Tag Archives: USS Stethem (DDG 63)

Elderly Burkes Get Reprieve

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200304-N-NK931-1001 PHILIPPINE SEA (Mar. 4, 2020) Landing Signalmen Enlisted (LSE), assigned to the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52), directs night flight operations of an MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the “Saberhawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77, during the U.S.-Japan Bilateral Advanced Warfighting Training exercise (BAWT). (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Samuel Hardgrove)

The SECNAV this week announced he has given the green light to keep operating yesterday’s destroyer tomorrow.

The idea is to squeeze another 48 ship years out of 12 early Flight I Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyers, pushing each beyond their 35-year expected service life.

The oldest hull, the Ingalls-built USS Barry (DDG-52), left Pascagoula in 1992 and was set to retire in FY28 at age 36, and will instead be stretched out to FY31. The newest, USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), which left Bath in 1997 and was scheduled to head to mothballs in FY32, will instead linger until FY35.

There will be no extensive service life extension program for these ships, just the determination “to maximize the service life of each ship before it required another extensive and costly docking availability.”

The feeling is that this is a move that had to happen, rather than a move that the Navy wanted to happen. After all, these early short-hull Burkes are really nowhere near the same capability as their recent Flight IIA and Flight III sisters, which really should have been designated different classes. 

While not addressed, you can be sure this early raiding of the future mothball fleet is due to the inexcusable delays in the Constellation-class multi-mission guided-missile frigates, which was supposed to take a proven off-the-shelf (Italian FREMM) program and make it here in the states to speed up the acquisition process, at least until Big Navy got involved and wanted to change every compartment. The program is currently at least three years behind schedule and you can bet that will lapse even further as the first ships have to be rebuilt after initial trials.

The CNO rubber-stamped the DDG 52-68 extension as one would expect of a good CNO, saying:

“Today’s budget-constrained environment requires the Navy to make prioritized investments to keep more ready players on the field,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. “The Navy is actively pulling the right levers to maintain and grow its Battle Force Inventory to support the United States’s global interests in peace and to win decisively in conflict.”

As detailed by Breaking Defense, the ships and their associated life extensions included in the announcement are:

  • USS Barry (DDG-52) – three years – FY28 to FY31
  • USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) – five years – FY28 to FY33
  • USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) – five years – FY29 to FY34
  • USS Stout (DDG-55) – five years – FY29 to FY34
  • USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) – five years – FY29 to FY34
  • USS Laboon (DDG-58) – five years – FY30 to FY35
  • USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60) – five years – FY30 to FY35
  • USS Stethem (DDG 63) – one year – FY30 to FY31
  • USS Carney (DDG-64) – one year – FY31 to FY32
  • USS Gonzalez (DDG-66) – five years – FY31 to FY36
  • USS Cole (DDG-67) – five years – FY31 to FY36
  • USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) – three years – FY32 to FY35

Decking the Bulkheads

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Naval Base San Diego’s recent Holiday Lights Surface Ship Competition saw the San Antonio-class gator USS John P Murtha (LPD 26) take “Best in Show,” while the “Steelworkers” of the Flight I Burke-class destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) took “Best Holiday Spirit” and the testbed Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) scored “Best Navy Spirit.”

Those not placing but still looking great included the Flight IIA Burke USS Sterett (DDG 104), Monsoor’s class-leader USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), and the recently commissioned USS Mobile (LCS 26), who looked as good as when I saw her off from the port city she was constructed at in May.

Of course, the practice is nothing new:

USS MOUNT WHITNEY LCC 20 lit for holidays, 2019

USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14) lit up for Christmas at Naval Air Station North Island, California in December 1971. U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.039.067

USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14) lit up for Christmas at Naval Air Station North Island, California in December 1971. U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.488.039.067

USS Perry (DE-1034) Christmas lighting aboard ship while at Key West Naval Station Annex, Key West, Florida. The winner for Destroyer Division 601, 25 December 1961. K-26491

Loching around and cherry picking

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The sometimes beautiful tale of two hard-serving forward-deployed DDGs this week, waving the flag in far off ports.:

FASLANE, Scotland (March 31, 2019) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) departs Faslane, Scotland, to participate in exercise Joint Warrior 19-1. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Fred Gray IV/Released)

Porter, named for War of 1812 hero Commodore David Porter, and his son, Civil War Adm. David Dixon Porter, was built at Pascagoula and commissioned 20 March 1999. As such, the Flight II Burke doesn’t look bad for 20 years considering she has mixed it up with the Russians in the Black Sea, fired Tomahawks into Syria and survived a collision in 2012 with an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. She is one of four DDGs assigned to Rota as part of the 6th Fleet.

