USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) is the lead ship of the two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ships of the United States Navy, and is the flagship of the Seventh Fleet. Her primary role is to provide command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to the commander and staff of the United States Seventh Fleet. She is currently forward-deployed to U.S. Navy Fleet Activities, Yokosuka in Japan, and is the third Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains, a range of mountains in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. Blue Ridge is the oldest deployed warship of the U.S. Navy, following the decommissioning of USSĀ Denver. Blue Ridge, as the U.S. Navy's active commissioned ship having the longest total period as active, flies the First Navy Jack instead of the jack of the United States. Blue Ridge is expected to remain in service until 2039.
USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) in 2012
Original specifications
Commissioning on 14 November 1970
First INSURV, North Atlantic, January 1971
Blue Ridge-class command ship
The Blue Ridge class is the first and only class of amphibious command and control ships to be specifically designed as such from the keel up.
USS Mount Whitney
Original specifications
Discone and log-periodic antennas on the Blue Ridge in 1971