Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

About the Ship's Coat of Arms

History

Image Gallery

end of page

USS Cardinal (MHC 60)

USS CARDINAL was the tenth OSPREY - class coastal mine hunter and the fourth United States Navy ship named "Cardinal" after the American red crested bird of the finch family. From September 1, 2000, until her decommissioning, the USS CARDINAL was forward deployed in Manama, Bahrain. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on January 7, 2007, the CARDINAL was transfered to the Egyptian Navy the same day. There she was recommissioned.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

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

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS CARDINAL memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Dark blue represents the Navy. The ship's namesake, the CARDINAL, represents the mission by removing an enemy contact mine from the sea. The mines in chief recall the three previous ships CARDINAL, the star on the center mine alluding to the battle star awarded YMS 179 for World War II service during which she swept a record number of mines. Red, white and blue refer to the colors of the National flag. Ultramarine blue refers to duties performed in coastal waterways. Red denotes courage, white signifies integrity.

The Crest:

The annulet reflects the continuing tradition of distinguished service by all the ships which have borne the name CARDINAL. Red symbolizes courage and sacrifice. The gold hexagons refer to the number of ships in the class and denote strength and endurance. The wreath indicates honor and achievement. The trident refers to the Navy, the three tines alluding again to the three previous ships CARDINAL. Gold signifies excellence.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CARDINAL History:

USS CARDINAL was constructed by Intermarine USA at Savannah, Georgia. Her keel was laid on April 13, 1994, and she was launched on March 9, 1996. CARDINAL was commissioned on October 18, 1997, on the Potomac River at Alexandria, Virginia, with Lieutenant Commander William A. Sheehan as her first commanding officer. Mrs. Richard Gephardt, wife of Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, served as sponsor, and former St. Louis Cardinals baseball player Stan Musial was among those associated with the commissioning ceremony. Following commissioning, CARDINAL joined the mine warfare force based at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, on Corpus Christi Bay. Ingleside served as the principal concentration point for the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet surface mine countermeasures ships and supporting organizations.

CARDINAL subsequently operated as part of the Naval Reserve Force. This arrangement combined an active-duty nucleus with Naval Reserve personnel while keeping the ship available for operational mine warfare duties and training. She remained part of the Ingleside mine warfare organization and continued the normal cycle of technical training, maintenance, certification and reserve-force readiness associated with the OSPREY-class. Lieutenant Commander Peter K. Dallman relieved Lieutenant Commander Sheehan in January 1999.

A fundamental change in CARDINAL's employment occurred in 2000. The Navy had maintained surface mine countermeasures ships in Bahrain since the 1990s because of the continuing strategic importance of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the northern Gulf approaches. Experiences during the Iran-Iraq War and Operation Desert Storm had demonstrated that relatively inexpensive naval mines could seriously disrupt operations by much larger naval forces. USS ARDENT (MCM 12) and USS DEXTROUS (MCM 13) had already been forward deployed to Bahrain, but the Navy decided to strengthen the permanent mine warfare presence by adding two OSPREY-class coastal minehunters.

CARDINAL and USS RAVEN (MHC 61) were selected for this assignment. Rather than subject the relatively small coastal minehunters to a lengthy transoceanic passage from Texas to the Persian Gulf, the Navy used a commercial heavy-lift vessel. The ships' propulsion systems and hulls had been optimized for mine countermeasures work and coastal operations rather than repeated long-distance ocean crossings, and transporting them aboard a heavy-lift ship reduced machinery wear while shortening the transfer.

On July 22, 2000, CARDINAL and USS RAVEN were positioned aboard the heavy-lift vessel M/V BLUE MARLIN at Ingleside. BLUE MARLIN partially submerged her cargo deck so that the minehunters could be floated into position; the heavy-lift ship was then deballasted, raising both vessels clear of the water for transportation to the Arabian Gulf. By September 1, 2000, CARDINAL had transferred from the Naval Reserve Force to the active fleet and had become permanently forward deployed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama.

The move fundamentally changed the character of CARDINAL's remaining service. Instead of periodically deploying from Texas, she now operated continuously inside the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. Together with USS RAVEN, USS ARDENT and USS DEXTROUS, she formed part of the permanent surface mine countermeasures capability available to protect access to Persian Gulf ports, shipping lanes and naval operating areas.

