USS Monterey CG 61 – History of the U.S. Navy's Aegis Guided Missile Cruiser & Navy Decals

USS Monterey CG 61 – History, Service Record & Navy Decals

The USS Monterey (CG-61) was the fifteenth ship of the Ticonderoga class of Aegis guided missile cruisers, serving the Atlantic Fleet through more than two decades of distinguished active service. Named for the capture of Monterey — the dramatic naval and military action of July 7, 1846, in which Commodore John Drake Sloat's Pacific Squadron sailed into Monterey Bay, California, and raised the American flag over the customs house, claiming California for the United States — one of the most consequential territorial acquisitions in American history, the act that began the process of bringing California into the American republic and opening the Pacific Coast to American settlement, commerce, and power.

The Capture of Monterey & the Bear Flag Republic

In the early summer of 1846, the United States and Mexico were at war — the Mexican-American War triggered by the annexation of Texas and the disputed Texas-Mexico border. California, then a Mexican territory of about 10,000 non-indigenous settlers, was a strategic prize of enormous long-term consequence. Commodore John Drake Sloat, commanding the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron from his flagship USS Savannah, had orders to seize California's ports if war broke out. On July 7, 1846, he acted: his squadron sailed into Monterey Bay, landed 250 sailors and marines, and raised the American flag over the Monterey customs house, proclaiming California annexed to the United States.

The action connected to one of American history's most colorful episodes — the Bear Flag Revolt, in which American settlers in the Sacramento Valley had declared the independent California Republic just weeks earlier on June 14, 1846, raising the improvised Bear Flag at Sonoma. Sloat's action at Monterey superseded the Bear Flag Republic, bringing California directly under American authority. The subsequent military campaign under Commodore Robert Stockton and Captain John C. Frémont secured California for the United States by early 1847. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formalized the acquisition — and the California Gold Rush beginning in January 1848 transformed what had seemed a distant territorial prize into one of the most consequential land acquisitions in American history. The act of raising the flag at Monterey on July 7, 1846 set all of that in motion. USS Monterey carried that legacy of consequential American expansion and Pacific ambition throughout her Atlantic Fleet career.

The name Monterey also carries a distinguished World War II naval legacy. The light carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) served with distinction in the Pacific War — and is particularly remembered as the ship on which Lieutenant Gerald R. Ford, future 38th President of the United States, served as an athletic director and assistant navigator, surviving the devastating typhoon that struck the Third Fleet in December 1944 and very nearly capsized Monterey when fires broke out from aircraft torn loose in the storm. Ford's wartime service aboard the original Monterey — and his courage during the typhoon — was a formative experience that shaped the character of the man who would one day lead the nation.

Keel, Launch & Commissioning

Monterey's keel was laid down on August 19, 1987, at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. She was launched on October 23, 1988, and commissioned into the U.S. Navy on June 16, 1990, as the fifteenth ship of the Ticonderoga class under hull designation CG-61.

Class & Design

USS Monterey was one of 27 Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided missile cruisers, equipped with the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) carrying a mixed load of Standard Missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and ASROC across 122 cells. At approximately 567 feet in length and displacing approximately 9,600 tons fully loaded, she also carried two 5-inch/54 caliber guns, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, two Phalanx close-in weapon systems, and torpedo tubes, paired with the full AN/SPY-1 Aegis radar and combat system.

Operation Desert Storm & Atlantic Fleet Career

Commissioned in June 1990 — just six months before Desert Storm — USS Monterey was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, and deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm in January–February 1991, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iraqi targets in the Coalition's precision strike campaign. Commissioned barely seven months before her first combat deployment, Monterey matched the Ticonderoga class's remarkable standard of rapid operational readiness and combat effectiveness that characterized the class throughout its service life.

Following Desert Storm, USS Monterey continued her Atlantic Fleet career through more than two decades of Mediterranean deployments with the Sixth Fleet — escorting carrier strike groups, conducting NATO exercises, participating in operations across the full range of post-Cold War and War on Terror contingencies from the Adriatic to the Persian Gulf, and maintaining the American forward naval presence in the Mediterranean that was the foundation of American strategic commitments across the Atlantic world. She subsequently participated in combat operations during the War on Terror, adding additional operational distinction to an already decorated career.

Decommissioning

USS Monterey was decommissioned on October 20, 2023, after more than 33 years of commissioned service — one of the last Ticonderoga-class cruisers to be decommissioned, a career spanning from the Cold War's final year through Desert Storm, the post-Cold War era, the War on Terror, and into the mid-2020s.

Legacy

For the sailors who served aboard Monterey — the Aegis system operators, VLS technicians, combat systems specialists, and surface warfare professionals who kept this Atlantic Fleet cruiser at the cutting edge of American naval power through more than 33 years of service — she represents a career of exceptional dedication and distinction. Named for the act that raised the American flag over California and opened the Pacific Coast to American destiny, carrying the legacy of the wartime carrier where a future President survived a Pacific typhoon, USS Monterey honored two centuries of American naval ambition and achievement from her commissioning in 1990 to her final decommissioning in 2023.

Shop USS Monterey CG 61 Navy Gifts & Decals

Honor your service or give a meaningful gift to a USS Monterey veteran with our full line of USS Monterey CG 61 products:

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All products ship from the USA. Custom options available — contact us for details.