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USS Robin (MHC 54)

USS ROBIN was the fourth OSPREY - class coastal mine hunter and the third U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. She was delivered to the Navy on February 9, 1996. On April 1, 1997, ROBIN transfered to the Naval Reserve Force and was subsequently used as training ship for naval reservists until decommissioned on June 15, 2006. ROBIN was subsequently laid-up at Beaumont, Tx., as a logistics support asset. She was ultimately sold by the U.S. General Services Administration for scrapping on May 8, 2014.

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Crew List:

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

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USS ROBIN History:

The construction contract for ROBIN was awarded on August 2, 1990, to Avondale Shipyards in Louisiana. Her keel was laid on June 2, 1992, and she was launched on September 11, 1993. Hope P. Kihune, wife of Vice Admiral Robert Kihune, served as the ship's sponsor. Following launching, ROBIN remained in the fitting-out, testing and acceptance process for more than two years. She was delivered to the U.S. Navy on February 9, 1996 and arrived at Naval Station Ingleside on April 30. ROBIN was commissioned there on May 11, 1996, with Lieutenant Commander Mark J. Murphy as her first commanding officer.

As a newly commissioned coastal minehunter, ROBIN remained associated with the mine warfare force based at Ingleside while completing the transition from a newly delivered vessel to an operational unit. On April 1, 1997, ROBIN was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force. In this role, she remained a commissioned warship while also serving as a platform for the training and integration of Naval Reserve personnel, a mission that continued to form an important part of her employment during the remainder of her career.

In February 1998, she participated in Squadron Exercise 98-1 together with USS DEFENDER (MCM 2), USS SENTRY (MCM 3) and USS BLACK HAWK (MHC 58). The exercise was conducted as part of the mine warfare training cycle associated with Ingleside and the Gulf of Mexico and provided coordinated training for Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships and Osprey-class coastal minehunters. Later that year, ROBIN operated far beyond her normal Gulf Coast training area. On August 8, 1998, she was at Annapolis, Maryland, visiting the U.S. Naval Academy together with DEFENDER.

On March 5, 1999, Lieutenant Commander Matthew S. Beaver relieved the previous commanding officer during a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

USS ROBIN began the year 2000 at Naval Station Ingleside under Lieutenant Commander Beaver and remained in port from January 1 through January 21. On January 22, she went to sea in the Corpus Christi operating area for Naval Reserve training and subsequently returned to Ingleside. On January 31, she departed again for Gulf of Mexico Exercise 00-1, which continued through February 10. ROBIN operated with DEFENDER, SENTRY, USS OSPREY (MHC 51), USS PELICAN (MHC 53), USS KINGFISHER (MHC 56) and BLACK HAWK under Mine Countermeasures Squadron Two. Training included minehunting, operations along a designated cleared route and use of the remotely operated mine-neutralization system. On February 7, ROBIN temporarily returned to port to embark personnel from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment 17, Group 6, and returned to the operating area on February 8. The embarked explosive-ordnance-disposal personnel subsequently conducted underwater detonations against exercise mines that had been located and identified during the minehunting phase. ROBIN returned to Ingleside on February 10 and remained there until the middle of March.

On March 16, 2000, ROBIN departed Ingleside with DEFENDER, SENTRY, KINGFISHER and BLACK HAWK for an extended period of operations away from Texas. The ships formed part of Mine Warfare Readiness Group One. During the eastbound passage through the Gulf of Mexico they conducted individual and multi-ship training, including man-overboard drills, general quarters, engineering-casualty-control exercises and formation maneuvering. ROBIN also conducted a connected replenishment evolution with KINGFISHER.

From March 21 through March 25, ROBIN participated in a Composite Unit Training Exercise in the Gulf of Mexico. The exercise integrated mine-countermeasures ships into a larger fleet training environment and allowed the participating mine warfare units to practice supporting naval forces that could require cleared operating areas or access routes. ROBIN conducted minehunting and other tactical training before proceeding to Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, where she was in port from March 26 through March 28.

