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USS La Salle (AGF 3)

USS LA SALLE, the third and last ship of the RALEIGH-class of amphibious transport docks, was the second United States Navy ship to bear the name. She was named for the city of La Salle, Illinois, and La Salle County, whose names commemorate the French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Designated a Miscellaneous Command Ship in 1972, USS LA SALLE subsequently served as flagship for Commander Middle East Force. That role earned her the nickname "The Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast". In 1994, the LA SALLE assumed duties as flagship for Commander Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Last homeported in Gaeta, Italy, LA SALLE was decommissioned on May 27, 2005, at Norfolk Naval Base, Va.

On April 12, 2007, the LA SALLE was sunk as a target off the coast of Pensacola, Fla. The sinking of LA SALLE took more than 12 hours and several weapons including Harpoon missiles and 1000lb bombs. Eventually, the USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81) sunk the LA SALLE.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS LA SALLE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS LA SALLE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS LA SALLE Cruise Books:

• African and Middle East Cruise Book 1972
• Middle East and WestPac Cruise Book 1973-74
• Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean Cruise Book 1984
• Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean Cruise Book 1987-88
• Persian Gulf Cruise Book 1988-89
• Final Cruise Book 2004-05

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Accidents aboard USS LA SALLE:

Date	Where	Events
March 24, 1967	off Cape Henry, Va.	USS LA SALLE collides with the Israeli freighter DEGANYA in fog off Cape Henry, Va. Both ships suffered minor damage.
April 21, 1983	Naval Station Norfolk, Va.	A fire that started in a Naval Supply Center building at Pier 4 spreads to the USS LA SALLE which is tied up at the same pier. The fire damages the ship's starboard side. The photos below were taken during the fire.

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History of USS LA SALLE:

USS LA SALLE was laid at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York, on April 2, 1962. She was launched on August 3, 1963, sponsored by Mrs. Victor M. Longstreet, and commissioned on February 22, 1964, with Captain Edward H. Winslow in command. Like her sister ships, LA SALLE was designed to combine a floodable well deck for landing craft and amphibious vehicles with a large helicopter flight deck, allowing an embarked Marine force to move ashore by surface and air simultaneously.

Following commissioning, LA SALLE conducted shakedown and amphibious training in the Caribbean and from Norfolk, Virginia. Her first major overseas deployment began on October 9, 1964, when she departed Norfolk for Exercise Steel Pike I. Conducted off southern Spain, Steel Pike was one of the largest amphibious exercises undertaken during the Cold War to that date and involved more than eighty ships together with large American and Spanish ground and air forces. The exercise tested the ability of the United States to move a major Marine force across the Atlantic and reinforce the southern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. LA SALLE arrived off Huelva, Spain, on October 26. During the exercise, she embarked a group of senior American officials that included Under Secretary of the Navy Paul B. Fay Jr., Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Horacio Rivero Jr., Commandant of the Marine Corps General Wallace M. Greene Jr. and Representative L. Mendel Rivers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who observed the amphibious landing from the ship. Steel Pike ended on November 4. LA SALLE subsequently entered the Mediterranean and joined the Sixth Fleet, participating in amphibious operations and allied training while operating from ports that included Naples, Italy. She remained overseas through the winter and returned to Norfolk on March 13, 1965.

Only weeks later, LA SALLE became involved in the crisis in the Dominican Republic. On May 1, 1965, she sailed with Vice Admiral John S. McCain Jr., Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, embarked. Fighting had broken out in the Dominican Republic following an attempt to restore former president Juan Bosch, and American forces intervened as Operation Power Pack developed into a large evacuation and stabilization operation. LA SALLE's communications and command facilities were used in support of the Atlantic Fleet amphibious force during the crisis. On May 28, she departed the Dominican Republic carrying Marine units being returned to the United States, including personnel from Headquarters Company, 6th Marines, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, and supporting medical, tank and antitank elements. She arrived at Morehead City, North Carolina, on May 31, where the Marines disembarked, and returned to Norfolk on June 1. Three weeks later, LA SALLE joined the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Squadron. She remained engaged in Caribbean and East Coast amphibious training until returning to Norfolk on September 21.

