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General Characteristics

Crew List

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Accidents aboard the Ship

About the Name "Paul Hamilton"

History

Homeports of USS Paul Hamilton

Image Gallery

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USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60)

USS PAUL HAMILTON is the tenth ARLEIGH BURKE class guided missile destroyer and the sixth ship in that class built by Bath Iron Works in Maine.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: August 24, 1992
	Launched: July 24, 1993
	Commissioned: May 27, 1995
	Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
	Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Blades on each Propeller: five
	Length: 505,25 feet (154 meters)
	Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
	Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 8.300 tons full load
	Speed: 30+ knots
	Aircraft: None. But LAMPS 3 electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG/helicopter ASW operations.
	Armament: two Mk 41 VLS for Standard missiles, Tomahawk; Harpoon missile launchers, one Mk 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun, two Phalanx CIWS, Mk 46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts)
	Homeport: San Diego, Calif.
	Crew: 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted

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Crew List:

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

Click here to view the list.

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Click here to see which USS PAUL HAMILTON memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS PAUL HAMILTON Cruise Books:

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Accidents aboard USS PAUL HAMILTON:

Date	Where	Events
December 6, 2002	Arabian Gulf	USS PAUL HAMILTON collided with an unidentified vessel while conducting maritime operations in the North Arabian Gulf. No personnel were injured aboard PAUL HAMILTON. The ship suffered a hole in its side above the waterline but was still able to continue its mission.

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About the Ship’s Name, about Paul Hamilton:

Paul Hamilton was born October 16, 1762, in Willtown, SC. He schooled only until the age of 16 due to lack of financial resources and afterwards he worked as a planter and joined the South Carolina Militia.

Later, he became a member of the Democratic-Republican Party and in 1787, he was elected into the South Carolina House of Representatives. 1794 and from 1798 to 1799 he was a member of the South Carolina Senate.

1809 to 1812, he was Secretary of the Navy where he was instrumental in the creation of naval hospitals.

Paul Hamilton passed away June 30, 1816 at Rhodes Plantation near Grey's Hill outside Beaufort, SC and was buried near Beaufort, SC at Rhodes Plantation.

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USS PAUL HAMILTON History:

USS PAUL HAMILTON was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Maine on August 24, 1992, launched on July 24, 1993, and commissioned at Naval Station Charleston, South Carolina, on May 27, 1995. After shakedown and post-commissioning trials in late 1994 and early 1995, the ship shifted to the Pacific and quickly settled into Hawaii-based operations out of Pearl Harbor, working up in local ranges and operating off the Hawaiian Islands by October 1995 as the crew completed the destroyer's initial combat system certifications and basic phase training for first deployment.

In November 1996, PAUL HAMILTON departed Pearl Harbor for her first Western Pacific cruise, a six-month deployment that carried her across the Philippine Sea and into the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of the long-running enforcement architecture around Iraq. The ship crossed the equator in the Indian Ocean on April 12, 1997, and by April 6, 1997 was part of the turnover rhythm in Bahrain as other AEGIS units rotated through maritime interception and air-defense stations around the Strait of Hormuz. She returned to Pearl Harbor in December 1996, closing the destroyer's first WestPac with the standard port maintenance and leave period that followed. The 1996-1997 pattern aligned with Operation Southern Watch and maritime sanctions enforcement, which framed much of the Navy's presence in the region during the late 1990s.

The ship deployed again from August 1998 to February 1999 across the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Gulf during a volatile phase in U.N. inspections and Iraqi air-defense activity, contributing to the deterrent posture and maritime security tasks that kept coalition shipping flowing and constrained Iraqi military options as the no-fly regime evolved. In mid-2000, after a stateside upkeep and workups, PAUL HAMILTON took part in RIMPAC 2000 from late May through early July, operating under the ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) battle group construct and executing a large, scenario-driven tactical phase between June 20-27 that emphasized integrated air, surface, and undersea warfare against a high-end opposition force. The destroyer subsequently departed Pearl Harbor for another WestPac that concluded with a February 2001 homecoming after roughly six months at sea.

Through 2002, PAUL HAMILTON remained on a fast tempo. She joined ABRAHAM LINCOLN for Composite Training Unit Exercise events off Southern California in January, then deployed in August 2002 toward the 5th Fleet theater for maritime interception operations tied to Operation Enduring Freedom and the winding path toward major combat in Iraq. In the pre-dawn of March 21, 2003, from a station in the North Arabian Gulf, she fired Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles at regime targets at the opening of Operation Iraqi Freedom, then shifted into air-defense and escort roles around the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman as coalition forces pressed the campaign ashore. She returned to Pearl Harbor on April 26, 2003, after more than nine months deployed. Later that year, on October 28-29, 2003, the destroyer conducted rare at-sea drills with the Russian destroyer MARSHAL SHAPOSHNIKOV and the tanker PECHENGA in Hawaiian waters, practicing search and rescue, maneuvering, and communications - an episode of guarded naval outreach that reflected a brief period of U.S.-Russian operational contact at sea.