On March 29, ROBIN departed Key West with BLACK HAWK for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She made a brief fuel stop there on April 1 and continued into the Caribbean toward Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. She reached the Roosevelt Roads area during the first week of April and refueled there on April 5. From April 6 through April 8, ROBIN participated in the opposing-force portion of a Unitas exercise. Unitas, which had been conducted regularly since 1959, brought U.S. and Latin American naval forces together for multinational maritime training and interoperability exercises. Ships participating in this phase included USS ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG 49), U.S. Coast Guard cutter TAMPA (WMEC 902), USS HUE CITY (CG 66), USS ESTOCIN (FFG 15), DEFENDER, SENTRY and KINGFISHER. ROBIN conducted minehunting and maritime-interception-related training. An Argentine naval officer was embarked for cross-deck training during the multinational exercise.

ROBIN was in port at Roosevelt Roads on April 9. She then departed with DEFENDER for Guantanamo Bay, making the westbound Caribbean transit from April 10 through April 12. After another brief fuel stop at Guantanamo Bay on April 13, ROBIN continued north toward Florida, operating during part of the transit in company with BLACK HAWK. She reached Naval Station Mayport on April 17 and remained there through April 18. ROBIN departed Mayport on April 19 for the Virginia Capes area and arrived at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek on April 21. She remained at Little Creek from April 22 through May 1.

On May 2, ROBIN departed Little Creek for Charleston, South Carolina, and was in Charleston on May 3 and May 4. She returned to sea on May 5 and proceeded into the Cherry Point operating area off North Carolina for a Joint Task Force Exercise associated with the battle group of USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73). The exercise represented an advanced stage of integrated fleet training and exposed ROBIN to operations in a much larger naval formation than would normally be encountered during local mine warfare exercises.

Late on May 5, ROBIN suffered a casualty involving her port Voith-Schneider propulsion unit. The affected shaft had to be stopped and locked, leaving the ship with reduced propulsion. Despite the casualty, ROBIN continued participating in the exercise between May 5 and May 9 while operating with only one usable propulsion unit. During the mine-countermeasures phase, she located a number of exercise mines. Explosive-ordnance-disposal personnel recovered four moored exercise mines identified during ROBIN's minehunting operations, while a bottom exercise mine was subjected to a controlled neutralization evolution.

Following completion of this phase of the exercise, ROBIN entered Morehead City, North Carolina, and remained there from May 10 through May 14. She departed on May 15 for Norfolk, Virginia, and was at Naval Station Norfolk from May 16 through May 24. On May 25, she left Norfolk for Mayport. During her arrival at Mayport on May 29, the ship experienced an additional main-propulsion casualty while the port propulsion unit was already unavailable. With her maneuvering capability severely restricted, SENTRY towed ROBIN into Naval Station Mayport.

ROBIN remained at Mayport while work was carried out to restore sufficient capability for the return voyage to Texas. She finally departed on June 9. After proceeding around Florida she made a brief fuel stop at Naval Air Station Key West on June 13 and continued westward into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the seriousness of ROBIN's continuing shafting and propulsion problems, USS DEVASTATOR (MCM 6) received emergency orders at Ingleside on June 13 to rendezvous with ROBIN, escort her and, if necessary, tow her back to home port. DEVASTATOR rendezvoused with ROBIN on June 15 and accompanied her during the remainder of the passage. ROBIN reached Naval Station Ingleside on June 18.

The propulsion casualty caused ROBIN to miss the Great Lakes and Mississippi River activities subsequently conducted by other members of the mine warfare group. Although those activities had formed part of the broader program for ships involved in the extended 2000 cruise, ROBIN's own deployment ended with her return to Ingleside for repairs. The ship spent much of the following months in maintenance, post-deployment upkeep and restricted local operations. Her damaged port propulsion unit continued to limit operational employment. ROBIN nevertheless returned to sea in the Corpus Christi operating area on August 16 and August 17 for mine-countermeasures training. Maintenance later in the year included work on shipboard mine warfare training equipment as well as changes to navigation and command-and-control installations. On October 20, Lieutenant Commander Mark R. Laxen relieved Lieutenant Commander Beaver as commanding officer.