During the first half of 1966, LA SALLE continued operating primarily along the East Coast. Periods of upkeep and modification at Norfolk alternated with additional exercises and training. That year, the ship also became involved in an unusual mission connected with the American military space program. She was prepared to recover a spacecraft associated with the United States Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. On November 3, 1966, a Titan IIIC rocket launched an unmanned test spacecraft incorporating the previously flown Gemini 2 capsule and modifications associated with the proposed Gemini B configuration. After its suborbital flight, the reentry vehicle splashed down in the Atlantic near Ascension Island and was recovered by LA SALLE. The capsule was subsequently returned to Cape Kennedy, Florida. The remainder of the year was spent in Atlantic operations.

LA SALLE entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard on January 9, 1967, for repairs and remained there until March 20. After leaving the yard, she resumed fleet operations. The remainder of 1967 and much of 1968 were occupied by exercises, amphibious training and port visits along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and in the Caribbean. These operations reflected the continuing requirement to maintain an Atlantic Fleet amphibious capability able to respond to crises in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Atlantic approaches even while the largest American amphibious commitment was concentrated in Southeast Asia.

On November 2, 1968, LA SALLE entered Norfolk to prepare for another extended Mediterranean deployment. She departed on November 13, steamed first to Morehead City and then crossed the Atlantic for Sixth Fleet duty. She remained in the Mediterranean into 1969. After returning to the United States, the ship participated in another unusual aviation development program. During 1969, LA SALLE was used in connection with demonstrations and trials of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier vertical/short takeoff and landing aircraft. The tests demonstrated the potential for operating fixed-wing aircraft from ships that did not possess the catapults and arresting gear of conventional aircraft carriers, a concept that later became important to American amphibious aviation.

LA SALLE continued the regular Atlantic Fleet amphibious cycle during 1970 and 1971, alternating periods of maintenance and training with Mediterranean assignments. By April 28, 1971, she was serving with Task Group 45.9 in the Mediterranean together with USS GRANT COUNTY (LST 1174), USS PLYMOUTH ROCK (LSD 29), USS LORAIN COUNTY (LST 1177) and USS EL PASO (LKA 117). The group carried Battalion Landing Team 3/6 and supporting Marine artillery and other elements. As with other Mediterranean amphibious ready forces, the formation maintained a mobile Marine landing force while conducting training and remaining available for evacuation or other contingency missions. This period marked the final phase of LA SALLE's original career as a conventional amphibious transport dock.

Early in 1972, the Navy began transforming LA SALLE for an entirely different role. The decline of the British military presence east of Suez and the independence of Bahrain in 1971 had altered the strategic structure of the Persian Gulf. The United States had maintained a small Middle East Force in the region since 1949, traditionally built around former seaplane tenders serving as flagships, but the growing political and economic importance of the Persian Gulf and increasing Soviet naval activity created a requirement for a larger and more capable command platform. LA SALLE underwent extensive conversion. Additional communications and command facilities were installed, internal spaces were adapted for a permanent flag staff, air-conditioning capacity was increased for prolonged operations in the Gulf climate, and the ship's original amphibious function became secondary.

On July 1, 1972, LA SALLE was formally reclassified from amphibious transport dock LPD 3 to miscellaneous command ship AGF 3. Her exterior was painted white to reduce heat absorption during prolonged service in tropical waters, continuing a practice associated with earlier Middle East Force flagships. The appearance eventually contributed to her widely used nickname, the "Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast". Her 1972 voyage toward the new station took her through African, Indian Ocean and Middle Eastern waters. Documented calls during the deployment included Guantanamo Bay; Monrovia, Liberia; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Lourenco Marques, Mozambique; Kharg Island, Iran; Muscat, Oman; the Seychelles; Mombasa, Kenya; Port Louis, Mauritius; Karachi, Pakistan; and Bahrain.

