USS Cleveland Decommissions After 44 Years of Service
Former crew members, family and friends gathered Sept. 30 to celebrate 44 year of service.
www.cpf.navy.milI don’t have live access to current news sources in this moment. Here’s what’s known up to recent public records and historical notes about USS Cleveland (LPD-7):
- The USS Cleveland (LPD-7), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was commissioned in 1967 and served for several decades with the U.S. Navy, including deployments in the Western and Eastern Pacific and participation in various exercises with Marine units. Historical sources note its decommissioning occurred in 2011 after 44 years of service.[3][6]
- After decommissioning, the ship was moored in Pearl Harbor as part of the inactive reserve fleet, per historical records, until it was sunk as a target during the Valiant Shield 2024 exercise in the north Pacific northeast of Guam, using a PrSM Increment 2 anti-ship ballistic missile.[3]
- Several sources (including hull/tracking sites) document the ship’s long service life, multiple deployments, and its post-service fate, with emphasis on the 2024 SINKEX event as the final act in its lifecycle.[5][9]
If you’d like, I can search for the very latest authoritative updates from Navy press releases or reputable defense news outlets and summarize them with citations. I can also compile a brief timeline of LPD-7’s notable deployments and milestones. Would you like me to fetch and cite current news now?