USS Forrest Sherman Returns Home to Norfolk Naval Base

Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) returned home to Norfolk Naval Base Feb. 26 after completing an eight-month deployment to the 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility in support of theater security cooperation.

The ship and her crew traveled more than 45,000 nautical miles during their deployment to the eastern Mediterranean. Like most modern U.S. surface combatants, DDG 51 utilizes gas turbine propulsion.

Employing four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft horsepower via a dual shaft design, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of achieving 30 plus knot speeds in open seas.

While on station, Forrest Sherman embarked Helicopter Squadron Detachment 48.1 with Venom 503, logging more than 510 flight hours in their SH60-B helicopter. The ship’s Flight IIA design includes the addition of the Kingfisher mine-avoidance capability, a pair of helicopter hangars which provide the ability to deploy with two organic Lamps MK III MH-60 helicopters, blast-hardened bulkheads, distributed electrical system and advanced networked systems.

Forrest Sherman made port visits to Souda Bay, Crete; Haifa, Israel; Rota, Spain; Larnaca, Cyprus; Marmaris, Turkey; Augusta Bay, Sicily; and Bari, Italy. During the crew’s port visit to Haifa, Sailors participated in a community service project by assisting in a renovation of a shelter for women.

“We visited 16 ports in six different countries and Forrest Sherman Sailors were excellent ambassadors for our ship, the Navy, and our country,” said the ship’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Brad Busch. “I’m proud of the crew’s achievements and the manner in which they presented themselves,” he added.

The deployment was professionally successful for the crew in which 86 of its Sailors, about 30 percent of the total crew of 276, earned their Enlisted Surface Warfare qualification.

“As we return to homeport following an eight-month deployment to the 6th Fleet, I would like to thank all the Sailors on board Forrest Sherman for their hard work and dedication.”

Forrest Sherman is the 48th ship in the Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class of Aegis guided-missile destroyers – the U.S. Navy’s powerful destroyer fleet. These highly capable, multi-mission ships can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of national military strategy.

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Naval Today Staff, February 28, 2013; Image: US Navy