On August 24, 1972, LA SALLE began service as the permanent flagship of Commander, Middle East Force, with Bahrain becoming her forward operating base. The United States Navy had assumed use of facilities previously associated with the British presence after Bahrain became independent and Britain withdrew its permanent forces from the Gulf. The Middle East Force was small compared with the numbered fleets elsewhere in the world, generally consisting of LA SALLE and a limited number of destroyers, frigates or other ships rotating into the region. Its operating area nevertheless encompassed the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and extensive portions of the Indian Ocean and East African coast.

LA SALLE's function differed fundamentally from her former amphibious mission. She provided offices, communications equipment, planning spaces, helicopter facilities and accommodation for Commander, Middle East Force and his staff. She also served as a visible American military and diplomatic presence throughout the region. Port visits frequently included official calls, receptions, military discussions, ship visits, civic-assistance activities and contacts with local armed forces. At sea, the Middle East Force monitored regional developments and commercial shipping, exercised with friendly navies and remained available for evacuations, humanitarian missions and other contingencies. During portions of this forward-deployed service, LA SALLE traveled tens of thousands of miles annually across an unusually large operating area.

Through 1973 and 1974, LA SALLE operated throughout the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean while the United States relied heavily on Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Saudi Arabia as regional security partners. Her operations took place against a background that included the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the subsequent oil embargo and the continuing expansion of Soviet naval activity in the Indian Ocean. LA SALLE's normal role remained one of command, presence and multinational cooperation rather than direct participation in combat.

In March 1974, LA SALLE operated at Bandar Abbas, Iran, during multinational naval training involving American, British and Iranian ships. The exercises took place from March 9 through March 12 and reflected the close military relationship then existing between the United States and Iran and the Shah's increasingly important role in Persian Gulf security. Throughout the mid-1970s, Bandar Abbas, Bahrain, Karachi and ports around the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and western Indian Ocean figured prominently in Middle East Force operations.

A goodwill cruise around the turn of 1975-1976 illustrated the diplomatic component of LA SALLE's assignment. The ship visited Hodeidah in the Yemen Arab Republic, Aqaba in Jordan and Port Sudan in Sudan. During the Hodeidah visit, personnel from the ship and Middle East Force staff were able to visit Sana'a. King Hussein of Jordan visited LA SALLE during the call at Aqaba. At Port Sudan, activities included contacts with the Sudanese Navy and opportunities for crew members to visit the surrounding area. Such deployments occurred in a region bordered by countries with widely differing political systems and relationships with the United States, making sustained diplomatic contact an important part of the Middle East Force mission.

LA SALLE remained forward deployed from Bahrain through the remainder of the 1970s. Her white hull and extensive antenna arrays became familiar at Mina Salman and in ports throughout the region. At the same time, the strategic environment was becoming more difficult. Political instability increased in the Horn of Africa, Soviet influence expanded in several regional countries, and the internal position of the Iranian monarchy weakened. By 1978, the Iranian Revolution was developing rapidly, forcing the Middle East Force to prepare for possible evacuation operations and for a major change in the regional balance of power.

During February 1979, the collapse of the Shah's government created an immediate requirement to remove foreign nationals from Iran. American and British naval forces cooperated in moving evacuees from the Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas and Chah Bahar. LA SALLE was principally involved with the group evacuated from Bandar Abbas. On February 21, evacuees who had departed Bandar Abbas aboard British and civilian vessels were transferred to LA SALLE in international waters. By February 22, approximately 267 evacuees were being processed aboard the command ship, about 130 of them American citizens. LA SALLE transported them to Bahrain, where they could complete immigration and customs procedures and continue their journeys. Other American ships participated in the parallel evacuation from Chah Bahar. The operation demonstrated the contingency role for which the Middle East Force had long been maintained and occurred during the final stages of the Iranian Revolution.

