USS St. Louis Assumes U.S. Northern Command Mission at Southern Border

Sept. 15, 2026 | By Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet |

The littoral combat ship USS St. Louis departed Naval Station Mayport, Florida, in support of U.S. Northern Command's mission to secure the southern border of the United States, Sept. 13. 

The St. Louis assumes duties previously executed by the USS Cooperstown in support of Northcom's border security objectives. The command is working together with the Department of Homeland Security to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern border to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. 

"Our crew has trained relentlessly for this deployment, and they stand ready for whatever challenges lie ahead. I could not be more proud to lead these sailors," said Navy Cmdr. Lester Shewmake, commanding officer of the USS St. Louis. "To our families and the Mayport community — thank you for your unwavering support as we head to sea." 

Navy assets are deployed under Northcom's maritime homeland defense authorities to enable maritime interdiction missions to prevent the flow of illegal drugs or other illegal activity.

The St. Louis is assigned to the Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 and homeported in Mayport. The littoral combat ship is a fast, agile, mission-focused warship designed to operate in near-shore environments to counter 21st century threats. It is a class of small surface combatants armed with capabilities to defeat challenges in the world's littorals. These ships can operate independently or in high-threat scenarios as part of a networked battle force that includes larger, multimission surface combatants such as cruisers and destroyers.

It is the 22nd littoral combat ship delivered to the Navy, the 10th Freedom-variant to join the fleet and the seventh ship to bear the name. The first St. Louis, a sloop of war, was launched in 1828. It spent most of its service patrolling the coasts of the Americas to protect interests and trade.

Navy to Commission Future Littoral Combat Ship Marinette

Menominee, Michigan - Sept. 15, 2023 | The United States Navy is set to commission the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) as the latest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) in a prestigious ceremony scheduled for 10:00 a.m. CST on Saturday, Sept. 16, in Menominee, Michigan.

The ceremony will feature a principal address by the Honorable Mike Gallagher, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 8th District. Additional remarks will be delivered by esteemed dignitaries including the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller; Vice Admiral Darse E. Crandall, Jr., Judge Advocate General of the Navy; the Honorable Jean Stegeman, Mayor of Menominee, Michigan; the Honorable Steve Genisot, Mayor of Marinette, Wisconsin; and Mr. Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors. The ship’s sponsor, the Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, will also grace the occasion.

LCS 25 represents the 13th Freedom-variant LCS and is the 25th in its class. It holds the distinction of being the first naval warship to proudly bear the name of Marinette, Michigan, and the third naval vessel to do so. Prior vessels named Marinette (YTB-791) and Marinette County (LST 953) also honored this community. The name was officially bestowed upon LCS 25 on Sept. 22, 2016, in recognition of the invaluable contributions of the town and its skilled shipbuilders in bringing these vessels to life, ensuring their readiness to fulfill mission objectives in alignment with the nation’s maritime strategy.

The LCS class comprises two variants, Freedom and Independence, designed and constructed by two distinct industry teams. Lockheed Martin leads the Freedom-variant team, responsible for the odd-numbered hulls, from its base in Marinette, Wisconsin, while Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team, located in Mobile, Alabama, overseeing LCS 6 and all subsequent even-numbered hulls.

Littoral combat ships are characterized by their remarkable speed, optimal manning, and mission-specific capabilities. They excel in operations within near-shore and open-ocean environments, adeptly countering 21st-century coastal threats. LCS vessels seamlessly integrate with joint, combined, and manned and unmanned teams, bolstering forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions across the globe.

For those unable to attend the ceremony in person, it will be live-streamed at www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31728, with the link becoming active approximately ten minutes before the event at 9:50 a.m. CST.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342.

Secretary of the Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today that the next Independence variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Oakland (LCS 24).  The ship will be named to honor the long-standing history its namesake city has had with the Navy.  The future USS Oakland will be the third naval ship to bear the name.  The first, commissioned in 1918, was largely used to transport cargo; the second, commissioned in 1942 during the height of World War II, was only in service for seven years, but was key during many antiaircraft missions in places such as Pearl Harbor, Marshall Islands, Pagan, Guam, Iwo Jima, Rota, Peleliu and Okinawa.  After the war, Oakland performed two duty patrols off the coast of China before being decommissioned.

A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.  The ship will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors, in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions.

Secretary of the Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship

by Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today that the next Independence variant littoral combat ship will be named USS Kansas City (LCS 22).

LCS 22 will be the second commissioned naval ship to bear the name Kansas City. The first was a replenishment oiler (AOE 3) which served a 25-year career and included service during the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm.

A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.

The ship will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions.

Kansas City will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. It will be 419 feet long and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots.

USS Lassen, USS Fort Worth Complete First Combined South China Sea Operations

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop, USS Fort Worth Public Affairs

SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS) -- The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) partnered with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) to complete their first combined South China Sea presence operations, July 9.

"Our presence operations with USS Lassen demonstrates the U.S Navy's commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and emphasizes our ability to conduct maritime operations freely on the high seas," said Cmdr. Rich Jarrett, commanding officer of Fort Worth. "The 16-month deployment rotation for littoral combat ships like USS Fort Worth provides persistent presence that contributes to maritime stability throughout the region."

During combined presence operations in the South China Sea, Fort Worth and Lassen conducted joint maneuvering exercises at sea, working together to seamlessly share information between the two platforms.

"It's truly an honor to be part of the first joint presence operations in the South China Sea between an LCS and DDG," said Cmdr. Robert Francis, Lassen's commanding officer. "Lassen and Fort Worth complemented each other operationally, and the crews learned many great lessons that we will share with the fleet."

Fort Worth and Lassen also conducted joint flight operations with the ships' embarked MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters providing critical maritime domain awareness for both platforms.

"LCSs are accustomed to independent steaming, so sailing with Lassen was a welcomed change to our daily routine at sea," said Cmdr. Christopher Brown, prospective commanding officer of Fort Worth. "The operating picture shared between both ships proved invaluable in increasing our situational awareness."

Presence operations also provide U.S. Navy ships the opportunity to practice the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) with other nations' ships operating in the region. Since the CUES agreement was established in April 2014, Fort Worth, Lassen and other U.S. Navy ships have been using CUES to formally communicate maneuvering intentions with ships from other navies, to minimize the risk of miscalculations at sea.

"Codified formal communications really do help eliminate miscommunications and clarify intentions between units," said Brown. "We use both CUES and plain voice on the marine [very high frequency] radio to communicate with other ships operating in this region."

The U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, U.S. 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability and prevent conflict.