USS Bataan (LHD-5)

USS "Bataan" (LHD-5) is a sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship commissioned in 1997.

Dr. John P. White, Deputy U.S. Secretary of Defense, delivered the principal address at the christening ceremonies of "Bataan" (LHD-5) at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi.

LHD-5 is named to honor the heroic defense of the Bataan Peninsula on the western side of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the early days of World War II. Ship's Sponsor, Linda Sloan Mundy, wife of former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., christened the new ship "in the name of the United States and in honor of the heroic defenders of Bataan."

More than 100 members of veterans groups associated with the defense of Bataan and the subsequent infamous "Death March", the battle of Corregidor, and the aircraft carrier USS|Bataan|CVL-29 were at the christening ceremony.

Iraq War

The "Bataan" was one of many vessels in the Middle East region at the beginning of the Iraq war on or about March 20, 2003. After delivering her attack and transport helicopters, troops, and vehicles she was employed as a "Harrier Carrier" with primary duties supporting two Marine AV-8B Harrier II Squadrons along with USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pnav/is_200303/ai_499748219] She has made two deployments to the region since the invasion. For her third deployment, she joined the Fifth Fleet in the Gulf region, transiting the Suez canal into the Red Sea on 30 January 2007.

Hurricane Katrina

"Bataan" provided relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. She was positioned near New Orleans prior to Katrina making landfall, and began relief operations on August 30. The ship's helicopters were among the first to provide damage assessment. They went on to transport over 1600 displaced persons. "Bataan" delivered more than 100,000 pounds (45 metric tons) of cargo and 8000 U.S. gallons (30,000 liters) of fresh water to the area. The ship served as a base for two fly-away medical teams, consisting of 84 medical professionals, who provided emergency medical care in New Orleans.

V-22 Osprey

The "Bataan" has taken part in OPEVAL II report on operational and live fire test, and evaluation of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft in September 2005 with 8 Ospreys.

Hurricane Gustav

Early in september, USS Bataan was part of the HURREX exercice where U.S. Second Fleet directed exercise designed to test the shipís ability to respond to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief needs during the 2008 hurricane season. It was ordered to prepared to deploy in the event the Navy is directed to provide assistance to civilian authorities after Hurricane Gustav cames ashore [ [http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=39442 "Navy Flexes to Support Hurricane Gustav Recovery Efforts"] , Story Number: NNS080901-03.] .

See also

*AV-8 Harrier
*NATO
*Amphibious warfare
*V-22 Osprey

External links

* [http://www.bataan.navy.mil USS "Bataan" Homepage]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/amphibious_assault_ships/bataan_lhd_5/uss_bataan_lhd_5.htm Maritimequest USS "Bataan" LHD-5 Photo Gallery]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LHD-5 LHD-5 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
* [http://pogo.org/m/dp/dp-V22-dote-092005.pdf OPEVAL II testing report in pdf form]
* [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/walker/profile.html The case of the Taliban American] "CNN"
* [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509040369sep04,1,4144825.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true Navy ship nearby underused] "Chicago Tribune" 4 Sept 2005
* [http://www.flagshipnews.com/archives_2003/apr032003_10.shtml Harrier carrier: Strike force for freedom]
* [http://www.uscarriers.net/lhd5history.htm USS Bataan history at U.S. Carriers]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwKI9gy9AQM USS Bataan "Osprey testing Video" hosted at YouTube.com]