A more substantial repair period followed. On October 30, ROBIN was towed from Ingleside to Gulf Copper facilities at Port Aransas, Texas. She remained in dry dock from October 31 through November 2 while the damaged port Voith-Schneider propulsion unit was removed for repair. ROBIN returned to Naval Station Ingleside on November 3 and remained there through the end of 2000.

From October 23 through November 2, 2021, ROBIN took part in Squadron Exercise 02-1 in the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi together with DEFENDER, SENTRY, KINGFISHER and BLACK HAWK. The exercise provided coordinated mine-countermeasures training during the squadron's readiness cycle. It took place only weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and shortly after the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7.

ROBIN began the year 2002 at Naval Station Ingleside and remained in port from January 1 through January 28. February included intensive preparations for her Final Evaluation Problem, a comprehensive assessment intended to test the ship's ability to respond to operational and engineering scenarios. ROBIN got underway in the Corpus Christi operating area on February 20 and February 21. The evaluation included man-overboard, loss-of-gyro, loss-of-steering, fire and mass-conflagration drills as well as minehunting evolutions. The evaluation was completed in port on February 22.

Early March was devoted to preparations for testing associated with the ship's magnetic characteristics. From March 4 through March 6, the crew prepared ROBIN for an electromagnetic-range visit, and the ship underwent the range evolution on March 7. She subsequently returned to Ingleside. On March 11, she went back to sea in the Corpus Christi operating area, where engineering-casualty-control drills, damage-control training and minehunting were conducted through March 13. ROBIN returned to Ingleside on March 13 and loaded ammunition on March 14 while preparing for another extended period away from home port.

On April 1, 2002, ROBIN departed Ingleside in company with BLACK HAWK, KINGFISHER, SENTRY and DEFENDER. During the eastbound Gulf transit, the ships conducted engineering-casualty-control drills, a main-space-fire exercise, man-overboard drills, maneuvering training and night steaming exercises. ROBIN reached Naval Air Station Key West on April 6 and remained there until April 10. She then continued toward Naval Station Mayport with the mine warfare group. ROBIN, KINGFISHER and DEFENDER arrived at Mayport on April 12. Beginning on April 13, ROBIN underwent an Intermediate Maintenance Availability that continued through April 25.

ROBIN departed Mayport on April 26 with KINGFISHER, BLACK HAWK and SENTRY and proceeded toward the Cherry Point operating area off North Carolina for Joint Task Force Exercise 2-02. The mine warfare ships initially supported the exercise by laying training mines for use during the subsequent tactical scenario. On April 28, ROBIN received minehunting tasking. The following day, she entered Morehead City with the other mine-countermeasures ships. What had originally been planned as a brief logistics stop was extended because severe weather prevented safe continuation of the scheduled operations.

ROBIN returned to sea on May 1 with KINGFISHER, BLACK HAWK and SENTRY and resumed participation in Joint Task Force Exercise 2-02. In addition to minehunting, the training included responses to low, slow-flying aircraft and simulated small-boat attacks. Severe weather again forced the mine warfare ships back into Morehead City on May 4. With the exercise ending on May 5, ROBIN subsequently departed with SENTRY, BLACK HAWK and KINGFISHER for Norfolk.

During the passage on May 6, general quarters was sounded when the civilian fishing vessel SEADUCER made an unexpectedly close approach, at one point coming to within approximately 20 yards of ROBIN before being identified. ROBIN continued to Norfolk and subsequently passed through additional training and maintenance periods along the East Coast.

By July, ROBIN was again at Naval Station Mayport. On July 17, she conducted close-quarters shiphandling training in the Mayport basin and subsequently completed a precision anchorage evolution in the Jacksonville operating area before returning to port. She went to sea again on July 22 to conduct bottom-mapping work in the Jacksonville operating area and continued survey operations through July 23.