Regional instability did not end with the fall of the Shah. On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants seized the United States Embassy in Tehran and took American personnel hostage. LA SALLE consequently became a focal point of the growing American naval presence in and around the Persian Gulf. The hostage crisis led to a major expansion of United States military activity in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean as carrier battle groups and other forces were moved into the region. The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980 added another source of long-term instability.

In November 1980, after more than eight years of nearly continuous forward service, LA SALLE was relieved as Middle East Force flagship by USS CORONADO (AGF 11). She returned to the United States and entered an extensive modernization period. The work increased her air-conditioning capacity, upgraded or replaced machinery and electrical equipment, and substantially improved her electronics and communications systems. Her defensive armament was also modernized. Two of the original twin 3-inch gun mounts were removed and two Mk 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems were installed. The modifications reflected both the continuing importance of the ship as a command platform and the changing threat environment in the Persian Gulf.

The overhaul lasted more than two years. LA SALLE returned to the Middle East in June 1983 and resumed flagship duties, once again relieving CORONADO. The region she returned to differed markedly from the one she had entered in 1972. Iran and Iraq had been at war since 1980, both sides were increasingly threatening commercial shipping, and the United States had begun giving Southwest Asia substantially greater strategic attention. The establishment of United States Central Command in 1983 created a larger command structure for American military operations in the area while the Middle East Force continued to provide the permanent naval presence.

In 1984, LA SALLE became involved in a multinational mine-countermeasures operation in the Red Sea. During the summer, a series of unexplained underwater explosions damaged merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez, threatening the shipping route linking the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other affected states requested assistance, and several Western countries sent mine-countermeasures forces.

The American effort was known as Operation Intense Look. Three RH-53D Sea Stallion mine-countermeasures helicopters assigned to the Saudi Arabian sector arrived at Jidda on August 14, 1984. After being reassembled and test-flown, they began operations in the approaches to Jidda and later Yanbu. LA SALLE entered the Red Sea on August 16 and began supporting the airborne mine-countermeasures effort on August 20. Her flight deck, command spaces and logistical facilities made her suitable for the mission. The operations supported by LA SALLE continued in the Jidda and Yanbu areas through September 30. In the Gulf of Suez, USS SHREVEPORT (LPD 12) supported a separate group of four RH-53D helicopters. British, French, Italian, Dutch and other naval forces conducted minehunting and minesweeping operations in additional sectors. No conclusive public attribution for the mining campaign emerged, but the multinational effort helped restore confidence in the affected shipping lanes.

A different contingency developed early in 1986. Violent internal fighting broke out in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, commonly known as South Yemen, producing heavy combat in Aden and other locations. American citizens and other foreign nationals were placed at risk. LA SALLE and other Middle East Force ships moved toward the Gulf of Aden and the Yemeni coast and remained prepared to assist with an evacuation. Royal Navy ships ultimately conducted much of the evacuation of Western civilians, while LA SALLE remained part of the American contingency force.

By 1987, the Iran-Iraq War had increasingly extended into the maritime domain. Both belligerents attacked shipping associated with the opposing side, creating what became known as the Tanker War. On May 17, 1987, USS STARK (FFG 31), operating in the Persian Gulf, was struck by two Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi aircraft. Thirty-seven American sailors were killed and the frigate suffered severe fire and structural damage. LA SALLE became directly involved in coordinating and supporting the American response.

Other ships assisting STARK included USS COONTZ (DDG 40), USS CONYNGHAM (DDG 17), USS WADDELL (DDG 24) and USS REID (FFG 30). During the night of May 17-18, STARK's crew and personnel transferred from assisting ships fought fires and flooding. When the damaged frigate exhausted its supply of oxygen-breathing-apparatus canisters early on May 18, LA SALLE provided additional canisters and other damage-control equipment. CONYNGHAM later took STARK under tow toward Bahrain. On May 19, the damaged frigate was moored outboard of LA SALLE, making the command ship a central support point for personnel, logistics and the continuing response to the attack. USS ACADIA (AD 42) arrived at Bahrain on June 1 and subsequently assumed much of the repair-support role while STARK underwent temporary battle-damage work.

