Tarawa completes three decades of service.

Tarawa (LHA 1), which supported U. S. military operations around the world for more than three decades, will decommission on 31 March in San Diego, Calif. She is the second ship named in honor of the WWII battle fought by Marines in the central Pacific on 20-23 November 1943. She was the first of the five Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships build by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., in Pascagoula, Miss. Tarawa entered commission on 29 May 1976 with Capt. James H. Morris in command.

The ship's history includes early deployments of the AV-8 Harrier II in 1979, support of United Nations peacekeepers in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983, and service in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91.

Tarawa returned to her homeport of San Diego from her 14th and final deployment on 3 June 2008. The ship displayed her versatility during the final deployment which included disaster relief operations in Bangladesh, humanitarian assistance in Djibouti, and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf. Her crew sailed more than 36,000 miles and visited four continents. They supported more than 1,300 Marines, and welcomed aboard officials from Pakistan, France, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the U.S.

"The soul of the ship has always been her crew," Tarawa CO Capt. Brian Luther said. "Although Tarawa has known many sailors in her lifetime, I would venture to say that there have been none so well trained and dedicated to the service of their country as the men and women that are aboard right now. Their continued work is what made her last deployment a success."

Tarawa's final underway period included exercises with the French navy off the southern California coast on 6 November 2008. Tarawa, the French frigate Prairial, and Coast Guard cutter Bertholf exchanged crew members while an Allouette-3 helicopter from Prairial conducted flight operations from Tarawa's flight deck.

Tarawa outlived two of her younger sister ships. Saipan (LHA 2), decommissioned 20 April 2001 and transferred to the inactive fleet, and Belleau Wood (LHA 3) decommissioned 13 October 2005 and was sunk on 13 July 2006 during a RIMPAC exercise.

The America (LHA 6)-class ships will replace the Tarawa-class. The America-class will have an extended hangar deck with two higher hangar bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance. The new ships will also be able to embark and launch the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, cargo and attack helicopters, the AV-8B Harrier II, and the short takeoff vertical landing F-35B Lightning II. America will enter service in 2012.

By MC3 Karalie Pallotta and MCSN Omar A. Dominquez