NAVY WIRE SERVICE (NWS) - March 2, 2000 –

NWS02mar-9.   USS Cyclone decommissioned


By Special Boat Squadron 2 Public Affairs
    USS Cyclone (PC-1) was decommissioned Feb. 28 at a
ceremony at Special Boat Squadron 2, Naval Amphibious Base,
Little Creek, Va.
    Commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Calvin D. Slocomb and stationed
at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, Cyclone is the
namesake of the Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal (PC) ships. As
the first ship in the class, Cyclone served as the test-bed
for this very successful class of 13 ships.
    At 170 feet in length, they are the smallest
commissioned vessel in the fleet with 28 specially trained
Naval Special Warfare crewmen. These ships have deployed to
ports rarely visited by larger U.S. Navy vessels.
    The mission of the Patrol Coastal ships is to conduct
Maritime Special Operations to include: maritime
interdiction operations, forward presence, escort
operations, noncombatant evacuation, long range Naval
Special Warfare insertion and extraction, tactical swimmer
operations, reconnaissance and operational deception.
    Cyclone was turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard Feb. 29.
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