The U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed Gaeta, Italy, and headed for Croatia on March 8.
The flagship is returning to the Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia, for critical Command and Control, Computers, Communications, Combat Systems and Intelligence (C5I) repairs.
Lt. Mark Reddy , Electronic Materials Officer, USS Mount Whitney, said: “This is a great opportunity to get back to Croatia to take care of routine work.”
“The Mount Whitney crew is motivated and determined to take advantage of their time in the shipyard to get ready for several important assessments and inspections coming in the near future.”
The Mount Whitney will refurbish its Ship’s Service Electrical Generators, and complete scheduled (C5I) repairs.
In September 2015, the ship completed a nine month dry dock period at the same shipyard in Croatia where it underwent several modifications on its hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) integrity.
Mount Whitney, forward-deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the U.S. Navy, both of which are forward deployed.