USS Thomas S. Gates Set for Deployment

Navy NewsStand ^ | 3/10/2004 | Stacey Byington, Naval Station Pascagoula Public Affairs

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Story Number: NNS040310-02 Release Date: 3/10/2004 8:26:00 AM

By Stacey Byington, Naval Station Pascagoula Public Affairs

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) will leave its homeport at Naval Station Pascagoula, Pascagoula, Miss., for a five-month deployment March 10. The deployment will cover a variety of missions, including a circumnavigation of the South American continent.

Gates’ deployment will include counter-drug operations, high-profile port visits along the eastern Atlantic seaboard; escorting the nation’s newest carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), to her new homeport in San Diego; and international exercises with South American navy ships.

“This is an unprecedented deployment with many training opportunities for Gates,” noted Cmdr. Richard A. Rainer Jr., Gates' commanding officer.

Gates’ eastern seaboard tour will include a visit to New London, Conn., home of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Philadelphia, Pa., where Gates was commissioned in August 1987; and Annapolis, Md., home of the U.S. Naval Academy, where Gates will serve as the visiting ship for this year's graduation ceremony.

Gates was selected to escort Reagan on her maiden voyage to San Diego, where Reagan will be homeported. Reagan is the ninth aircraft carrier of the nuclear-powered Nimitz class. Gates’ escort duties will include a visit to Punta del Este, Uruguay, and a voyage around the southern tip of South America, one of the most hazardous and legendary passages in maritime history.

Gates is an Aegis guided-missile cruiser, one of three assigned to Destroyer Squadron 6, homeported at Pascagoula. It is a multi-mission surface combatant capable of supporting carrier strike groups or amphibious forces, operating as a flagship of a surface strike group, or operating independently.

It has a crew of more than 350 men and women, and has the ability to carry out multi-dimensional, multi-threat combat missions. As part of its Aegis weapons arsenal, Gates is equipped with SPY-1 radar, sophisticated displays and computer systems, and advanced surface-to-air missiles, and is ideally suited to perform duties as "Defender of the Republic” against a complex and fast-moving air attack of any kind.

Gates is scheduled to return in early August 2004.

For related news, visit the Naval Station Pascagoula Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nspascagoula.

030507-N-6669N-004 Gulf of Mexico (May 7, 2003) - The guided missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) underway conducting a Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) and Vessel Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) training exercise in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Navy photo by Gary Nichols. (RELEASED)

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030507-N-6669N-001 At sea with USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) May 7, 2003 -- Maritime Interdiction Operations personnel assigned to the guided missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates approach the yard patrol craft YP-702 in a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to conduct Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) and Vessel Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) team training. U.S. Navy photo by Gary Nichols. (RELEASED)

030507-N-6669N-002 At sea with USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) May 7, 2003 -- An F/A-18 belonging to the “Blue Angels,” the U.S. Navy’s elite flight demonstration team, performs a fly-by of the guided missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) during a Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) and Vessel Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) team training exercise in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Navy photo by Gary Nichols. (RELEASED)

030507-N-6669N-003 At sea with USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) May 7, 2003 -- A crewmember aboard Yard Boarding Craft Seven Zero Two (YP 702) passes the boarding ladder to the Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) and Vessel Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) team from the guided missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates. U.S. Navy photo by Gary Nichols. (RELEASED)

021016-N-0000T-006 At sea with USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51) Oct. 16, 2002 -- Crew members from the guided-missile cruiser conduct Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO) training in the Atlantic Ocean. MIO operations are performed by specially-trained personnel who board and inspect vessels to ensure they are in accordance with U.N. resolutions and to prevent transportation of illegal cargo. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Aron Tayl. (RELEASED)

020911-N-4397B-001 Naval Station Pascagoula, Miss. (Sep. 11, 2002) -- Operations Specialist 2nd Class Michael McKenna from Providence, R.I., raises the “Navy Jack” for the first time at morning colors, on Sept. 11, 2002, aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Thomas S. Gates (CG 51). Under direction of the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon R. England, all U.S. Navy ships will fly the “Navy Jack” in place of the “Union Jack” for the duration of the war on terrorism. The “Navy Jack” is a flag consisting of a rattlesnake superimposed across thirteen horizontal alternating red and white stripes, with the motto, “Don’t Tread on Me.” Gates is undergoing a maintenance availability at Naval Station Pascagoula. U.S. Navy photo by Stacey Byington. (RELEASED)