USS Chafee

USS Chafee (DDG-90) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in United States Navy. She is named for Senator John Lester Hubbard Chafee (1922–1999), a Marine veteran of Guadalcanal who also served as the Secretary of the Navy. Chafee was laid down by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine on 12 April 2001, launched on 2 November 2002 and commissioned on 18 October 2003 in Newport, Rhode Island, the home state of the ship's namesake.[1]

Not to be confused with USS Chaffee (DE-230).

USS Chafee, 30 March 2014
History
United States
Name: USS Chafee
Namesake: John Chafee
Ordered: 6 March 1998
Builder: Bath Iron Works
Laid down: 12 April 2001
Launched: 2 November 2002
Commissioned: 18 October 2003
Homeport: Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Motto: Commanding the Seas
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement: 9,200 long tons (9,300 t)
Length: 509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion: 4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed: >30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement: 350 officers and enlisted
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 x SH-60 Seahawk helicopters

Ship history

Chafee left her homeport of Pearl Harbor 20 May 2005 for her maiden deployment with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG). She returned to her homeport after a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism.[2]

Chafee departed Pearl Harbor 9 April 2007, as part of the San Diego based Nimitz CSG and deployed to the U.S 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations. On 1 June 2007, Chafee fired her main gun at Al-Qaeda suspects in the Puntland region of Somalia. The men were wanted for the 1998 United States embassy bombings.[3] Chafee returned home to Pearl Harbor on 22 September 2007, marking the end a successful 167-day Western Pacific and Middle East deployment.[4]

Chafee is an active unit of the Pacific Fleet and operates out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; currently, Chafee is assigned to the Nimitz carrier group.

On 10 December 2020, It was reported that Chafee tested the Tomahawk Block V missile for the first time.[5]

Awards

The construction of USS Chafee and USS Momsen, from initial steel cutting to sea trials, was documented in the Discovery Channel television special "Destroyer: Forged in Steel". The destroyers were not referenced by name, but their numbers were visible on their bows.

Coat of arms

Shield

A white anchor on a background of blue surrounded by a thin wavy white border, and then surrounded by a red border that is marked with thirteen gold stars.

The anchor - at the center of the shield - is borrowed from the Secretary of the Navy's Flag, in reference to John Chafee's time in that position. The thirteen stars is a reference to Rhode Island, Chafee's home state. The wavy border symbolizes the sea and Navy. The color white represents integrity. Blue and gold are the traditional colors of the navy, and the colors denote the sea the excellence, respectively. While the color red denotes courage.[7]

Crest

In gold, an eagle is holding a red serpent with its beak. The eagle is clutching arrows with its talons, and it is perched on a representation of the Senate Chamber of the Capitol Building. Behind the eagle, a Naval Officer's sword and a Marine Corps mameluke in saltire points upwards. A laurel wreath serves as a back ground and encircles the eagle. The base of the crest is a blue and white decorative rope.

The two swords signify Chafee's military service in two wars, specifically the mameluke symbolizes his time in the Marine Corps. The laurel wreath is a symbol Chafee's honor and achievement during his time as a marine, Secretary of the Navy, senator and governor. The eagle is a reference to the senator's time as the Secretary of the Navy. As mentioned before, the color gold and red represents excellence and courage, respectively.[7]

Motto

Commanding the Seas.

Seal

The coat of arms is the shield that topped with the crest. The coat of arms is then placed on a white background, and is surrounded by a dark blue oval that is bordered by a gold chain. The ship's name is inscribed at the top of the oval, and the hull number is inscribed at the bottom.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

  1. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=11145
  2. Honda, Sonia (5 May 2005). "USS Chafee Sets Sail for Maiden Deployment" (Press release). United States Navy. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  3. "U.S. targets terror suspects in Somalia". NBC News. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  4. Bennett, Matthew; Honnick, Paul D. (25 September 2007). "USS Chafee Returns From Successful Deployment" (Press release). United States Navy. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. "US Navy, Raytheon Missiles & Defense conduct first-ever Tomahawk Block V cruise missile tests | Raytheon Missiles & Defense". www.raytheonmissilesanddefense.com. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. https://navysustainability.dodlive.mil/environment/awards/secnav-environmental-awards/fiscal-year-2015-secnav-environmental-award-winners/
  7. "USS Chafee". United States Navy. Retrieved 21 July 2016.

Media related to USS Chafee (DDG-90) at Wikimedia Commons

USS Chafee pulls into her new homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Chafee in the Pacific Ocean, 2005
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