About The Support Committee
The USS Fort Worth Support Committee evolved out of the USS Fort Worth Commissioning Committee once the ship was commissioned. The Fort Worth community committed to support the USS Fort Worth for the life of the ship.
Our mission is to provide the men and women who serve aboard the ship with opportunities and support that shows the spirit of Fort Worth while recognizing outstanding service.
The Support Committee also aims to grow awareness of the USS Fort Worth and the military in general within the greater Fort Worth area.
The USS Fort Worth (LCS-3)
The USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) has been commissioned for four years now. The ship returned to homeport San Diego October 2016.
In November 2014, the USS Fort Worth left San Diego for her maiden deployment to Southeast Asia. LCS Crews 104, 103, 102, 101 and 111 served important roles aboard the USS Fort Worth during the deployment -- participating in joint practices with a variety of Navies based in the area and engaging communities in a variety of Southeast Asian countries.
The USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) was commissioned September 22, 2012, in Galveston, Texas. Many Fort Worth residents, including the famed Fort Worth Herd from the Stockyards, made the voyage down to Galveston to be a part of the historic celebration.
Congresswoman Kay Granger is the ship sponsor and led the drive to have the LCS-3 named for the City of Fort Worth. The Rotary Club of Fort Worth sent letters to the Secretary of the Navy campaigning for the ship to be the USS Fort Worth. The Fort Worth community rallied behind the idea of having the first ship named for the city and continues to support the ship and her crews today.
Other local supporters joined in the cause, including Congressman Roger Williams, Secretary Gordon England, former NAS JRB Fort Worth Captain T.D. Smyers and many others.
The LCS Community
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program began in 2002 with the U.S. Navy’s pursuit of a new class of small and stealthy ships for multi-mission support. It is capable of operating in shallow waters and at high speeds.
Click here for a detailed ship history and list of Commanding Officers
The LCS is envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals. This relatively small, high-speed combatant complements the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Fleet and other combatants by operating in environments where it is less desirable to employ larger, multi-mission ships. It will have the capability to deploy independently to overseas shallow regions, remain on station for extended periods of time either with a battle group or through a forward-basing arrangement and will be capable of underway replenishment. It will operate with Carrier Strike Groups, Surface Action Groups, in groups of other similar ships, or independently for diplomatic and presence missions. Additionally, it will have the capability to operate cooperatively with the U.S. Coast Guard and Allies.
The LCS is a small, fast, affordable ship: Speed and agility will be critical for efficient and effective conduct of the littoral missions. The LCS must be capable of operating at low speeds for littoral mission operations, transit at economical speeds, and high-speed sprints, which may be necessary to avoid/prosecute a small boat or submarine threat, conduct intercept operations over the horizon, or for insertion or extraction missions.