CARDINAL entered operational activity almost immediately after arriving in the region. On September 27, 2000, she proceeded northward in the Arabian Gulf with USS DEXTROUS. The following day, while the mine countermeasures ships were operating in the Gulf, a search requirement arose after an aircraft associated with the battle group centered on USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) was lost. USS DEXTROUS, CARDINAL and USS SHILOH (CG 67) participated in search operations for wreckage and the missing aircrew. The mine countermeasures ships' sonar systems provided capabilities useful for examining the seabed as the search continued through the end of September and into the first days of October.

The search concluded on October 3, 2000. On October 4, CARDINAL and USS DEXTROUS rendezvoused with USNS WALTER S. DIEHL (T-AO 193) and conducted astern refueling before heading south toward Bahrain.

Only eight days later, the regional security situation changed abruptly. On October 12, 2000 USS COLE (DDG 67) was attacked by suicide bombers while refueling in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and dozens were injured. The attack led Fifth Fleet to implement enhanced force-protection measures and order ships at Bahrain to sortie on short notice.

CARDINAL put to sea with USS ARDENT, USS DEXTROUS, USS RAVEN and USNS INVINCIBLE (T-AGOS 10). The mine warfare force moved into the Central Arabian Gulf as part of the fleet-wide response to the attack. USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52), which also emergency-sortied from Manama, subsequently provided force-protection and logistical support while acting as a guard ship from October 15 through November 12 with CARDINAL, USS RAVEN, USS ARDENT and USS DEXTROUS. The response to the COLE attack led to significant changes in force-protection procedures throughout the Navy, particularly for ships operating near small craft or in foreign ports.

CARDINAL remained forward deployed at Bahrain throughout 2001. Following the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001 and the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in October, Fifth Fleet forces assumed expanded maritime-security responsibilities in the Arabian Sea, Arabian Gulf and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz. CARDINAL continued mine warfare readiness, patrol and regional support duties as part of the Bahrain-based mine countermeasures force.

CARDINAL remained homeported at Naval Support Activity Bahrain under Commander, Mine Countermeasures Division 31 in 2002. One notable 2002 project used CARDINAL as the experimental platform for a magnetic minesweeping test involving Mini Dyads. The equipment consisted of cylindrical magnets streamed astern and configured to reproduce the magnetic signatures of different classes of vessels. By creating an artificial magnetic signature, the system was intended to trigger magnetic influence mines while keeping the mine countermeasures ship itself at a safer distance. CARDINAL's testing established operating procedures for loading, streaming and recovering the Mini Dyad equipment and broadened the range of mine countermeasures techniques available to OSPREY-class ships beyond their principal sonar-based minehunting function.

CARDINAL also participated in Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring exercise MIREM-20 in the Central Arabian Gulf. The exercise combined the different components of the Navy's mine countermeasures force in a common scenario. USS RAVEN served as the mine warfare command ship, while CARDINAL, USS DEXTROUS and USS ARDENT formed the surface mine countermeasures element. MH-53 mine countermeasures helicopters provided the airborne component, and explosive ordnance disposal personnel embarked aboard USNS CATAWBA (T-ATF 168) supplied the underwater element.

MIREM-20 required the force to hunt, sweep and neutralize exercise mines within the designated Central Arabian Gulf mine countermeasures operating area. The exercise was intended not only to evaluate individual ships but to measure the interoperability of surface vessels, aircraft and explosive ordnance disposal teams under conditions resembling an operational mine threat. CARDINAL's participation demonstrated both her sonar-based minehunting capability and her ability to operate within a larger multi-component mine warfare organization.

During 2002, CARDINAL also completed an Underway Demonstration observed by an inspection team from Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic. Engineering evolutions and casualty-control drills were evaluated while the ship continued to sustain a relatively high operational tempo in the Fifth Fleet area. CARDINAL completed the demonstration with an above-average evaluation despite material problems that had required attention during preparations.

The strategic importance of CARDINAL's forward deployment became especially apparent in early 2003. With the United States preparing military operations against Iraq, mine countermeasures were considered essential because Iraq had used naval mines extensively during previous regional conflicts. During the 1991 Gulf War, mines had damaged two U.S. Navy ships, and planners for Operation Iraqi Freedom therefore had to account for the possibility that Iraqi forces would mine approaches to ports and waterways needed for amphibious operations and humanitarian relief.

At the end of February 2003, USS PONCE (LPD 15) became flagship of Mine Countermeasures Squadron 3 and Commander, Task Group 55.4. The task group included at various times CARDINAL, USS RAVEN, USS ARDENT, USS DEXTROUS and USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD 44), together with U.S. explosive ordnance disposal units, a Special Clearance Team, MH-53 mine countermeasures helicopters and British and Australian mine warfare personnel.

