USS Rentz ( FFG - 46 ) USS " Rentz " ( FFG - 46 ) is an " Oliver Hazard Perry " - class of guided missile frigate , of the United States Navy , the 40th ship to be constructed of its class . The " Rentz " was named after World War II Navy Chaplain George S . Rentz ( 1882 – 1942 ) . Chaplain Rentz was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for selfless bravery following the loss of in the Battle of Sunda Strait . He was the only Navy chaplain to be so honored during World War II . History . The keel of " Rentz " was laid on 18 September 1982 at Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro , California . She was launched 16 July 1983 , and commissioned at Naval Station Long Beach on 30 June 1984 under the command of CDR Martin Jules Mayer ( b . 1944 ) . In attendance were survivors of the " Houston " , as well as Chaplain Rentz ' s surviving daughter . In December 1985 , " Rentz " moved from Long Beach , California to its current ( 2007 ) location in San Diego , California . Following initial shakedown cruises and operations , " Rentz " was assigned to the aircraft carrier group . As part of that group , the ship regularly cruised the Southern California Operations Area off the coast of San Clemente Island with a pair of fuzzy dice dangling above the ship ' s computerized helm . During " breakaways " after underway replenishment ( UNREP ) at sea , " Rentz " blasted the Beach Boys song " Little Deuce Coupe " as its inaugural " UNREP breakaway song . " On 5 November 1986 , " Rentz " was part of an historic visit to Qingdao ( Tsing Tao ; 青岛 ) China — the first US Naval visit to China since 1949 . " Rentz " was accompanied by two other ships , the and . The visit was officially hosted by the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army Navy ( PLAN ) . Previously , the was the last ship to moor in China , departing in 1949 when the communists forced the Americans to leave the Chinese mainland . In July 1987 , " Rentz " was sent to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will . Her primary duties consisted of escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz . " Rentz " provided missile security escort for the North Persian Gulf Battlegroup destroyers during their transit in and out of the Straits of Hormuz en route to an operation code name " Nimble Archer " involving naval gun bombardment and SEAL Team take over of an abandoned oil rig being used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to stage attacks on Persian Gulf shipping . " Rentz " has been deployed to the Gulf numerous times since 1987 . On 28 November 2009 while the ship was moored in Jebel Ali , United Arab Emirates as part of the " Nimitz " carrier strike group , a crewman was killed while performing repairs to the ship . According to the Navy , Petty Officer 3rd Class David M . Mudge was electrocuted while working in an auxiliary machinery space . In response to the mishap , the Navy ordered the entire fleet to inspect ship electrical enclosures . About the Ship ' s Crest . The colors blue and gold are traditionally associated with the U . S . Navy . The vertical trident represents the sea god Neptune . The crossed missiles indicate the type of ship " Frigate with Guided Missiles . " The cross on the shield symbolizes the ship ' s namesake , Chaplain Rentz . The motto " Dread Nought " tells all to have no fear for the ship is watched over by higher powers .