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USS Sterett (DDG 104)

USS STERETT is one of the ARLEIGH BURKE Flight IIA guided missile destroyers and the fourth ship in the Navy to bear the name.

General Characteristics:Awarded: September 13, 2002
Keel laid: November 17, 2005
Launched: May 20, 2007
Commissioned: June 26, 2008
Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
Propellers: two
Length: 508,5 feet (155 meters)
Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
Displacement: approx. 9,200 tons full load
Speed: 32 knots
Aircraft: two SH-60 (LAMPS 3) helicopters
Armament: one Mk-45 5"/62 caliber lightweight gun, two Mk-41 VLS for Standard missiles and Tomahawk ASM/LAM, one 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk-50 and Mk-46 torpedoes, two Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm machine gun systems, one Optical Dazzler Interdictor Navy (ODIN)
Homeport: San Diego, Calif.
Crew: approx. 320


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS STERETT. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Celeste represents worldwide mission capabilities of DDG 104, gold and dark blue symbolize U.S. Navy traditions. Scarlet denotes courage and the sacrifices made in battle by the three previous ships to bear the name STERETT since the founding of the nation. The scarlet mullet in base recalls the first incident in which a U.S. Navy vessel, DLG 31, shot down and destroyed a Russian-built MIG 17 airplane with a Terrier missile during the Battle of Dong Hoi in Vietnam. The mullets on top of the demi-trident represent the three previous ships named STERETT, (Destroyer No. 27, DD 407 and DLG/CG 31), the trident signifies expertise and mastery at sea. The sword and spy-glass are derived from the insignia of DLG/CG 31; the sword recalls that awarded to Andrew Sterett by Congress for the capture of a Tripolitan cruiser in 1801 while he commanded the USS ENTERPRISE during the Barbary Wars, the telescopic eye-glass symbolizes his outstanding service in the early days of the U.S. Navy. The bordure signifies unity and resolve.

The Crest:

The frigate recalls the first-ever U.S. victory against a foreign navy, in which Sterett participated as Third Lieutenant of the USF CONSTELLATION in the capture of the French frigate L’Insurgente in 1799. The annulet of stars represents the combined battle stars awarded to STERETTs DD 407 and DLG 31 for World War II and Vietnam service.



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Accidents aboard USS STERETT:

DateWhereEvents
May 7, 2008 During the hot refueling of a helicopter on the flight deck, the sea spray increased so much that the safety officer called off the operation. However, in this very moment, a larger wave came over the flight deck hitting the helicopters running rotors causing severe vibrations. The pilots conducted an emergency shutdown but the rotor blades were extensively damaged. Nobody was injured.


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About the Ship's Name:

Lieutenant Andrew Sterett was born 27 January 1778 in Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew’s father was a successful shipping merchant who had served as a captain during the Revolutionary War. Andrew was the fourth of ten children and despite his sizable inheritance, entered the Navy as a Lieutenant on 25 March 1798 at the age of twenty. He served as Third Lieutenant aboard the newly commissioned frigate CONSTELLATION. He was in command of a gun battery during the undeclared war with France in which the fledgling U. S. Navy scored its first victory on the high seas against the French frigate L’INSURGENTE.

By February 1800 Andrew Sterett had been promoted to First Lieutenant and participated in successful battles against French ships. Later that year he assumed his first command, the schooner ENTERPRISE. This was the first US Navy ship to bear that name.

The ENTERPRISE sailed to the Mediterranean with Commodore Richard Dale to quell the Barbary pirates. Andrew Sterett and the ENTERPRISE went up against the pirate warship TRIPOLI in a furious engagement. He successfully fought off three attempts by the pirates to board his crippled ship. ENTERPRISE beat back all attacks and defeated the pirates. He was presented with a sword by President Thomas Jefferson and his crew received an additional month’s pay for their heroism. Following several more dispatches to the coast of Tripoli, Sterett and the ENTERPRISE witnessed the return of freedom of the seas in the Mediterranean for American ships. He returned home in March of 1803 and resigned from the Navy in 1805. He pursued a career in the merchant marine and died a premature death in Lima, Peru on 9 June 1807 at the age of thirty.


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The photo below was taken by me and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.



The photos below were taken by me and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3, 2012.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, Calif., on October 2, 2015.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 18, 2016.



The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 6, 2016.



The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 20, 2016.



The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee and show the STERETT at Hong Kong on April 29, 2017. The STERETT departed San Diego, Calif., on March 31, 2017, for a WestPac cruise as part of a Surface Action Group. Hong Kong is the ship's second port visit during the cruise.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2017.



The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.



The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair on March 2, 2019.



The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 29, 2021.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at the BAE Systems shipyard at San Diego, Calif., on May 29, 2022. Note that the ship is now fitted with an Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy, or ODIN. The system can be spotted in front of the bridge and it's the successor of the Laser Weapons System (LaWS) which was a 30-kilowatt laser installed aboard USS PONCE (AFSB(I) 15) in 2014.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 10, 2022.



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