Caron was laid down by the
Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of
Litton Industries at
Pascagoula, Mississippi on 1 July 1974. She was commissioned on 1 October 1977. In August 1979
Soviet planes staged a mock missile attack against the
Caron in the
Black Sea. In late October, 1983 the
Caron participated in
Operation Urgent Fury in the vicinity of
Grenada. Near H-hour on D-Day, 25 Oct. 1983, the
Caron recovered a 20-man Navy SEAL/Air Force reconnaissance team from waters off the island's southwest coast. The recon team had sortied from the
USS Clifton Sprague to assess the condition of a 9,000-foot runway then under construction by Cuban workers at Point Salines. Heavy swells swamped the engines of the team's small boats before they could reach shore. The
Caron spotted them drifting offshore as dawn approached. Much later that day, the
Caron recovered 10 more SEALs from the waters northwest of the island's capital after another commando team was driven off a radio transmitter site by a Grenadian counter-attack. On 15 February 1990
Caron completed a regular overhaul.
Caron was deployed to the Middle East after the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and from 14 January 1991 she participated in
Operation Desert Storm. On 14 October 1993 she began participation in
United Nations-mandated, U.S.-executed sanctions enforcement operations against
Haiti. She was one of six US Navy ships prepositioned off Haiti as a result of an order by President Bill Clinton. Clinton's order allowed the ships to be in position to enforce United Nations sanctions fully on the date at which they went into effect. In April 1995
Caron took part in a
NATO mine countermeasures exercise off Denmark. From January to July 1996 she deployed to the
Persian Gulf upholding
United Nations sanctions against
Iraq and aiding in
Operation Southern Watch. From February to 3 July 1998 she deployed to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, operating with and
Carrier Group Seven. During this deployment, Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light 46 (HSL-46) Detachment 3 maintained 2 SH-60B Seahawk onboard
Caron. One of the first exercises during this deployment was Exercise Shark Hunt 98 in April 1998 off the coast of Spain.|left From January to 4 June 1999 she completed a regular overhaul at
Newport News Shipbuilding. This overhaul included modifications to accommodate female crew. In June to December 2000 she deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf, operating with the battle group. On 15 October 2001 the ship was decommissioned.
Caron was to be used for explosives testing off the coast of
Puerto Rico prior to a
SINKEX, but on 4 December 2002 the explosives test unintentionally sunk the ship.
Incidents in Soviet waters On 13 March 1986, in an unprecedented move,
Caron and entered Soviet
territorial waters to the south of the
Crimean Peninsula, which prompted a Soviet diplomatic protest. Administration officials claimed it was "simply an exercise of the right of innocent passage", although Pentagon officials readily confirmed that one purpose of the exercise was to collect intelligence. In February 1988,
Caron, again operating with , entered Soviet
territorial waters limit in the
Black Sea off the Crimean Peninsula. Under
international law, this act could be permissible if the ship was progressing from one point in
international waters to another point in international waters via the shortest course possible, but according to the Soviet Union, it was the right of the USSR to authorize or prohibit travel in selected areas within the
12-mile limit. The United States, however, did not recognize the Soviet claim in this case. To prevent the claim from becoming accepted precedent, the US Navy asserted that it had sailed warships through such areas at regular intervals in the past in accordance with established international law. In response, the Soviets deployed a frigate "Bezzavetnyy" (rus.: "Беззаветный", Burevestnik M-class frigate) and a SKR-6 (rus.: CКР-6)
Mirka II class light frigate as well as many other Soviet Navy, Coast Guard,
KGB and "civilian" ships to intercept the U.S. ships. Soviet aircraft continuously buzzed the
Caron and
Yorktown as smaller vessels weaved to and fro in front of the American ships. Several times, Soviet vessels and aircraft obtained radar "lock" on the
Caron and
Yorktown. Both American ships maintained a constant course and speed throughout the incident. Eventually, the Soviets lightly rammed both ships. After the collision, and the threat of the use of weapons and aircraft by both sides, the American ships left the territorial waters of the Soviet Union. No significant damage resulted to any of the ships involved. Yorktown was under repair for 3 months. == Ship's crest ==