The coalition's principal mine-clearance requirement was the northern Arabian Gulf and the approaches to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr through the Khor Abd Allah waterway. Umm Qasr was Iraq's principal deep-water port and was considered important both for military logistics and for delivery of humanitarian supplies once fighting began. The confined, shallow and turbid waters made mine clearance particularly demanding. Surface minehunters used sonar to locate suspicious objects while remotely operated vehicles, divers and other systems were employed to identify and neutralize them.

CARDINAL spent 45 consecutive days at sea during the principal mine-clearing phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Together with USS RAVEN, USS ARDENT and USS DEXTROUS, she searched the approaches to southern Iraq and supported clearance of the Khor Abd Allah waterway. USS PONCE provided mine warfare command-and-control functions, while USS GUNSTON HALL supported the Special Clearance Team and other mine countermeasures personnel.

The mine threat was genuine rather than purely precautionary. Coalition units located and neutralized mines in the approaches to Umm Qasr, and six mines were reported found and dealt with during one 36-hour period in late March. By March 28, 2003, a channel approximately 200 yards wide had been cleared sufficiently for the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship RFA SIR GALAHAD (L 3005) to enter Umm Qasr carrying more than 200 tons of food and water. Mine-clearing operations continued afterward to widen the safe channel and make the port suitable for a greater volume of shipping.

The work in the Khor Abd Allah also emphasized the value of sonar in extremely poor underwater visibility. Divers operating in the waterway encountered conditions in which visual identification could be difficult or impossible, increasing reliance on shipboard sonar, remotely operated systems and other sensors to locate and classify possible mines.

CARDINAL returned to Naval Support Activity Bahrain on April 24, 2003, after 45 days at sea conducting mine-clearing operations in the northern Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The return marked the end of an unusually prolonged continuous underway period for a coastal minehunter, but mine warfare readiness in the region remained important even after the immediate opening of Umm Qasr.

During the remainder of 2003, CARDINAL resumed the training, maintenance and readiness cycle associated with permanent forward deployment. On November 7 and November 8, she was documented preparing to get underway from Naval Support Activity Bahrain. During November, CARDINAL and USS RAVEN participated in an evaluation of unmanned underwater vehicle technology in the Arabian Gulf. The new systems were compared with the existing minehunting sonars fitted aboard the ships.

The UUV evaluation reflected lessons from the Iraqi mine-clearance operation earlier in the year. An unmanned underwater vehicle could survey potentially mined waters without requiring the minehunter itself to enter every part of the suspected minefield and could operate simultaneously with shipboard search systems. CARDINAL's personnel specifically compared the increased flexibility offered by remotely operated or autonomous systems with the more traditional process of moving the minehunter and its sonar directly through a search area. The trials represented part of the Navy's broader effort to reduce the degree to which manned mine countermeasures vessels had to enter potentially hazardous waters.

CARDINAL remained at Bahrain during 2004. She continued as one of the four permanently forward-deployed surface mine countermeasures ships in the Arabian Gulf together with USS RAVEN, USS ARDENT and USS DEXTROUS. Their continued presence provided Fifth Fleet with an immediately available mine warfare capability during the continuing military operations in Iraq and the wider maritime-security campaign.

During this period, the Navy also began using rotating coastal-minehunter crews more extensively. Rather than permanently linking one crew to a single OSPREY-class hull, trained MHC crews could transfer between ships in the United States and the two forward-deployed minehunters in Bahrain. This allowed the Navy to keep CARDINAL and USS RAVEN continuously stationed in the Arabian Gulf without requiring the ships themselves to make long transoceanic voyages simply to rotate personnel.

That system became particularly visible in early 2005. The crew of USS OSPREY (MHC 51) at Ingleside prepared to deploy to Manama and take over the forward-deployed CARDINAL. On February 16, 2005, the entire OSPREY complement departed for the Middle East. The CARDINAL crew that was being relieved subsequently returned to the United States. Led by Lieutenant Commander Keith Knutsen, the former CARDINAL crew arrived at Ingleside and took charge of USS OSPREY on March 29 after completing postdeployment leave. CARDINAL herself never left Bahrain during this crew exchange.

