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U.S.S. VREELAND

(FF-1068)

WHERE DUTY AND GLORY LEAD

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USS VREELAND (FF-1068) - a Knox-class frigate

In Commission 1970 to 1992

FF-1068 Deployments - Major Events

Add a FF-1068 Shellback Initiation Add a FF-1068 Deployment - Major Event
Month Year to Month Year Deployment / Event
MAR1968-Keel Date: 20 MAR 1968
at Avondale Shipyard Inc. Westwego LA
JUN1969-Launch Date: 14 JUN 1969
JUN1970-Commissioned: 13 JUN 1970
AUG1972-SEP1975Mediterranean
JUN1977-NOV1977UNITAS
AUG1977-Shellback Initiation - 21 AUG 1977 - Atlantic Ocean
SEP1977-Shellback Initiation - 15 SEP 1977 - Pacific Ocean
NOV1978-MAY1979Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
JAN1982-OCT1982Mediterranean
APR1984-OCT1984Mediterranean
MAY1985-MAY1985Caribbean
JUN1985-JUN1985Second Consecutive Battle Efficiency Award for Excellence
JUN1985-JUL1985SPECOPS North Atlantic
AUG1985-AUG1985Dependents Cruise
AUG1985-SEP1985Ocean Safari
NOV1985-NOV1985Caribbean
JAN1986-MAY1986Libya Expedition (Gulf of Sidra and crossing Line of Death)
JAN1986-SEP1986Mediterranean
FEB1986-FEB1986FLEETEX 1-86 Puerto Rican Oparea
MAY1986-MAY1986Distant Hammer 86
JUN1986-JUN1986Exercise Tridente 86
AUG1986-AUG1986Crown Prince of Spain Visit
OCT1986-OCT1986Third Consecutive Battle Efficiency Award for Excellence
NOV1986-NOV1986I-SHAREM 1-87
JAN1987-JAN1987BLASTEX 1-87
FEB1987-MAR1987Port Visit Miami FL
JUN1987-JUN1987Dependents Cruise
JUL1987-AUG1987Guantanamo Bay
AUG1987-SEP1987FLEETEX 4-87
SEP1987-SEP1987Port Visit Fort Lauderdale FL
FEB1988-AUG1988Mediterranean
DEC1989-JAN1990Operation Just Cause (Panama)
DEC1990-JAN1991Desert Shield
DEC1990-JUN1991Desert Storm
FEB1991-JUN1992Decommisioning
JUN1992-JUN1992Decommisioning

FF-1068 General Specifications

Class: Knox-class frigate

Named for: Charles E. Vreeland

Complement: 18 Officers and 267 Enlisted

Displacement: 3208 tons

Length: 438 feet

Beam: 46 feet 9 inches

Flank Speed: over 27 knots

Final Disposition: Transferred to Greece 30 June 1992



USS VREELAND (FF-1068)



Vreeland (DE-1068) was laid down on 20 March 1968 by the Avondale Shipyard at Westwego, La.; launched on 16 June 1969; sponsored by Mrs. Jamie L. Whitten, wife of the Congressman representing Mississippi's 2d Congressional District; and commissioned at Charleston, S.C., on 13 June 1970, Comdr. David R. Stefferud in command.

After fitting out at Charleston and shakedown training in the West Indies, Vreeland returned to Charleston to join Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 4. She completed repairs in February 1971 and final contract trials in March and then began preparations for her first deployment to the Mediterranean area. The warship departed Charleston on 15 April and arrived in Rota, Spain, on the 25th. During the next six months, she steamed the length and breadth of the "middle sea" as a unit of the 6th Fleet. She visited numerous ports and participated in a host of exercises with American and Allied naval forces. She concluded that tour of duty at Gibraltar on 8 October when she changed operational control back to the 2d Fleet and headed home. The warship arrived in Charleston on the 16th and resumed 2d Fleet operations out of Charleston.

In the summer of 1972, the ship began preparations for another cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. That deployment, however, proved different than the previous one. Rather than deploying for six months and then returning home to Charleston, Vreeland received orders changing her home port to Athens, Greece. That assignment lasted for the next three years rather than the normal six months and included the relocation of Vreeland dependents to Athens-all as a part of the Navy's forward deployment program. During those three years, she performed the normal duties of a unit of the 6th Fleet, visiting ports, conducting exercises, and performing surveillance of Soviet ships operating in the Mediterranean.

On 1 July 1975, Vreeland was reclassified a frigate and redesignated FF-1068. Three days later, she departed Greece to begin her voyage back to the United States. The warship concluded that voyage and her three-year deployment at Philadelphia on 30 July. After post-deployment standdown, she moved south to Norfolk in September for repairs but returned to Philadelphia in October in time to participate in the Navy's 200th birthday celebration on the 13th. Duty as a surface warfare school ship and more repairs at Norfolk followed.

On 6 December, the frigate entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she spent the following year undergoing a major overhaul. Her refurbishing completed on 2 December 1976, the warship resumed duty as an active unit of the Fleet early in 1977. Refresher training and various qualification exercises out of her new home port, Mayport, Fla., occupied her during the first six months of 1977. On 25 July, she departed Mayport for a cruise to South America to participate in UNITAS XVIII, the annual series of exercises in which units of various South American navies join the United States Navy in practicing the skills of hemispheric defense. In November, she concluded her UNITAS cruise and reentered Mayport on the 25th. Leave and upkeep in port took up her time for the remainder of the year.

A part of January and February 1978 was devoted to a restricted availability for Vreeland. The frigate devoted the ensuing months to preparations for her forthcoming deployment to the Middle East. Vreeland departed from Mayport on 23 July in company with Mullinix (DD-944). Following fuel stops at Bermuda, the Azores, and Rota, Spain, the ships transited the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal and arrived at Port Sudan, Sudan, on 9 August. A turnover from Glover (AGFF-1) and Barney (DDG-6) was effected, and Vreeland joined the Middle East Force. The remainder of the year was spent in operations with that group. On 31 December, Vreeland and Mullinix retransited the Suez Canal on their return to the United States.

[Note: The above USS VREELAND (FF-1068) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS VREELAND (FF-1068), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]