USS Sterett (DDG-104)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Sterett.

USS Sterett (DDG-104) is an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight IIA) Aegis guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. She is the fourth ship named for Andrew Sterett.

USS Sterett during Malabar 2020
History
United States
Name	Sterett
Namesake	Andrew Sterett
Ordered	13 September 2002
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	17 November 2005
Launched	20 May 2007
Commissioned	9 August 2008
Homeport	San Diego
Identification	MMSI number: 369970119 Callsign: NRDT Hull number: DDG-104
Motto	Forever Dauntless
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement	6,600 tons light, 9,200 tons full, 2,600 tons dead
Length	509 ft 6 in (155.3 m) overall, 471 ft (143.6 m) waterline
Beam	66 ft (20.1 m) extreme,   59 ft (18 m) waterline
Draft	31 ft (9.4 m) maximum,   22 ft (6.7 m) limit
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed	30+ knots (55+ km/h) designed
Complement	32 officers, 348 enlisted
Armament	Guns: 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS 2 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system 4 × 0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliber guns Missiles: 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS): RIM-66M surface-to-air missile RIM-156 surface-to-air missile RIM-174A standard ERAM RIM-161 anti-ballistic missile RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 lightweight torpedo Mark 50 lightweight torpedo Mark 54 lightweight torpedo
Aircraft carried	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

Etymology

USS Sterett is the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named after Andrew Sterett, a U.S. naval officer who fought in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars.

History

The contract to build USS Sterett was awarded to Bath Iron Works Corporation in Bath, Maine on 13 September 2002. On 17 November 2005, her keel was laid down, and she was christened on 19 May 2007. The ship's sponsor was Michelle Sterett Bernson, a familial descendant of Andrew Sterett, who himself had no children.

The vessel's commissioning took place in Baltimore, Maryland, Andrew Sterett's birthplace, on 9 August 2008. The ship's home port is Naval Base San Diego.^[1]

The ship was attacked by Somali pirates using rocket-propelled grenades on 22 February 2011, during negotiations with the pirates for the release of four U.S. hostages, who were eventually killed.^[2]

The ship was under the control of Commander Carrier Strike Group 9.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

• Navy Unit Commendation
• Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
• Battle "E" – (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024)
• Spokane Trophy - (2010, 2023) ^[3]
• Vice Admiral Thomas H. Copeman III Material Readiness Award - (2023)^[4]
• Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award - (2017)

In popular culture

• USS Sterett served as one of the filming locations for the TNT's television series The Last Ship and its fictional setting, USS Nathan James (DDG-151).^{[citation needed]}
• USS Sterett served as the backdrop for a historic visit to Naval Base Point Loma by President Joe Biden in March 2023. The crew gave him a "line-the-rail" salute.^[5]