USS Yellowstone ( AD - 41 ) The third USS " Yellowstone " ( AD - 41 ) was the lead ship of the of destroyer tender s in the United States Navy . These ships are also considered as " flight II " of the of tenders built in the 1960s . The other ships in the class were : , and Building and Commissioning . " Yellowstone " was laid down on 2 June 1977 at San Diego , California , by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company ; launched in January 1979 ; sponsored by Mrs . Donald C . Davis , the wife of Admiral Donald C . Davis , the Commander in Chief of the U . S . Pacific Fleet and commissioned on 28 June 1980 . Following post - commissioning workups , " Yellowstone " transited from San Diego to her homeport of Norfolk , Virginia . Service history . " Yellowstone " deployed for the first time in support of NATO exercise Ocean Venture " 81 " . During this deployment , the Repair Department , under simulated wartime conditions , completed over 100 jobs during a three - day anchorage in Scapa Flow , Scotland . In 1984 , " Yellowstone " deployed for a second time for NATO exercise United Effort - Teamwork " 84 " , " Yellowstone " completed over 300 jobs , sending " Tiger Teams " of repair personnel to other ships and providing logistic support by transferring repair parts and supplies and pumping fuel and water to ships of the task force . It was during this deployment that " Yellowstone " crossed the Arctic circle officially becoming a " Bluenose " . 1985 The ship made its first ever cruise to the Mediterranean Sea . In May 1994 " Yellowstone " returned to her homeport of Norfolk , VA . Finishing up a work - intensive Mediterranean deployment , " Yellowstone " proved her reliability to the fleet through the many tasks it accomplished , living up to its nickname , " Old Faithful " . Dedicating more than 119 , 088 manhours throughout her four - month deployment , " Yellowstone " crewmembers completed more than 3 , 400 jobs through 17 major alongside repair availabilities on ships and 45 fly - away teams . Gulf War . During the Gulf War , the destroyer tenders " Yellowstone " ( AD - 41 ) , " Acadia " ( AD - 42 ) and " Cape Cod " ( AD - 43 ) were deployed to provide the logistic requirements of a sustained naval presence . Based in the Red Sea port of Jeddah , Saudi Arabia , " Yellowstone " provided critical repair and rearming capability to the fleet . During seven months on station " Yellowstone " alone completed more than 10 , 000 repair jobs on 30 U . S . and allied ships . The Navy men and women serving aboard " Yellowstone " and the other tenders and repair ships provided a wide variety of services simultaneously to as many as flve ships moored alongside or nearby . She also earned a Naval Unit Commendation for her service in the Gulf War . President George H . W . Bush also mentioned this ship by name as being the first naval command in a combat zone to have women serving on it . Decommissioning . After only 16 years of service to the fleet , " Yellowstone " was decommissioned on 31 January 1996 , at Norfolk . Following the decommissioning ceremony , " Yellowstone " was placed in a stand - by status at the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia . In order to maintain the readiness of the recently decommissioned destroyer tenders in case world events required further use , two " Yellowstone " - class destroyer tenders were place in " reduced operating status " [ ROS ] , partially crewed by Naval Reservists . The Military Sealift Command was responsible for lay berthing , maintaining , and operating the ships . Approximately 2 , 000 reservists filled billets in the repair , communications , supply ( excluding food service ) , and medical / dental departments . Mobilization training for the Reservists took place at Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activities , Navy medical and dental facilities , and on board Active tenders . After this period of " ROS " " Yellowstone " was transferred to the James River Reserve fleet and in 1999 she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register . On 28 July 2001 , " Yellowstone " was transferred to the control of the Maritime Administration for further disposal .