USS Iwo Jima Docks in F’sted Harbor

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - In the wake of the 17th go-fast boat being blown out of the water in the Caribbean and Pacific - a war-like act off the coast of Venezuela that has killed 80 suspected “narco-terrorists” and is part of the Trump Administration’s attempt to destabilize the corrupt Maduro regime and put a damper on the cartel's drug trade infiltrating the U.S.- imminent signs of a broad military build-up in the Caribbean has settled upon the quiet shores of the sleepy town of Frederiksted, St. Croix, in the larger-than-life presence of the massive U.S. warship, the USS Iwo Jima.

The USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) landing dock is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and maintains her home port at the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia. 

The ship sits in Frederiksted Harbor at 843 feet long. She has two boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, and 70,000 SHP (52,000 KW). Her speed is 22 knots (25 mph), and her range is 9,500 nautical miles. She carries on her deck: 3 - Landing Craft Air Cushion or 2 - Landing Craft Utility or 12- Landing Craft Mechanized. When originally commissioned, the USS Iwo Jima had the ability to take on 1,687 troops (plus 184 surge) Marine Detachment. She is equipped with Air Search Radar and Surface Search Radar, along with Air Traffic Control Radar. 

The USS Iwo Jima is not a ship to be messed with due to it being equipped with two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Launchers, two RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missile Launchers, two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS systems, three 25 mm MK 38 chain guns, and four 50 BMG machine guns. 

It carries a standard aircraft complement of 6 AV-88 Harrier II attack aircraft, or 6 F-35B Lightning II stealth strike fighters; 4 AH-1W/Z Super Cobra/Viper attack helicopters, 12 MV-22B Osprey assault support tiltrotor, 4 CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, and 3 - 4UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. In its Sea Control arsenal it carries 20 AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft or 20 F-35B Lightning II stealth-strike fighters. 

The USS Iwo Jima has won many awards, including the Combat Action Ribbon (2 awards), Navy Unit Commendation (2 awards),  Humanitarian Service Medal for its work after Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma (USVI) in 2017; along with the Admiral James Flatley Memorial Award for Naval Aviation Safety in 2003, 2015, 2018 and 2021.

The ship’s motto, which is inscribed on the side of the ship is: “Uncommon Valor”, based on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s words when he spoke of Sailors and Marines who fought at Iwo Jima: “Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”  

The USS Iwo Jima, part of the Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) fleet, is docked until Monday, November 10th, at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility in Frederiksted where it was nudged into the Frederiksted Pier accompanied by tugboats. It is on a Rest & Recuperation visit (R&R), making its second stop in the USVI in just over a month’s time, after anchoring in St. Thomas at the Austin “Babe” Monsanto Marine Terminal in Crown Bay.  Officials are quoted as saying there are approximately 3,700 Sailors, Marines and contractors aboard.

Economically speaking, it is a welcome sight to merchants in the area after a slow summer season.