USS Ouellet ( FF - 1077 ) USS " Ouellet " ( FF - 1077 ) was a " Knox " - class frigate of the United States Navy . " Ouellet " was the first ship of the U . S . Navy to bear the name of Seaman David George Ouellet , a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor . It was one of a class of frigates specifically designated to locate and destroy enemy submarines . " Ouellet " ' s keel was laid at Avondale Shipyard in Bridge City on 15 January 1969 . She was christened at Charleston Naval Shipyard , South Carolina on 12 December 1970 . 1970s . " Ouellet " arrived at her homeport in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii on 15 April 1971 , with her first deployment to the $ 3 commencing on 27 January 1972 . " Ouellet " twice came under hostile fire during this deployment , however no casualties were sustained . During ceremonies re - establishing the U . S . Third Fleet on 1 February 1973 , USS " Ouellet " became the first Third Fleet flagship since World War II . USS " Ouellet " made her second deployment to the Western Pacific from May through September 1973 . She began her first regular overhaul on 14 September 1974 , with completion on 3 June 1975 . " Ouellet " was selected as the CINCPACFLT flagship for the U . S . Navy ' s 200th birthday ceremonies . " Ouellet " completed two more Western Pacific deployments prior to overhaul in late 1978 . Regular overhaul was completed mid 1979 with three Western Pacific deployments to follow commencing September 1980 , April 1982 , and October 1983 respectively . 1980s . The USS Ouellet started the 1980s with a joint exercise called RIMPAC in Feb 1980 . In March of that year she headed east to conduct training and deployment work ups with the USS Ranger and Battle Group Echo . In September she deployed with Battle Group ' E ' to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman for the Iranian Crisis . Christmas of that year was spent in Diego Garcia . " Ouellet " began her third major overhaul in February 1985 . She received extensive upgrades to her gun mount , received CIWS , and SNAP II computers . In 1986 " Ouellet " was again preparing for a Western Pacific deployment . " Ouellet " deployed for her eighth time in April 1987 . Ouellet deployed with fellow Pearl Harbor Ships USS Worden ( CG - 18 ) and USS Leftwich to join the USS Constellation CV - 64 battle group known as " Battle Group Delta " . Ouellet spent time in Subic Bay , Philippines before transiting the Straights of Malacca on the way to Diego Garcia , BIOT . When the USS Stark got hit by an Iraqi Exocet missile in May 1987 , The Constellation and the battle group deployed to the North Arabian Sea , while the Ouellet went south to have port visits in St Denis , Reunion Island - which was a historic visit of sorts as no American Navy ship made a port call there in over 100 years - then off to Port Victoria , Seychelles . Ouellet then joined the rest of the battle group in the North Arabian sea in support of Operation Ernest Will . Ouellet was detached from Battle Group Delta and proceeded with the USS Cochrane ( DDG - 21 ) with port visits to Phuket , Thailand and Singapore . Ouellet then detached from the Cochrane and proceeded to Subic Bay , RPI where she had a 3 week stay before the battle group caught up and proceeded home with her . She returned to Pearl Harbor on 6 October 1987 . " Ouellet " started out 1988 with a special operation coordinated by the Coast Guard to capture the CHRISTINA M , a cargo vessel laden with over 12 tons of marijuana . Instead of regular overhaul , " Ouellet " spent most of 1988 in a Ship ' s Restricted Availability repairing and upgrading most of her systems . Following extensive training , " Ouellet " made her ninth deployment in mid December 1988 , which she headed to Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean . She returned on 26 May 1989 to turn around and prepare to get underway again in September 1989 for " Pacific Exercises 89 " ( PAC EX 89 ) . Upon return to Pearl Harbor in November 1989 she went into dry dock , refloating in February 1990 . After extensive preparations and an exhaustive inspection cycle , " Ouellet " departed on August 1990 to Central America in support of law enforcement operations . 1990s . These operations , called " Legal OPS ' 90 " for short , included amongst the crew , a detachment of Coast Guard personnel to act as a legal " policing force " aboard the Ouellet . This was the first time that a Coast Guard flag flew from a U . S . Navy warship in operations such as these . In search for drug smugglers , the Ouellet recovered close to 1 ton of pure , unprocessed cocaine , which was jettisoned from an unknown vessel trying to elude authorities . While on " Legal OPS ' 90 " , Ouellet transited through the Panama Canal with follow - on ports - of - call in Panama and Curaçao , Netherlands Antilles . After returning in to Pearl Harbor in November 1990 Ouellet was awarded the " Battle E " for overall excellence and the " Joint Meritorious Unit Citation " ( JMUC ) . In June 1991 , Ouellet participated in three phases of shipboard training for midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy , and " Anti - Submarine Operations 91 " . Port calls made during this training period included visits to Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada and Kodiak Island , Alaska . Ouellet crewmembers took advantage of this " in - port " time to celebrate the United States ' birthday on the " 4th of July " . Ouellet ' s final deployment was from 25 March to 24 July 1992 . This Western Pacific Rim journey was her 10th major deployment , and took the Ouellet to the Continent of Australia . While en route , she participated in " Pacific ASW Exercise 92 " , and operated with elements of the Australian Navy in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the " Battle of the Coral Sea " . This was her final voyage as a United States Navy vessel , after serving her country proudly for over 20 years . USS Ouellet was decommissioned on 3 August 1993 . As of May 1998 , the former USS Ouellet serves with the Royal Thai Navy as HTMS " Phutthaloetla Naphalai " , F - 462 .