The USS Lockwood (DE-1064/FF-1064) was the 13th Knox-class destroyer escort, redesignated a frigate in 1975. The ship was laid down in 1967, launched in 1968, and commissioned in 1970 as a destroyer escort (DE-1064). She was reassigned to forward-deployed Destroyer Squadron 15 in 1975 and reclassified as a frigate (FF-1064). Two years later, she sailed with the Midway battle group, participating in exercise MIDLINK-77 with the Iranian Navy in 1978. After a trip to Australia with her sister ship USS Kirk in 1978, the destroyer escort sailed again with the Midway battle group to Australia in 1981. As part of “Destroyer Squadron 9” in 1988, she changed her homeport from Yokosuka, Japan, to Naval Station Long Beach, California. The ship would remain in California until her decommissioning in 1993. She was struck from the NVR in the same year. Seven years later, the USS Lockwood was scrapped by the Ship Dismantling & Recycling Joint Venture, San Francisco, California, in 2000. Asbestos has been banned or restricted for specific uses since the 1980s. However, up until that point, Navy veterans were exposed to the carcinogen daily during their military service. Therefore, they should undergo regular medical examinations, as their risk of developing severe asbestos disease is high.
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