USS Mustin (DDG-89)

USS Mustin (DDG-89) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named in honor of the Mustin family who has devoted over a century of U.S. Naval service. This ship is the 39th destroyer of her class. USS Mustin was the 18th ship of this class to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and construction began on 15 January 2001. She was launched on 12 December 2001 and was christened on 15 December 2001. On 26 July 2003, a twilight commissioning ceremony was held at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Mustin.
USS Mustin (DDG-89) anchored at sea in 2015
History
United States
Name: USS Mustin
Namesake: Mustin family
Ordered: 6 March 1998
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Laid down: 15 January 2001
Launched: 12 December 2001
Commissioned: 26 July 2003
Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
Motto: Toujours L'Audace; "Always Be Bold"
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement: 9,200 tons
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: exceeds 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement: 380 officers and enlisted
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 x SH-60 Seahawk helicopters

Namesakes

Often referred to as "The Father of Naval Aviation", Captain Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923), an 1896 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was the principal architect for the concept of the catapult launch. He married Corinne DeForest Montague, great-granddaughter of Commodore Arthur Sinclair, and a first cousin and close confidante of Wallis Simpson who became involved in a controversial relationship with King Edward VIII of Great Britain who abdicated to marry her in 1936.[1] The Mustins had three children: Lloyd M., Henry A. and Gordon S.

As a Lieutenant Commander in January 1914, Mustin established Naval Aeronautic Station Pensacola, the Navy's first permanent air station together with a flight school, and became its first Commanding Officer. The first flight was made from the station on 2 February by LT J. H. Towers and ENS G. de Chevalier. On 5 November 1915, while underway, LCDR Mustin successfully flew an AB-2 flying boat off the stern of the USS North Carolina (ACR-12) in Pensacola Bay, FL, making the first ever recorded catapult launching from a ship underway. In 1899, he earned a commendation for distinguished service in the capture of Vigan, Philippines. The first operational missions of naval aircraft were flown under his command during the Veracruz operation in 1914 and he was the first to hold the title: Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Pacific Fleet. Designated Naval Aviator Number Eleven, Captain Mustin was instrumental in the design of the Naval Aviator Insignia.

His eldest son, Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin (1911–1999), a 1932 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, took part in developing the Navy's first lead-computing anti-aircraft gun sight, which proved of major importance in the air-sea actions of World War II, and served on the cruiser USS Atlanta (CL-51) during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. His ship was lost during that action; with other survivors he landed on Guadalcanal and served ashore with a naval unit attached to the 1st Marine Division. His post-war service included commands at sea and development and evaluation of weapon systems. He later served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Vice Admiral Mustin's two sons, Vice Admiral Henry C. Mustin and Lieutenant Commander Thomas M. Mustin continued their family's tradition of military service. Vice Admiral Henry Mustin, a 1955 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was a decorated Vietnam veteran who served in the 1980s as the Naval Inspector General, Commander, Second Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans and Policy. Lieutenant Commander Mustin, also a Naval Academy graduate (1962) earned a Bronze Star during the Vietnam War for river patrol combat action.

Ship history

On 1 February 2005 USS Mustin began her maiden deployment and returned on 1 August.

In July 2006, Mustin and her crew of 300 were deployed to Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, home of the Navy's 7th Fleet, for permanent assignment. Though coming at a time in response to the recent North Korea missile tests, the deployment was previously ordered, unrelated to the incidents.

During the 2008 Myanmar Cyclone Nargis crisis and the subsequent Operation Caring Response aid mission, as part of the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group (also including the USS Juneau and the USS Harpers Ferry), she stood by off Burma from 13 May to 5 June, waiting for the Myanmar junta government to permit US aid to its citizens.[2] However, in early June, with permission still not forthcoming, it was decided to put the group back on its scheduled operations.[3]

In March 2011, in company with the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the ship was deployed off northeastern Honshu, Japan.[4][5] The mission was to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[6]

During the 2011 Thailand floods, the ship was docked at Port Laem Chabang on a routine visit when the Thai government asked for assistance in aerial surveillance of the extent of Bangkok flooding. Captain John Kirby said Thailand had asked the warship to prolong her stay at the port for up to six days; the Pentagon said the two Seahawk helicopters, from HSL-51 detachment SIX, aboard would conduct the reconnaissance.[7]

On 28 May 2020, she conducted a freedom of navigation operation past the Paracel Islands, which the Navy said it “upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also by challenging China’s claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands.”[8][9]

She is part of Destroyer Squadron 15, based at Yokosuka, Japan.

Awards
USS Mustin in 2015 with awards visible on the starboard bridge wing.

Mustin has been awarded the Navy E Ribbon for 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018.[10] Mustin also received the Humanitarian Service Medal for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as well as Typhoon Haiyan.[10] As part of Task Force 70, Mustin received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for 10 April 2012 to 31 December 2013.[10]

Coat of arms

Shield

The shield has background of blue with four gold stars, an inflamed delta, a triple barreled battleship gun, annulet and polestar.

Crest

The crest consists thirteen stars over a Surface Warfare Officer device bounded by palm fronds and dolphins.

Motto

The motto is written on a scroll of white with blue trim.

The ships motto is "Toujours L'Audace" or "Always be Bold".

Seal

The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS Mustin" at the top and "DDG 89" in the base all gold.

Notes
  1. Morton 2003
  2. Fletcher, Martin; Sugden, Joanna (9 May 2008). "US threatens military aid drops as Burma leaders stall". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  3. "2008 USPACOM Press Releases". USPACOM. 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011. U.S. Navy Ships to Depart Coast of Burma
  4. Rabiroff, John (17 March 2011). "U.S. military delivers 40 tons of supplies to hardest-hit areas". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. "Warships Supporting Earthquake in Japan". Seawaves. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011.
  6. Stewart, Joshua (14 March 2011). "Navy ships off Japan move to avoid radiation". Military Times. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  7. "US military helicopters to survey deadly Thai flooding". BBC. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2015. Thai authorities have asked US military helicopters to survey flooding ...
  8. US warship challenges restrictions near disputed islands in South China Sea. 28 May 2020. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. Khu trục hạm Mỹ USS Mustin tiếp tục thách đố Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông. 28 May 2020. Nguoi Viet Daily News (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  10. "Unit Awards Website". US Navy. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

References

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

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