Only weeks later, LA SALLE suffered a fatal aviation accident of her own. On July 30, 1987, an SH-3 Sea King helicopter assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 crashed during an attempted landing aboard LA SALLE in the Persian Gulf. Four men were killed: Lieutenant William E. Ramsburg, Lieutenant Junior Grade James F. Lazevnick, Radioman Second Class Albert B. Duparl and United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Horace S. Gentle. The accident occurred during a period of rapidly increasing American naval activity in the Gulf.

The STARK attack had accelerated changes already being considered for protection of Gulf shipping. Kuwait had asked the United States for assistance against attacks on its oil tankers, and several Kuwaiti vessels were subsequently placed under the American flag. Operation Earnest Will, the escort of these reflagged tankers through the Persian Gulf, began in July 1987. LA SALLE served as the Middle East Force's principal command platform during the operation and supported planning and control of convoy movements. The first convoy included the reflagged tankers BRIDGETON and GAS PRINCE escorted by USS FOX (CG 33), USS CROMMELIN (FFG 37) and USS KIDD (DDG 993). On July 24, BRIDGETON struck a mine, demonstrating that mines presented a threat at least as serious as direct missile or small-boat attack.

The United States subsequently expanded both its mine-countermeasures and special-operations presence. LA SALLE remained central to the afloat command structure as Earnest Will developed alongside Operation Prime Chance, in which American special-operations aircraft and small craft attempted to detect and disrupt Iranian minelaying and attacks on shipping.

One of the most important encounters occurred during the night of September 21-22, 1987. American forces tracked the Iranian vessel IRAN AJR into international waters northeast of Bahrain. United States Army special-operations helicopters operating in conjunction with USS JARRETT (FFG 33) observed the vessel laying mines. After its activities had been identified, the helicopters attacked and disabled the ship. American personnel subsequently boarded and secured IRAN AJR. LA SALLE functioned as a command and support platform during the operation.

Iranian survivors from IRAN AJR were subsequently transferred to LA SALLE. Photographic documentation from September 22 shows detainees assembled on the command ship's helicopter deck and resting aboard her while American forces examined the captured vessel and its mine cargo. Material recovered from IRAN AJR provided direct evidence of the minelaying operation. The captured vessel was subsequently sunk after the American examination had been completed. The incident marked an important escalation in direct United States involvement in the Tanker War and was followed by further confrontations with Iranian forces.

LA SALLE continued supporting convoy operations through the autumn of 1987. On October 2, she was accompanying a southbound Earnest Will convoy that included the reflagged tanker GAS PRINCE and USS HAWES (FFG 53). Late that day, the command ship detached and proceeded north to rendezvous with GUADALCANAL (LPH 7) north of Bahrain while remaining available for further operations. Throughout this period, LA SALLE's responsibilities extended beyond conventional flagship duties. She coordinated operations, supported helicopters and small craft, handled detainees and provided command facilities for officers directing an increasingly complex maritime campaign.

The high operational tempo continued into 1988. In late February, LA SALLE was temporarily relieved of her flagship responsibilities and began a voyage of approximately 7,000 miles to Japan. She departed Bahrain on February 26 and proceeded to Yokosuka, where she underwent a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability. The work continued into August. LA SALLE returned to the Persian Gulf in October 1988 and resumed command-support duties, now also supporting Commander, Joint Task Force Middle East. Although the Iran-Iraq War ended with a cease-fire in August 1988, mine clearance, shipping protection and regional stability remained important naval responsibilities.

