U.S. Navy’s Amphibious Dock Landing Ship Completes Ten-Year Forward Deployment to Japan

The U.S. Navy’s Amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) arrived in San Diego Oct. 15, after a decade of forward-deployed service in the Indo-Pacific region operating out of Japan.

Germantown sailed from San Diego on Jan. 5, 2011, replacing USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49). USS Rushmore (LSD 47) will replace Germantown later this year.

As part of the U.S. 7th Fleet's Forward-Deployed Naval Forces in Japan, Germantown worked alongside allied and partner nations to provide security and stability in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Since 2011, Germantown has participated in numerous operations and exercises across the Indo-Pacific including Cobra Gold, Valiant Shield, Kamandag, MTA Sama Sama, and Tiger Triumph 2019, the first U.S.-India bilateral exercise to feature all three joint services – Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Germantown resurrected a World War II-era waterborne ambulance concept during a certification exercise in June. Installing a medical shock trauma section on Germantown’s Landing Craft, Utility (LCU) added another link in the “heal chain” to get wounded Marines from the battlefield to critical care.

Most recently, Germantown participated in Talisman Sabre 21, marking the third time the ship has taken part in the U.S.-Australia bilateral exercise with partner support from Canada, South Korea, and Japan. Germantown demonstrated their ability to act as a force multiplier in amphibious assaults, providing critical back-up through embarked LCU.

Germantown also completed Advanced Integrated Training and Certification Exercise (AIT/CERTEX), a demanding multi-faceted exercise where the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 11 conducted exercises ranging from non-compliant vessel boarding, boat raids, underway replenishments, and amphibious landings with air support provided from amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6).