Navy to Place 6 Frigates Based in S.D. in Mothballs

Six San Diego-based ships are among 16 aging frigates that the Navy announced Thursday will be decommissioned in a budget-cutting move that prompted the last secretary of the service to resign.

The first eight of the 16 ships being retired prematurely, including four in San Diego, will be decommissioned in September, the Pentagon said. The last of the 16, the San Diego-based Albert David, will be retired in September, 1989.

“The final disposition of each ship has not been determined,” the statement added.

“Crew members will be reassigned to other Navy commands based on manning priorities. Every consideration will be given to satisfy individual duty preferences and minimize family and command difficulties.”

The six San Diego ships, built in the ‘60s, have a total crew complement of about 1,650.

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci announced early this year in unveiling the Pentagon’s fiscal 1989 budget proposal that the Navy would retire 16 older frigates and postpone indefinitely its goal of building a 600-ship fleet.

That decision was roundly--and publicly--criticized by then-Navy Secretary James H. Webb, who asserted that Carlucci and his aides had ignored realistic budget alternatives he advanced. Saying he could not work for Carlucci under the circumstances, Webb resigned in February.

Thursday, the Pentagon said the Navy was preparing to begin the decommissioning of the Brooke-class guided missile frigates and Garcia-class frigates in September “due to fiscal restraints.”

The Pentagon also acknowledged, however, that four of the 16 ships slated for retirement are now in the midst of overhauls. The overhauls, costing a total of $78.5 million, will be completed before the ships are retired. The Navy said the overhauls were under way before the decision to retire the ships was made.

The service also estimated it would cost $11.2 million to place the vessels in mothballs--or $700,000 a ship. The Navy declined to estimate how much money it will save in operating costs.

The schedule for decommissioning, with ship name, home port and date:

- Bradley, San Diego, September, 1988.

- Brooke, San Diego, September, 1988.

- Ramsey, San Diego, September, 1988.

- Schofield, San Diego, September, 1988.

- Talbot, Mayport, Fla., September, 1988.

- Page, Norfolk, Va., September, 1988.

- Edward McDonnell, Mayport, September, 1988.

- Sample, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, September, 1988.

- O’Callahan, San Diego, November, 1988.

- Davidson, Pearl Harbor, December, 1988.

- Furer, Charleston, S.C., January, 1989.

- Garcia, Charleston, March, 1989.

- Brumby, Charleston, March, 1989.

- Voge, Mayport, August, 1989.

- Koelsch, Mayport, September, 1989.

- Albert David, San Diego, September, 1989.

The four ships being overhauled are the Furer, the Garcia, the Brumby and the Koelsch.