Located on Gare Loch, Faslane is home to HM Naval Base, Clyde, home to the RN’s Trident fleet as well as the bulk of the country’s subs and minehunters.

YOKOSUKA, Japan (April 4, 2019) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) is moored at Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler R. Fraser/Released)

YOKOSUKA, Japan (April 4, 2019) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) is moored at Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler R. Fraser/Released)

Stethem, named for SW2 Robert Stethem, the Seabee diver killed by terrorists onboard TWA 847 in 1985, was also built an Ingalls while I worked there (and may or may not have my initials welded in her inner bottom somewhere). This early Flight I Burke commissioned 21 October 1995 and has seen lots of deployments in her 24-years of service. She is homeported in Japan, where the cherry blossoms (Sakura) are breathtaking this time of year.

As a side note, the best Asian John Denver impersonator I ever saw was in Yokosuka.

275,000-tons of rock and roll

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(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christian Senyk/Released)

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christian Senyk/Released)

Really nice representation of a modern combined 11-ship Carrier Strike Group and Expeditionary Strike Group, both of which are typically carved out in 2-3 ship groups spread across the ocean at any one time. You have a carrier, three modern gators, an Aegis cruiser for battle-space coordination, five destroyers and an oiler. Carrying a 2,000-Marine/32-aircraft MEU, a 75~ aircraft Carrier Air Wing and most of a HELMARKSTRIKERON spread across the tin cans, it’s a lot of power in one place at one time. Especially when you consider there are other assets a force this size would deploy with that are unseen (P-3/P-8, KC-130, SSN, SSGN, et. al) in this photo.

Too bad there aren’t any frigates in the photo…just saying

Official caption:

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 23, 2016) USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) lead a formation of Carrier Strike Group Five and Expeditionary Strike Group Seven ships including, USS Momsen (DDG 92), USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), USS Stethem (DDG 63), USS Benfold (DDG 65), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Germantown (LSD 42), USS Barry (DDG 52), USS Green Bay (LPD 20), USS McCampbell (DDG 85), as well as USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) during a photo exercise to signify the completion of Valiant Shield 2016. Valiant Shield is a biennial, U.S. only, field-training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces. This is the sixth exercise in the Valiant Shield series that began in 2006.

BOOM!

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Gotta love a 5-incher and high-speed photography. If you look closely, you will just see that loaf-of-bread sized 127mm shell pass over the bow.

160726-N-YS140-125 SOUTH CHINA SEA (July 26, 2016) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) conducts a firing exercise of the MK 45/5-inch lightweight gun at a surface target during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore 2016, July 26. CARAT is a series of annual maritime exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations to include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Pearl/Released)

160726-N-YS140-125 SOUTH CHINA SEA (July 26, 2016) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) conducts a firing exercise of the Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm) lightweight gun at a surface target during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore 2016, July 26. CARAT is a series of annual maritime exercises between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations to include Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John Pearl/Released)

Burke Force Four

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Click to bigup. You DO want to bigup.

Click to bigup. You DO want to bigup.

Here we see four Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyers, USS Dewey (DDG 105), USS Sterett (DDG 104), USS Mustin (DDG 89) and USS Stethem (DDG 63) steaming together at the conclusion of exercise Valiant Shield in U.S. 7th Fleet. You are looking at four advanced 5-inch guns, nearly 400 VLS cells, and a quartet of the most advanced sonar and radar suites in the world. Not quite as heavily armed as the four Ticos in the same exercise I posted last week, but not bad for 9200-ton “destroyers.”