On July 26, ROBIN departed Mayport for the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center practice mine range in the Bahamas together with BLACK HAWK, SENTRY, DEFENDER and KINGFISHER. During the passage, ROBIN conducted additional man-overboard drills and weapons-familiarization firing. The group reached the range near the Berry Islands on July 28 and began minehunting operations that evening. ROBIN continued mine-countermeasures work there through August 1.

On August 2, she entered Nassau, Bahamas, for a port visit that lasted through August 7. ROBIN then departed Nassau for Key West, where she made a fuel stop on August 9. She left Key West on August 10 for the final passage across the Gulf of Mexico and arrived back at Naval Station Ingleside on August 15. The return to Texas was followed by post-deployment upkeep and maintenance. ROBIN underwent additional fleet maintenance and preservation work and continued local shiphandling and readiness training. On October 7, she departed Ingleside with Pensacola as her intended destination. During the transit, the starboard Voith-Schneider propulsion system suffered a casualty involving a failed control-arm weld. The planned movement to Pensacola was abandoned and ROBIN instead diverted to Naval Station Pascagoula, Mississippi, arriving there on October 10 so repairs could be undertaken.

ROBIN departed Pascagoula on October 15 in company with USS AVENGER (MCM 1). The two ships reached Naval Station Ingleside on October 19. ROBIN offloaded ammunition on October 21 and subsequently entered South West Marine for a Phased Maintenance Availability. She remained in the shipyard until December 4, when she returned to Naval Station Ingleside. On December 10, ROBIN entered dry dock at Gulf Copper in the Aransas Pass area and remained there through the end of the year.

Maintenance associated with the availability begun in late 2002 continued into 2003. From December 2 through December 17, 2003, ROBIN participated in a Gulf of Mexico Exercise together with KINGFISHER, BLACK HAWK, DEFENDER, AVENGER, USS WASP (LHD 1) and other elements of the WASP Amphibious Ready Group. The exercise integrated dedicated mine-countermeasures ships with an amphibious formation and trained the forces in the type of mine warfare support that could be required to permit amphibious ships to operate in or approach potentially mined coastal waters.

ROBIN remained assigned to the Naval Reserve Force and based at Ingleside, continuing to support mine warfare readiness and Reserve training. By this stage, however, the Navy was preparing for the eventual retirement of the coastal minehunter force. Budget planning for fiscal year 2006 specifically identified ROBIN among the OSPREY-class ships scheduled for decommissioning as the Navy moved toward a new mine-countermeasures concept centered increasingly on modular and unmanned systems associated with the Littoral Combat Ship program.

ROBIN entered 2006 with her remaining service life already limited by these force-structure decisions. The OSPREY-class minehunters increasingly operated with rotational minehunter crews rather than exclusively with a permanently assigned traditional ship's company. The final months were consequently focused on maintaining readiness while simultaneously preparing the ship for inactivation rather than for another extended deployment.

On June 15, 2006, ROBIN was decommissioned during a formal ceremony at Naval Station Ingleside. Earlier the same day, OSPREY had been decommissioned during a ceremony beginning at 10:00 a.m.; ROBIN's ceremony began at approximately 1:30 p.m. They were the first two ships of the 12-vessel OSPREY-class to leave U.S. Navy service under the class retirement program. Approximately 50 sailors of the rotational minehunter crew embarked in ROBIN at the time were reassigned as the vessel was withdrawn from service. ROBIN was also struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 15, bringing her commissioned career to an end slightly more than ten years after her commissioning on May 11, 1996.

Following decommissioning, ROBIN underwent an inactivation maintenance availability before being prepared for tow from Ingleside to the Beaumont Reserve Fleet at Beaumont, Texas. She subsequently remained there in Navy custody with other inactive former mine warfare vessels. As part of the Navy's disposal process, the ship was later reviewed for possible historic preservation. A historical evaluation completed in 2012 did not result in ROBIN being retained for preservation. She remained an inactive Navy-owned vessel pending final disposal and was ultimately sold by the U.S. General Services Administration for scrapping on May 8, 2014.

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