CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – Thirty miles off the coast of Iraq, in the Persian Gulf, the USS Decatur sails the waters around the Al Basrah Oil Terminal providing security for the platform while Iraqi Naval Forces train to take its place.
Named after Capt. Stephen Decatur, the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the U. S. Navy at the age of 16, the USS Decatur celebrated its 11th birthday Aug. 29 and is in its third month of a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
“With a vast array of weapons and support capabilities, she is an extremely versatile and powerful craft,” reads the Navy’s official website for the Decatur. “Her ability to carry the Tomahawk Cruise Missile gives her the capability to strike with pinpoint accuracy from hundreds of miles away.”
“The Decatur is a Ballistic Missile Defense ship and a strategic platform,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Weber, the Decatur’s Independent Duty Intelligence Officer. “It is used as an informant policy to protect ourselves and our allies from missile threats.”
The Decatur’s mission in the gulf is to protect the oil terminal from attacks while the Iraqi Navy trains with the U.S. Navy to assume the task, he said. In 2004, the terminal came under attack by insurgents in fishing boats, claiming the lives of two Sailors.
“We are here helping train the Iraqi Naval Forces and ensure Iraq’s economy is secure until they are ready,” the San Diego resident said. “Over 80 percent of Iraq’s gross domestic product comes from the Al Basrah Oil Terminal right over there.”
Weber said he is proud to be serving in the gulf and helping Iraq get back on its feet.
“That is the great thing about the United States; we support the world’s freedoms,” he added, “and the Navy has always been a forward arm of policy in protecting the freedom around the world.”
“In 1805, there was a conflict in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Navy, as a 30-year-old service at the time, traveled across the ocean to preserve freedom,” he said. “From Antarctica to Africa, we are here to preserve the freedoms of the world.”
