USS Conolly (DD-979)

The USS Conolly (DD-979) was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the union steelworkers and engineers of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down on 29 September 1975, launched on 19 February 1977 and was commissioned on 14 October 1978.

Early History

Conolly was first assigned to Norfolk, Virginia. From August to December 1980, the Conolly was deployed as part of the Middle East Force. She joined this force again from October 1981 to February 1982. In September 1982, she was deployed to the Mediterranean for operations off the coast of Lebanon.

In June 1983, Conolly participated in UNITAS XXIV, an annual exercise with naval forces of South American nations. Due to malfunctions in the engineering plant while on the east coast of Chile, the crew wound up carrying out repairs on the pneumatic clutch-brake assemblies on the two forward gas turbine engines. The second repair had to be completed at sea en route Montevideo, Uruguay. Once in port, the damaged LM-2500 Gas Turbine Main Engine was replaced in 82 hours, using a large floating crane in the port facility.

Conolly left the UNITAS exercise in November and sailed to West Africa for a training cruise. She visited Lagos, Monrovia and Senegal before returning to port in mid-December 1983.

In February 1984, Conolly sailed to Portland, Maine, for scheduled maintenance at the new Bath Iron Works facility. The overhaul lasted 10 months, during which Conolly was fitted with new weapons upgrades.

In October 1985, Conolly was once again deployed as part of the Middle East Force. She returned from this deployment in April 1986. Subsequent deployments took place in 1987, 1989 and 1992.

The 1990s

In 1993, Conolly was deployed to the Caribbean in support of Operation Support Democracy, enforcing United Nations sanctions against Haiti.

Conolly returned to the Arabian Peninsula in 1994, conducting maritime interception operations in the Red Sea in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. On 12 July 1994, Conolly came to the rescue of 62 crew members of the Panamanian-registered ferry Al Loloa after a fire broke out on board.

Conolly joined the USS George Washington carrier group on 26 January 1996 for a regularly scheduled deployment. She took part in several battle-readiness exercises during this deployment, most of which were carried out in the Mediterranean.

On 11 April, Conolly was assigned to escort the USS Guam, USS Trenton and USS Portland to Liberia from the Adriatic Sea in support of JTF Assured Response. She also participated in Operation Sharp Guard, enforcing the United Nations Security Council embargo of the former Yugoslavia. While on station, Conolly's crew inspected 121 merchant vessels.

In March 1997, Conolly's home port was moved to Mayport, Florida.

The USS Conolly was decommissioned on 18 September 1998 and the vessel remained at Philadelphia Naval Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility for more than 10 years. The USS Conolly was sunk as a target on 29 April 2009 as part of a joint fleet exercise with the Armada de México.

Asbestos Risks

The toxic mineral known as asbestos was commonly used aboard United States Navy vessels for insulating compartments and to aid in fireproofing materials. A vessel's engines and engineering compartments usually were often the areas where those aboard destroyers like the USS Conolly were most likely to come into contact with asbestos in the air, though practically all areas of a ship contained some level of asbestos.

When a ship was damaged in battle, or through daily operations, a greater risk of asbestos exposure occurred since fibers could break off into the air where anyone nearby could inhale or ingest them into the body. The fibers could then become lodged in organs or body cavities, causing inflammation or infection and, overtime, the development of an asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma.

Veterans and those who worked on the construction or repairs of ships throughout World War I and World War II may have been exposed to asbestos regularly. Understanding symptoms associated with mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure, can aid in early detection which may provide greater treatment options to those diagnosed. For a comprehensive packet about the cancer, please click here and Asbestos.com will mail a copy to the address provided.

Veterans with a history of exposure to asbestos may wish to notify their doctor of their exposure since diagnosis can be difficult. Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases often do not surface until decades after initial exposure to asbestos occurred.

Sources

Destroyers Index