The United States Naval Sea Cadet Ship (USNSCS) ''Grayfox'' (TWR-825) is a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

, the largest owned by the

United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps The United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC or NSCC) is a congressionally chartered, U.S. Navy–sponsored organization that serves to involve individuals in the sea-going military services, U.S. naval operations and training, community ser ...

. It is homeported in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

and is used by the USNSCC for shipboard training.

History

United States Navy, 1985–1995

The ''Grayfox'' began its service in 1985 as one of ten 120-foot Torpedo Weapons Retriever. It was assigned to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's Atlantic Undersea Testing and Evaluation Center (

AUTEC The United States Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is a laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare ...

) on

Andros Island Andros is an archipelago in The Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hun ...

, Bahamas. Due to the decreasing threat of

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

, the Navy put it out of use in 1995 and transferred it to the USNSCC on August 15, 1997.

U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, 1997–present

All of the torpedo rollers were removed from the after deck and returned to AUTEC. The ramp was welded, with most of the renovations and upkeep handled by cadets and volunteers. The ship was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps on April 26, 1998 as the USNSCS ''Grayfox'' by Mrs. Jack Kennedy, wife of the former National President of the

Navy League of the United States The Navy League of the United States, commonly referred to as the Navy League, is a national association with nearly 50,000 members who advocate for a strong, credible United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and ...

. The ship has berthing for 30 cadets and six officers. The large berthing capacity is due to the extension of the main cabin that was constructed by F.C. Sherman Division and other volunteers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayfox Training ships of the United States 1985 ships Ships built by Marinette Marine

History

United States Navy, 1985–1995

U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, 1997–present

See also

References