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The Last Years
The USS Moosbrugger relocated to Mayport, FL, on March 11, 1995, from its previous home port of Charleston, SC. The Spruance-class ship was the sixth of 11 ships scheduled for relocation to Mayport as a result of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision.
The USS Moosbrugger deployed in 1996 to take part in UNITAS 96, a series of combined tactical at-sea operations, amphibious operations and in-port exercises with participating South American naval forces. During that deployment, the USS Moosbrugger spent almost two weeks in Venezuelan waters conducting anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare and anti-air gunnery exercises in the Caribbean. It then departed for Brazil for the next phase of UNITAS.
The USS Moosbrugger took part in UNITAS 39-98, serving as the flagship. UNITAS, Latin for unity, consists of at-sea operations, amphibious operations, riverine operations and in port exercises conducted with nine South American navies over a four-month period. The U.S. task group circumnavigated South America in a clockwise direction, returning to Roosevelt Roads in November. The 40-year old operation promotes a cooperative maritime strategy in the region while supporting the U.S. policy of continued engagement in South America through forward presence. The navies of Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands and South Africa joined the United States and South American navies for the first phase of UNITAS. This phase was led by the United States and conducted in the vicinity of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Navy's longest running annual deployment began at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, as seven ships from four foreign navies joined a five-ship U.S. task group.
While in Puerto Rico, on April 20, 1998, the USS Moosbrugger took part in Independent Deployer Exercise (INDEX) 98-2, off the coast of Puerto Rico. During the exercise, Moosbrugger fired two Sea Sparrows from her deck at guided target drones launched from the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads. The exercise also included target drones fired from A-4 aircraft. Following this, the task force then headed for Venezuela on July 18 as Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia each directed, in turn, their own phase of UNITAS. Overall, U.S. forces worked with host navies from Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The specific exercises conducted in each phase are determined by the host navy, making each phase unique. Exercises included all areas of modern naval warfare including anti-air, amphibious, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.
Updated September 20, 2005