USS Guardian (MCM-5)
USS Guardian underway in November 2002.
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Guardian |
| Builder: |
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| Laid down: | 8 May 1985 |
| Launched: | 20 June 1987 |
| Commissioned: | 16 December 1989 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 February 2013 |
| Struck: | 15 February 2013 |
| Motto: | "Forerunner of Freedom" |
| Status: | Cut up and scrapped after grounding |
| Badge: |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship |
| Displacement: | 1,367 long tons (1,389 t) |
| Length: | 224 ft (68 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement: | 6 officers and 75 enlisted |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: |
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USS Guardian (MCM-5) was an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship of the United States Navy. The second ship to bear that name, she was laid down on 8 May 1985 by Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched on 20 June 1987; and commissioned on 16 December 1989. In 2010, Guardian became the first mine countermeasures vessel in the Seventh Fleet modified for a mixed-sex crew.
On 17 January 2013, Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef. Unable to be recovered, the vessel was decommissioned and struck on 15 February 2013. After the removal of fuel and useful equipment, the minehunter was cut into three sections and lifted off the reef by crane ships. The last section was removed from Tubbataha Reef on 30 March 2013.
In late November 2007, USS Guardian and fellow minesweeper USS Patriot sought refueling and refuge from an approaching storm in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, but were denied entry without explanation by the People's Republic of China. Both ships were eventually refueled at sea and returned safely to their homeports in Japan.
In February 2010, USS Guardian became the first mine countermeasures vessel in the Seventh Fleet to receive the Women-at-Sea modification, which was intended to allow the small vessel to accommodate a mixed-gender crew. The modification added no additional sleeping space, but did provide for separate toilet and shower facilities for female crew members. However, with the exception of a very few officers, all mine countermeasures vessels in the Seventh Fleet were still manned by all-male crews at that time.
On 17 January 2013, following a port call and fuel stop in Subic, Guardian proceeded across the Sulu Sea and entered the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park where she grounded at 2:25 am. About 90 minutes after the grounding she was seen on park radar, at approximately 04:00 hours local time.Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha Reef about 130 kilometres (70 nmi) south east of Palawan in the Philippines. At the time of the accident the ship was travelling from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Indonesia. The extent of any damage to the reef was unknown, but there was no evidence that there was a fuel oil leak. Philippines officials later estimated the damage to the reef at 1,000 square meters. The U.S. Navy evacuated all 79 crew members from the minesweeper to USNS Bowditch and MV C Champion on 18 January. In recognition of his actions in evacuating the sailors aboard Guardian, Petty Officer Travis Kirckof, a mineman aboard USS Guardian and one of the two assigned Search and Rescue swimmers, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal on 11 April 2014. Petty Officer Kirckof stayed in the shark-filled water for almost five hours to assist his shipmates in the evacuation to the nearby reef, saving at least two lives. On 19 January, an assessment team was deployed to plan and execute the vessel's extraction. On 20 January 2013, Navy Times reported the ship was taking on water in multiple places and was experiencing a slight list to port.
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