The guided-missile frigate USS Rentz (FFG 46) was decommissioned during a ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, May 9, with friends, family and service members in attendance to celebrate the ship’s 30 years of Naval service.
As Rentz Sailors manned the rails, retired Vice Adm. Martine Jules Mayer, the ship’s first commanding officer and the ceremony’s guest speaker, detailed the ship’s history, service record, and included some of his favorite sea stories from his time onboard.
“I have nothing but fond memories and I hope all who served on her feel the same way,” said Mayer. “It was a privilege and an honor to be her first commanding officer.”
Rentz, commissioned on June 30, 1984 was named after Chaplain George Snavely Rentz, who selflessly gave his life at the Battle of Coral Sea. Rentz gave his lifejacket to a fellow Sailor after his ship, USS Houston (CA 30), was hit by enemy torpedoes and sunk.
“Being a Sailor you have to really love what you do, and if you take care of the ship, the ship will take care of you,” said Mayer. “We all have an emotional attachment to it, and we’re here to celebrate it.”
Rentz conducted Counter-Transnational Organized Crime Operations in the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility during its final deployment, and was responsible for the interdiction or disruption of approximately 5,000 kilograms of narcotics worth $116 million through nine drug trafficking cases.
Nearly 20 of Rentz’s plankowners were in attendance at the ceremony along with Mayer, and helped serve as a reminder of the ship’s great history.
“There is a requirement for every CO, XO, and CMC that comes into a ship to do the absolute best by the ship and by the crew that they can,” said Cmdr. Lance Lantier, Rentz’s current and final commanding officer. “You owe that to them and to the legacy of those who’ve come before you, and we have an excellent legacy.”
The ceremony concluded with the retirement of the colors and the debarkation of Rentz’s crew.
[mappress] Press Release, May 12, 2014; Image: US Navy