The guided-missile frigate USS Curts left San Diego Friday on its final deployment before it is decommissioned.
Over the next six months, the 453-foot-long Curts and its crew will conduct operations against drug traffickers and criminal organizations in the Atlantic region, according to Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet's public affairs office.
The Navy plans to decommission the Curts next year after nearly 30 years of service. It was commissioned in October 1983 and is named for four-star Navy Admiral Maurice Curts. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the amphibious landings on Leyte and during the Battle for Leyte Gulf from Oct. 17-29, 1944.
At the time, Curts was captain of the light cruiser Columbia. His Navy Cross citation read that Curts courageously maneuvered his ship through enemy-infested waters, defending U.S. forces against hostile air attacks and assisting in the sinking of at least one Japanese battleship, a cruiser and six destroyers.
He died in 1976 at age 77 and is buried alongside his first wife in Arlington National Cemetery.
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