During 1989, LA SALLE continued operating from Bahrain as Middle East Force flagship. American naval activity gradually declined from its 1987-1988 peak, but the force continued monitoring the Strait of Hormuz and principal Gulf shipping lanes while maintaining a visible United States presence. By the end of the decade, the small permanent Middle East organization had been transformed by the experience of the Tanker War into a substantially more developed regional command structure, with LA SALLE still serving at its center.

The most consequential crisis of LA SALLE's Middle East career began on August 2, 1990, when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. LA SALLE was already in the Persian Gulf and therefore formed part of the American naval presence available from the opening hours of the crisis. As the United States began Operation Desert Shield and moved large naval, air and ground forces toward Saudi Arabia, LA SALLE's command facilities became increasingly important. USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62) and USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) moved into positions from which their aircraft could respond to further Iraqi aggression while additional carrier, amphibious and surface forces headed toward Southwest Asia. LA SALLE supported Commander, Middle East Force and the expanding United States Naval Forces Central Command structure as naval operations grew rapidly in scale.

United Nations Security Council resolutions imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, and naval forces began intercepting merchant shipping to enforce the embargo. The Maritime Intercept Force became multinational and operated over a large area encompassing the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea and approaches to the Red Sea. LA SALLE provided command-and-control support for these operations and in January 1991 assumed responsibility for coordinating the multinational Maritime Intercept Force. Hundreds of merchant vessels were queried, boarded or diverted during the embargo campaign, making maritime interception one of the most continuous naval operations of Desert Shield.

Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991. LA SALLE remained a command platform in the Gulf while coalition naval forces conducted air strikes, launched cruise missiles, enforced the maritime embargo, supported mine-countermeasures forces and prepared for possible amphibious operations against the Iraqi-held Kuwaiti coast. Iraqi naval mines presented a major obstacle in the northern Gulf and damaged American warships during February.

Coalition ground forces began their offensive on February 24, and organized Iraqi resistance in Kuwait collapsed rapidly. Offensive combat was suspended on February 28, but mine-clearance operations continued because large numbers of Iraqi mines still obstructed approaches to Kuwaiti ports and coastal waters. On March 1, LA SALLE temporarily assumed the airborne mine-countermeasures support and command-and-control role previously performed by USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10). She supported the mine-countermeasures effort until USS NEW ORLEANS (LPH 11) became available to assume the role.

On March 12, 1991, LA SALLE entered the liberated Kuwaiti port of Ash Shuaybah through a channel cleared by coalition mine-countermeasures forces. British minehunter HMS CATTISTOCK (M 31) and two tankers were associated with the movement into the harbor. The arrival supported the restoration of port access and the delivery of supplies and fresh water to Kuwait following the Iraqi withdrawal. Significant mine hazards still remained in adjacent waters, and mine-countermeasures operations continued after major combat had ended.

The Gulf War marked the culmination of LA SALLE's long period as the United States Navy's principal permanent command ship in the Middle East. After completing her postwar duties, she continued serving in the region while the Navy reorganized its command arrangements. Her time as Middle East Force flagship eventually came to an end after more than two decades of forward service. Before assuming her next major assignment, LA SALLE returned to the United States for an extensive overhaul and modernization lasting approximately seventeen months. Her command, communications and staff facilities were substantially upgraded, spaces associated with her original amphibious role were increasingly adapted for command use, and the distinctive white Middle East color scheme was replaced by standard Navy gray.

On November 8, 1994, LA SALLE relieved USS BELKNAP (CG 26) as flagship for Commander, Sixth Fleet. She was thereafter forward deployed at Gaeta, Italy. This second major phase of her command-ship career placed her at the center of American naval operations in the Mediterranean and Black Sea during the turbulent period following the collapse of Yugoslavia and the end of the Cold War. In addition to supporting Commander, Sixth Fleet, her command facilities were used by NATO and multinational staffs responsible for operations throughout southern Europe and the Mediterranean.

