The first ship I served on during my Navy journey was the USS Tripoli (LPH 10). The old girl is long gone, but has been replaced by the newest amphibious assault ship, USS Tripoli (LHA 7). I’m proud to have served on the USS Tripoli with an outstanding group of sailors and marines.

The Navy’s newest America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) passes the USS Midway Museum as it arrives at its new homeport at Naval Base San Diego. Tripoli is the second America-class amphibious assault ship to join the fleet. The ship was commissioned in Pascagoula, Miss., July 15, 2020.

“Our Sailors did an outstanding job in getting Tripoli safely to our new homeport of San Diego,” said Capt. Kevin Meyers, Tripoli’s commanding officer. “Now, we shift our focus to preparing this ship for her future mission: supporting combat operations and providing humanitarian assistance around the globe, in the air, on land, and sea.” “Tripoli serves as a fine example of our Sailors’ ability to learn, adapt, and continuously improve even in the face of uncertainty,” said Capt. Jennifer Ellinger, commodore of Amphibious Squadron (CPR) 7. “The ship’s arrival here today is exciting and the crew has worked diligently to get to this point.” 

Additionally, the ship held its first ever change of command in a topside ceremony following arrival. After serving as Tripoli’s commanding officer since April 2017, Captain Kevin Meyers was relieved and turned over command to Captain Joel Lang, The name Tripoli was previously assigned to a Casablanca-class escort carrier which saw service in the Second World War. Later, the first amphibious assault ship with the name USS Tripoli (LPH 10) served in Vietnam and during the Gulf War. 

Categories: Good to Know, Navy