On February 28, 2005, CARDINAL was used during Exercise Desert Sailor 2005 at Manama. Desert Sailor was an annual two-week emergency-response exercise intended to coordinate Naval Support Activity Bahrain's emergency services with local Bahraini authorities. In one scenario, members of the base Emergency Response Team boarded CARDINAL to fight a simulated shipboard fire and evacuate a simulated casualty to a designated medical area. The exercise reflected the particularly close relationship required between the forward-deployed naval force and Bahraini civilian and military emergency organizations.

CARDINAL continued to support Fifth Fleet mine warfare and maritime-security requirements during the remainder of 2005. By this stage, Operation Iraqi Freedom continued ashore in Iraq while U.S. and coalition naval forces carried out maritime-security operations intended to protect regional shipping, deter terrorist use of the maritime environment and support coalition operations. The permanent mine countermeasures presence at Bahrain also ensured that specialized forces would be immediately available if mines threatened the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi oil terminals, Gulf ports or other strategically important waterways.

The future of CARDINAL was meanwhile being determined in Washington. The Naval Vessels Transfer Act of 2005, enacted on December 20, 2005, authorized the transfer of CARDINAL and USS RAVEN to Egypt on a grant basis. The legislation did not immediately end their U.S. service; both ships continued operating from Bahrain while replacement arrangements, crew rotations and transfer preparations proceeded.

CARDINAL entered 2006 with MHC Crew Conquest embarked. The crew was completing an Arabian Gulf deployment and continued to operate CARDINAL in support of Fifth Fleet requirements. During its deployment aboard CARDINAL, Crew Conquest conducted Maritime Interdiction Operations with the Australian Navy in the northern Arabian Gulf. The assignment was unusual for an OSPREY-class ship because the MHC design had been optimized for mine countermeasures rather than boarding and interdiction missions. The crew's official report described this as the first such operation conducted by an MHC.

Crew Conquest completed its CARDINAL deployment during the first weeks of January. MHC Crew Loyalty arrived in the Fifth Fleet area on January 16, 2006 to begin the crew exchange. Crew Loyalty formally assumed responsibility for CARDINAL on January 20. Crew Conquest left the Fifth Fleet area on January 22, reached the United States on January 26 and subsequently transferred to USS CORMORANT (MHC 57) at Ingleside.

A notable non-combat incident occurred only days after Crew Loyalty assumed CARDINAL. On January 24, 2006, a Bahraini civilian contract worker aboard USNS CATAWBA suffered a medical emergency while the vessels were at Mina Salman pier. Hospital Corpsman First Class Purvis Williams of Crew Loyalty, serving aboard CARDINAL, responded to the call, assessed the worker and provided emergency treatment after determining that he was suffering a heart attack. The patient was stabilized until Bahraini emergency personnel transported him to a local hospital.

CARDINAL remained active in Fifth Fleet during the following months as additional rotating crews took responsibility for the hull. MHC Crew Gallant operated CARDINAL during part of the latter half of 2006. On October 1, 2006, CARDINAL was documented underway in formation in the Central Arabian Gulf during FAWOMAWEX 7-01, one of her final major training periods in U.S. service. By then, the Navy was drawing the entire OSPREY-class out of U.S. service. The relatively young ships had been designed for a highly specialized coastal mine warfare mission, but Navy planning was moving toward new mine countermeasures concepts, including systems intended for the Littoral Combat Ship program. Several OSPREY-class vessels were retired and transferred to allied navies, while others were placed in inactive storage or eventually scrapped.

CARDINAL and USS RAVEN were specifically scheduled for transfer to Egypt. As their departure approached, the Navy also moved to maintain Fifth Fleet's permanent mine warfare capability by relying increasingly on AVENGER-class mine countermeasures ships in Bahrain. CARDINAL therefore continued operations in the Arabian Gulf through the final phase of her U.S. career while preparations were made for her handover. On January 7, 2007, CARDINAL was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. USS RAVEN was decommissioned and struck on the same date. Navy disposition records classify both ships as Foreign Military Sales grant transfers to Egypt under the authority previously granted by Congress. CARDINAL's removal from the U.S. inventory ended more than nine years of commissioned service, including more than six years as a permanently forward-deployed Fifth Fleet minehunter.

The physical transfer and preparation of the former U.S. vessels for Egyptian service continued during 2007. The former CARDINAL subsequently entered service with the Egyptian Navy, as did the former USS RAVEN.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS CARDINAL Image Gallery:

back to top

Back to Coastal Mine Hunters site.

Back to ships list.

Back to selection page.

Back to 1^st page.