EVERETT, Wash. — Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke at the decommissioning for the USS Ingraham and sounded sorry to see the guided-missile frigate go.

"These frigates may be small, but they are able to take a hit and keep on going," Gates said during the ceremony Wednesday at Naval Station Everett.

The 408-foot vessel was the last of 51 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates constructed during a Cold War buildup, The Daily Herald reported.

"They are not being replaced due to extraordinary shortsightedness in Washington over defense budgets," said Gates, who lives in Washington state.

The Ingraham was commissioned in California in 1989 and made its home port at Everett in 1994. It operated with the carrier Carl Vinson task force during the Iraq War. Deployments also took it to the Mediterranean.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks to the crew of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class Frigate USS Ingraham (FFG 61) during the ship's decommissioning ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 in Everett, Wash. The 408-foot vessel was the last of 51 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates constructed during a Cold War buildup (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffry A. Willadsen, Released)

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks to the crew of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class Frigate USS Ingraham (FFG 61) during the ship's decommissioning ceremony on Nov. 12 in Everett, Wash. The 408-foot vessel was the last of 51 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates constructed during a Cold War buildup.

Photo Credit: Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffry Willadsen, Navy via AP

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The frigate returned last month from its final mission, a seven-month deployment with a multinational force fighting illegal drug trafficking in Central American waters. It will be towed to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton and dismantled for scrap.

Budget cuts led to the Ingraham's decommissioning five years ahead of schedule, said Cmdr. Daniel Straub, its commanding officer.

Straub will take command of the littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, which is under construction in San Diego and scheduled to be commissioned in January 2016.

The other members of Ingraham's 230-person crew will be reassigned to other ships stationed in Everett or San Diego.

The decommissioning ceremony ended with officers reporting the ship was secured, the captain ordering the crew to disembark and its flags lowered from the mast while a band played taps.