USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Kalamazoo.

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)

USS Kalamazoo in underway replenishment with USS Saratoga.
History
United States
Name	USS Kalamazoo
Namesake	Kalamazoo, Michigan and the Kalamazoo River
Builder	General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	1 October 1970
Launched	1 November 1972
Commissioned	11 August 1973, as USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)
Decommissioned	16 August 1996
Stricken	29 October 1998
Identification	IMO number: 8644084
Motto	KZOO Can Do
Nickname(s)	The Zoo
Honors and awards	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Fate	Sold for scrap, 15 July 2008, for $1,465,726
General characteristics
Class and type	Wichita-class replenishment oiler
Displacement	14,048 long tons (14,273 t) light 39,790 long tons (40,429 t) full
Length	659 ft (201 m)
Beam	96 ft (29 m)
Draft	37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion	3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 32,000 shp (23,862 kW)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	34 officers, 463 enlisted
Armament	2 × Phalanx CIWS 1 × Sea Sparrow missile system (NSSMS)
Aircraft carried	2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
Aviation facilities	Helo Deck and berthing for 8 Airdet Personnel

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler commissioned by the United States Navy in 1973. She continued to support Navy requirements until 1996 when she was placed in the reserve fleet and later struck.

Construction

Kalamazoo was laid down on 1 October 1970 and launched on 1 November 1972 at the shipyard of the General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts. On 11 August 1973 she was commissioned USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) and placed into service for the fleet. Her first homeport was Mayport Naval Station, Mayport, Florida.

Service history

Date	to Date	Deployment or event
11 August 1973	–	Commissioned
June 1974	February 1975	Mediterranean
January 1975	December 1975	Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award Atlantic Fleet Winner
April 1975	October 1975	Blue Nose – Arctic Circle
July 1976	July 1976	New York Harbor Tall Ships Celebration
January 1977	August 1977	Mediterranean
Sept 1978	May 1979	Regular overhaul
April 1980	October 1980	Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
8 October 1981	–	Line-crossing ceremony, 0 meridian, Emerald Shellback Initiation – Atlantic Ocean
October 1981	April 1982	Mediterranean-West Africa
November 1982	May 1983	Mediterranean
December 1983	June 1984	Overhaul – Hoboken N.J.
May 1985	December 1985	Mediterranean-Lebanon
August 1986	October 1986	North Atlantic: Blue Nose
December 1986	June 1987	Mediterranean
December 1988	June 1989	Mediterranean: This was called "The Unexpected Cruise". The Kzoo was unexpectedly placed into rotation for deployment after the USS Detroit (AOE-4) was unable to make her scheduled deployment.
December 1989	May 1990	Caribbean (Guantanamo Bay, Puerto Rico and joint anti-smuggling LEO Ops (law enforcement operations) with the US Coast Guard.
December 1990	June 1991	"Operation Desert Storm"
October 1992	April 1993	Mediterranean
May 1994	November 1994	Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
16 August 1996	–	Decommissioned

Decommissioning

On 16 August 1996 Kalamazoo was decommissioned and placed in reserve at the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Lee Hall, Virginia. She was struck from the Navy Directory on 29 October 1998 and, on 15 July 2008, she was sold by the U.S. Maritime Administration to Esco Marine, Brownsville, Texas, for $1,465,726. Kalamazoo was towed out of James River Reserve Fleet on Tuesday, 30 September 2008, en route to ESCO Brownsville.

Honors and awards

Qualified Kalamazoo personnel were authorized the following:

• Joint Meritorious Unit Award
• Navy Unit Commendation
• Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
• Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2)
• Navy Expeditionary Medal (1-Iran/Indian Ocean, 5-Lebanon)
• National Defense Service Medal with star
• Southwest Asia Service Medal with three stars

See also

• United States Navy
• Replenishment oiler

References

• Photo gallery of Kalamazoo at NavSource Naval History
• Wildenberg, Thomas (1996). Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. Retrieved 28 April 2009.