This story was updated on Aug. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
The United States Navy decommissioned the USS Sioux City in a small ceremony in Florida on Monday morning after less than five years in service.
Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott recalled one of his most memorable days in office, the commissioning ceremony of the USS Sioux City in November of 2018.
"You know, one of the proudest days of Sioux City. There were all kinds of Sioux City citizens there because the community got behind that did a great job of showing the Navy how proud we were to have a ship named after us. And then this is what the Navy does to us in return," said Scott.
Scott says the Navy fleeced not only his community but all taxpayers.
“Well, I think it's a joke. I mean, they mobilized our community; we went out and raised a lot of money,” he said.
Scott estimates $1.5 million went toward a christening ceremony for the vessel in November 2018, and a scholarship fund, with the majority from citizens of Sioux City and surrounding areas.
"This is unacceptable to spend $350 million, knowing that they're supposedly a problem and wasting taxpayers' money. But not only that, selling that community on 30 years’ worth of commitment to that ship," added Scott. "And then to have the Navy just throw it in our face. I've lost all confidence, and in the way the government does things, I didn't have a lot of confidence to begin with. But this just shows that they really don't give a crap about a local community."
The military cited a propulsion defect and the high cost of operation for pulling the USS Sioux City and other Freedom-class ships out of service.
The U.S. Navy responded to questions from IPR News and included a news release on the decommissioning of the USS Sioux City.
A spokesperson also released a statement surrounding concerns raised by Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott.
“Sioux City was funded with Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDT&E) allocations, which is appropriate for ships intended to mature requirements for the innovative designs. To maintain our strategic advantage, particularly under fiscal constraints, it is important for the Navy to carefully review our force structure regularly and divest of legacy capabilities that no longer bring sufficient lethality to the fight.”
The Navy did not comment on Scott’s concern that putting the USS Sioux City out of service was a “waste of taxpayer money," but did say the ship helped the Navy improve for the future.
“Sioux City was instrumental to maturing the reduced crewing philosophy, maintenance strategies, fleet CONOPs, and other issues associated with the introduction of any new class of warship. Upon decommissioning, Sioux City will be placed into Foreign Military Sale (FMS) disposition status. To maintain our strategic advantage, particularly under fiscal constraints, it is important for the Navy to carefully review our force structure regularly and divest of legacy capabilities that no longer bring sufficient lethality to maximize our effectiveness in deterring and defeating potential adversaries.”