The conflicts in the former Yugoslavia dominated much of Sixth Fleet activity during the mid-1990s. War in Bosnia and Herzegovina had already required extensive naval operations in the Adriatic, including sanctions enforcement, air-defense patrols and support for NATO air operations. Following the Dayton Peace Agreement late in 1995, NATO deployed forces to implement the settlement. LA SALLE continued serving as the Sixth Fleet command platform during the transition from combat operations to peace implementation.

Throughout 1996 and 1997, LA SALLE continued operating from Gaeta and conducting Sixth Fleet command duties around the Mediterranean. She supported multinational exercises, theater-security cooperation and crisis-response planning while the United States and NATO maintained forces connected with stabilization efforts in the former Yugoslavia. Her extensive communications suite allowed the Sixth Fleet commander and staff to remain connected with shore headquarters, aircraft, submarines and surface ships spread across the theater.

Maintenance requirements became increasingly significant as LA SALLE entered her fourth decade in commission. During maintenance at Gaeta in 1998, Navy divers installed cofferdams over sea chests so that internal piping could be removed and replaced without placing the entire ship in drydock. The work was conducted with support from Norfolk Naval Shipyard and local repair facilities and represented one of many efforts required to maintain the aging steam-powered command ship.

The Kosovo crisis brought LA SALLE into another period of sustained operations in 1999. Serbian security operations in Kosovo and the failure of diplomatic efforts led NATO to begin an air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in March. LA SALLE supported the command structure associated with Joint Task Force Flexible Anvil, Joint Task Force Noble Anvil and Operation Allied Force. From her position as Sixth Fleet flagship she supported naval and joint forces operating in the Mediterranean and Adriatic during the NATO campaign. Following the end of major combat operations, LA SALLE entered a lengthy maintenance period. From June through December 1999, she underwent a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability at Toulon, France, before returning to operational service early in 2000.

LA SALLE remained active in Mediterranean operations during 2000 and 2001. In 2001, she underwent a three-month Selective Restricted Availability at Malta Drydocks in Valletta, Malta, an important maintenance period for a ship then more than thirty-seven years old. After returning to operational service, she conducted a Black Sea deployment in August 2001. During an approximately seventeen-day period in the Black Sea, LA SALLE and the Sixth Fleet staff visited ports and conducted contacts with Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The deployment supported military-to-military engagement and multinational cooperation at a time when the United States and NATO were expanding relations with former Warsaw Pact countries and former Soviet republics.

The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001 changed the context of LA SALLE's remaining service. As Sixth Fleet flagship she became part of the command-and-control structure supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and the wider American response to terrorism. Maritime interception, force protection, theater coordination and the movement of United States forces through the Mediterranean all became increasingly important responsibilities.

LA SALLE also supported maritime-security operations intended to identify and inspect shipping associated with terrorism, prohibited cargoes or other security concerns. Her combination of command spaces, boats, helicopter facilities and communications equipment made her well suited to coordinating such operations. These responsibilities gained further importance as the United States prepared for possible military action against Iraq.

By early 2003, LA SALLE was heavily involved in preparations for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On January 17, she operated in company with USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) during flight operations in the Mediterranean. As military forces moved toward the Middle East, LA SALLE and the embarked Sixth Fleet staff helped plan and monitor the movement of Military Sealift Command shipping and coordinated naval activity across the Mediterranean theater. On March 1, a visit, board, search and seizure team from LA SALLE inspected a merchant vessel in the Mediterranean as part of maritime-security operations.

When the war in Iraq began in March 2003, LA SALLE remained at sea for fifty-six consecutive days. Her command center tracked and coordinated a wide range of operations. The Sixth Fleet staff monitored aircraft sorties from HARRY S. TRUMAN and USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71), both operating from the Mediterranean, and coordinated naval contributions that included Tomahawk cruise-missile strikes against targets in Iraq. LA SALLE also supported escort and force-protection requirements for Military Sealift Command vessels carrying personnel and materiel through the Mediterranean toward the Middle East.

