USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) arrived at Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., today following a delay caused by the discovery of metallic debris in the port and starboard combining gear filter systems.

The Milwaukee crew initially took action Monday when they discovered very fine metallic debris in the port combining gear filter system. The crew cleaned the combining gear filters following established procedures, but locked the port shaft as a precautionary measure to prevent possible shaft damage. Thursday evening, while conducting routine steering checks, the ship lost pressure in the starboard combining gear lube oil system. The casualty was due to similar metallic debris contamination of the filter.

USS Milwaukee was enroute to Little Creek following the ship's commissioning in Milwaukee, Wis., November 21. The ship was approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk, Va., when it experienced the loss of propulsion. With the tow services of USNS Grapple (T-ARS 53), the ship arrived at JEB Little Creek-Fort Story at approximately 9 p.m. EST, and will undergo full diagnostics and repair.

In keeping with the crew rotation plans, the current crew, Crew 104 will rotate with Crew 108, who will fly from Mayport, Fla., to Little Creek to conduct the crew swap in Virginia vice Florida. Follow-on schedule is being assessed.

Milwaukee is a Freedom-variant of the littoral combat ship which will be homported in San Diego.

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