USS Comstock (LSD-45)

USS Comstock (LSD-45) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Comstock Lode in Nevada, the first being Comstock (LSD-19), commissioned in 1945 and decommissioned in 1976. The Comstock Lode was discovered in 1859, and was one of the richest deposits of precious metals known in the world.

USS Comstock in 2010
History
United States
Name	Comstock
Namesake	Comstock Lode in Nevada
Ordered	26 November 1984
Builder	Avondale Shipbuilding New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down	27 October 1986
Launched	15 January 1988
Commissioned	3 February 1990
Homeport	Naval Base San Diego
Identification	International Call Sign "NCWK"
Motto	Teamwork, Drive, Courage
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship
Displacement	11,099 tons (light) 16,190 tons (full)
Length	609 ft (186 m)
Beam	84 ft (26 m)
Draft	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion	4 Colt Industries PC2.5V, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25,000 kW)
Speed	over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	4 LCACs, or 2 LCUs.
Troops	Marine detachment: 402 + 102 surge
Complement	22 officers, 391 enlisted
Armament	2 × 25 mm Mk 38 cannons 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts 6 × .50 caliber M2HB machine guns 2 × RAMs

Comstock was laid down on 27 October 1986, by the Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana; launched on 15 January 1988; and commissioned on 3 February 1990. At first USS Comstock had an all-male crew, but soon became the first United States Navy combatant ship to have a fully integrated crew of male and female sailors.

As of 2002, Comstock is homeported at NS San Diego, California, and assigned to Expeditionary Strike Group 3. As of 2014, she is part of the Makin Island amphibious ready group.[1]

In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2026.[2]