A less routine incident occurred on June 7, 2003, about forty miles west of Sicily, when USS PROVIDENCE (SSN 719) became entangled in the net of an Italian fishing vessel. LA SALLE was operating nearby and launched a helicopter and a small boat to assist in assessing the situation and checking on the fishermen. No injuries to the fishing crew were reported.

The aging command ship then entered another major maintenance period. LA SALLE arrived in Grand Harbour, Malta, on July 10, 2003, and berthed initially at Pinto Wharf before entering Malta Drydocks. The approximately three-month maintenance and modernization project included extensive propulsion-plant work involving boilers and pumps, repair and replacement of steam piping used for heating, cooking and domestic services, and renovation of thirteen crew berthing compartments. A new NATO planning and conference center was installed in the Sixth Fleet staff area. The project followed an earlier maintenance period at Malta in 2001 and was intended to keep LA SALLE operational until her planned replacement.

After completing the Malta work, LA SALLE resumed Sixth Fleet operations. On May 17, 2004, she arrived at Dublin, Ireland, for a goodwill visit lasting through May 22. During July, she participated in Exercise Majestic Eagle 2004 in the eastern Atlantic off Morocco. On July 12, LA SALLE operated in company with the Dutch frigate HNLMS JACOB VAN HEEMSKERCK (F 812) and submarine tender USS EMORY S. LAND (AS 39). Majestic Eagle involved naval and air forces from the United States and several European and North African countries and was designed to improve multinational maritime interoperability.

During August 2004, LA SALLE supported NATO-led maritime-security activity associated with the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Concern about possible terrorist attacks led NATO and Greek authorities to establish extensive air and maritime surveillance around Greece, and LA SALLE's Sixth Fleet command-and-control capability contributed to the naval security effort in international waters surrounding the country.

In November 2004, LA SALLE returned to the Black Sea for approximately two weeks of multinational training with the navies of Turkey, Romania, Ukraine and Bulgaria. The deployment included port visits in Ukraine and Bulgaria as well as personnel exchanges, seamanship evolutions and maritime-interception training. During the approach to the exercise, LA SALLE conducted underway replenishment in the Aegean Sea with USNS PATUXENT (T-AO 201). The Black Sea cruise was among the final operational deployments of the ship's career.

By early 2005, preparations were underway to replace LA SALLE as Sixth Fleet flagship with a newer and larger command ship. USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20), which had previously served as Second Fleet and NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic flagship, crossed the Atlantic and arrived at Gaeta. Personnel, equipment and staff functions were transferred between the two ships during February. On February 25, 2005, Vice Admiral Harry G. Ulrich III formally transferred the Sixth Fleet flag from LA SALLE to MOUNT WHITNEY during a ceremony at Gaeta. The transfer ended more than ten years of LA SALLE's service as Sixth Fleet flagship and more than three decades of almost continuous forward-deployed command-ship service in the Middle East and Mediterranean. LA SALLE departed Gaeta later that day and began her final Atlantic crossing.

She arrived at Norfolk on March 17, 2005, and spent the following weeks preparing for inactivation. USS LA SALLE was decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk on May 27, 2005, with Captain Herman A. Shelanski as her final commanding officer. She was also removed from the Naval Vessel Register that day. Her commissioned career had lasted more than forty-one years, an unusually long period for a ship originally constructed as an early-1960s amphibious transport dock. Following decommissioning, the former LA SALLE was retained pending final disposition.

The former command ship was ultimately selected for use as a target during a fleet weapons exercise off the Florida coast. During a SINKEX conducted on April 11-12, 2007, ex-LA SALLE was attacked with several types of weapons, including anti-ship missiles and aircraft-delivered ordnance. USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81) participated in the final phase of the exercise. The former LA SALLE subsequently sank in waters off Pensacola, Florida.

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