USS Rushmore (LSD 47) is named after the Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was built by Avondale Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mrs. Meredith Brokaw, wife of NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw, christened the ship on May 6, 1989. Commissioning ceremonie was held on June 1, 1991 on the banks of the Mississippi River at the River Walk, New Orleans.

July 9, 2002 USS Rushmore, commanded by Cmdr. Clayton Saunders, is currently off the coast of Hawaii, participating in the Rim of the Pacific exercise with the USS Tarawa ARG. RIMPAC 2002 is a major maritime exercise being conducted in the waters off Hawaii from June 24 - July 22.

January 6, 2003 LSD 47 departed San Diego for a scheduled deployment, with the USS Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group and the 15th MEU, in support of the Operation Enduring Freedom.

July 13, USS Rushmore returned to homeport after a six-month underway period in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

June 28, 2004 The dock landing ship pulled to Pearl Harbor to take part in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2004.

December 6, The Rushmore departed Naval Base San Diego for a scheduled western Pacific deployment, with the USS Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group Five and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), in support of the Global War on Terrorism. ESG-5 completed its final preparations for deployment in November during a U.S. 3rd Fleet Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) off the southern coast of California.

January 4, 2005 BHR ESG cut short its port visit to Guam Dec. 28 and set sail for South Asia to provide humanitarian assistance to the disaster stricken region after an earthquake followed by a massive tsunami paralyzed it Dec. 26.

April 19, ESG 5 departed Persian Gulf after bringing the 15th MEU back aboard from combat operations in Iraq. ESG ships were on station in the Gulf for almost three months protecting vital Iraqi oil terminals and conducting maritime security operations (MSO).

June 6, USS Rushmore returned to homeport after concluding its 182-day deployment in support of the global war on terrorism.

March 30, 2006 The dock landing ship earned the highest score for damage control readiness of any ship in the Atlantic and Pacific fleet during their unit level training assessment (ULTRA-C) certification as part of the SHIPTRAIN program, March 17. ULTRA-C assesses a ship's ability to conduct drills ranging from firefighting, anchoring, and defending the ship in simulated combat situations, to personnel management and completing required schools.

July 20, LSD 47 is currently performing an amphibious assault exercise in support of the Rim of the Pacific 2006. Eight nations are participating in RIMPAC, the world's largest biennial maritime exercise.

January 22, 2007 USS Rushmore is currently operating off the coast of southern California, conducting Expeditionary Strike Group Integrated Training (ESGINT) Exercice, in preparation for the upcoming deployment with USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6).

February 20, The dock landing ship is currently off the West Coast participating in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) with the ESG-5.

April 10, USS Rushmore departed San Diego for a scheduled underway period in support of the Global War on Terrorism and Maritime Security Operations (MSO).

May 1, LSD 47 departed Guam after a three-day port visit. The ship departed Singapore May 12. USS Rushmore entered the Persian Gulf on May 23.

July 4, The dock landing ship is currently in port visit to Jebel Ali, U.A.E.

October 21, The Rushmore departed Fremantle, Australia, after a five-day port call.

November 19, USS Rushmore returned to Naval Station San Diego after a seven-month deployment.

May 20, 2008 LSD 47 and the Preble (DDG 88), accompanied by a U.S. Navy hovercraft, paraded through Seattle's Elliott Bay during the 100th anniversary of the Great White Fleet's visit to the Puget Sound.

September 27, The dock landing ship is currently supporting anti-submarine warfare operations at the Nanoose Firing Range, British Columbia.

October 16, USS Rushmore, commanded by Cmdr. Calvin Slocumb, completed 10 days of intense torpedo firing exercises and developmental surface ship torpedo defense experimentation at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges (CFMETR) on Oct. 10.

July 1, 2009 LSD 47 is currently conducting at-sea operations in preparation for an upcoming deployment with the Bonhomme Richard ARG.

September 18, USS Rushmore, commanded by Cmdr. William R. Grotewold, departed San Diego for a scheduled Middle East deployment.

October 5, The dock landing ship arrived in Guam for its first port visit.

October 28, USS Rushmore, along with USS Cleveland (LPD 7), arrived in Singapore for a scheduled port visit.

March 2, 2010 LSD 47 pulled to Phuket, Thailand, for a four-day port call.