| insert image here insert caption here (insert link to larger image here) | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Awarded: | 23 May 1963 |
| Laid down: | 23 January 1965 |
| Launched: | 12 February 1966 |
| Commissioned: | 12 July 1969 |
| Fate: | Active, in commission |
| Homeport: | Sasebo, Japan |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9589 tons light, 17299 tons full, 7710 tons dead |
| Length: | 173.7 meters (570 feet) overall, 167 meters (548 feet) waterline |
| Beam: | 30.4 meters (100 feet) extreme, 25.6 meters (84 feet) waterline |
| Draft: | 6.7 meters (22 feet) maximum, 7 meters (23 feet) limit |
| Complement: | 59 officers, 569 men |
| Capacity: | 930 troops |
| Armament: | eight three-inch/50-caliber guns |
Throughout the 1970s, Juneau completed of five deployments to the western Pacific, including eight trips into Vietnamese waters, earning five battle stars for its efforts in the Vietnam War. Juneau conducted the first AV-8B Harrier landing on a Pacific Fleet LPD in February 1976.
During the 1980s Juneau completed seven deployments. In April 1989, Juneau received emergency orders to Prince William Sound in support of the Exxon Valdez oil spill clean up. She was the first Naval vessel on station, and assumed the duties of command and control ship for Joint Task Force Alaska. She provided berthing, communications, transportation (both surface and air), food, medical and laundry services for over four hundred civilian cleanup workers.
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the initiation of Operation Desert Shield, Juneau sailed with 12 other ships of Amphibious Group Three in December 1990 to participate in Operation Desert Storm. Joining with ships from Amphibious Group Two, Juneau was a member of the largest amphibious task force since the United Nations assault on Inchon, South Korea. On 24 February 1991 Juneau off-loaded its equipment and ammunition in record time and landed its embarked troops at Ras Al Mishab, Saudi Arabia, whence they would assault Iraqi positions in southern Kuwait.
In May 1991, Juneau proceeded to Bangladesh to assist in Operation Sea Angel, providing relief after a disastrous cyclone.
During its 14th deployment, Juneau was diverted to the coast of Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope. Her embarked Marines ensured the security of shipments of food supplies to the people of Somalia.
Juneau was homeported in San Diego, California until 30 July 1999 when she relieved USS Dubuque (LPD-8) as part of the forward-deployed naval forces. Since that date she has been homeported in Sasebo, Japan.
From June to September of 1999 Juneau participated in the first SHIP-SWAP with her sister-ship USS Dubuque (LPD-8), where each ship's crew remained in their original home ports, allowing Dubuque to return to the homeport of San Diego, California.
See USS Juneau for other ships of the same name.