, 2019.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during an open ship event aboard USS COMSTOCK as part of the Los Angeles Fleet Week at San Pedro, Calif., on August 30, 2019.
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The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the COMSTOCK undergoing her Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) on November 28 and November 29 (aerial photos), 2021. COMSTOCK entered the shipyard on March 12, 2021.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK undergoing her Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) on December 28, 2021. COMSTOCK entered the shipyard on March 12, 2021.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the COMSTOCK at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 15, 2024.
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