US Navy decommissions littoral combat ship Fort Worth

The U.S. Navy retired the Freedom‑class littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS‑3) in a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego on 29 July 2026. The vessel, the first Navy ship named for Fort Worth, Texas, was commissioned on 22 September 2012 and served for nearly 14 years as a test platform for new naval technologies, including the first anti‑submarine warfare module for the class. It completed a 16‑month deployment with more than 15,000 nautical miles in the Western Pacific, the longest for a Seventh Fleet LCS, and later functioned as a training ship. After the ceremony, the ship will be towed to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, for dismantling.

Commander Dana Canby, the ship’s final commanding officer, thanked the crew, saying, “To the last Rough Riders, I’m incredibly proud of the work you’ve put into the ship.” Former Secretary of the Navy Gordon England praised the ship’s legacy, linking it to historic vessels such as the USS Constitution and USS Enterprise.