In June 2004 she joined "Silent Fury", a multinational undersea-warfare exercise in the mid-Pacific that stressed coordinated P-3, submarine, and surface tactics ahead of broader Rim of the Pacific events, then turned to Southeast Asian engagement in 2005. On May 9, 2005, PAUL HAMILTON departed Pearl Harbor with the NIMITZ (CVN 68) carrier strike group and, during the deployment, supported the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) series, including a pier-side pairing with USS RODNEY M. DAVIS (FFG 60) at Muara, Brunei, on August 4 and operating in the Sulu Sea that month. She was back in Pearl Harbor by September and played an opposition-force role for RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76)'s JTFEX 06-2 in December. In July-August 2006, she participated in RIMPAC 2006, then executed follow-on COMPTUEX and JTFEX events with the JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) strike group that autumn, rounding out the year with a return to Hawaii in August after underway periods in the Southern California operating areas.

Surging again in early 2007, PAUL HAMILTON joined the RONALD REAGAN strike group, fueling at sea with RONALD REAGAN and USS RUSSELL (DDG 59) in the South Pacific on February 9 as the group moved into Seventh Fleet. She integrated with Australian and U.S. forces during Talisman Saber 2007 in June - steaming alongside units such as HMAS NEWCASTLE, HMAS BALLARAT, and HMAS PARRAMATTA - and in August rejoined the JOHN C. STENNIS group for Valiant Shield 2007 around Guam, an immense joint exercise centered on integrated air and missile defense and high-end sea control. On August 20, 2007, she returned to Pearl Harbor after a seven-month deployment marked by combined training and a long stretch in 7th Fleet. The following summer she was back at RIMPAC 2008 around Hawaii and, that November, launched a Standard Missile-3 during the Pacific Blitz 08 series at the Pacific Missile Range Facility - an exo-atmospheric intercept that showcased the maturity of early fleet Aegis BMD capabilities.

The destroyer entered the 2010s with a steady deployment cadence. On November 30, 2010, she departed Pearl Harbor for an independent deployment to the Western Pacific and Middle East, returning June 29, 2011, after seven months across 7th and 5th Fleet waters with theater security cooperation and air-defense tasking. In 2012, she completed Koa Kai workups, then sailed with the JOHN C. STENNIS carrier strike group that autumn, operating from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean. Underway imagery shows the destroyer leading GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) in dual-carrier maneuvering en route to combined operations before the group continued into U.S. Central Command waters and returned in spring 2013.

In early 2015, PAUL HAMILTON deployed independently from Pearl Harbor to the Middle East amid mounting concern over Iranian interference with merchant shipping, operating in the Arabian Gulf and making a mid-May port visit to Bahrain before returning to Hawaii on September 29, 2015. On April 5, 2016, she departed Hawaii to change homeport to San Diego as part of a broader Pacific Fleet rebalance, swapping with USS WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE (DDG 110). PAUL HAMILTON moored at Naval Base San Diego on April 18, 2016, shifting into the new maintenance and training rhythm of the Southern California waterfront.

Within weeks the Navy placed the ship into a major yard period: on May 26, 2016, BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair received a contract to conduct an Extended Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) on PAUL HAMILTON, a package of maintenance, repair, and modernization work slated to run through August 2017. Photographs from October 6, 2016 document the destroyer in dry dock at BAE, reflecting the hull, machinery, and combat-system work typical of a mid-life deep availability.

The ship undocked in April 2017, shifting pier-side for systems testing, light-off, and crew reconstitution. Through the back half of the year the crew rebuilt certifications while reentering the San Diego operating areas. A change of command on December 1, 2017, marked the end of the heavy yard phase and the beginning of a full return to fleet operations.

During 2018, PAUL HAMILTON moved through the normal basic and advanced training phases from San Diego - engineering and damage-control drills, combat-systems grooming, and integrated at-sea events in the Southern California ranges - to restore full mission readiness after the E-DSRA.

By 2019, the destroyer was again a routine presence at sea. Aboard-ship imagery shows PAUL HAMILTON conducting routine training in the Eastern Pacific on July 13, 2019, and a change of command on June 14, 2019 formally passed responsibility to a new commanding officer. A berth-shift evolution on November 16, 2019, and flight operations on December 5, 2019, captured continued underway and pier-side proficiency work as the crew closed out the year. These events culminated in late-year workups that set conditions for the ship's role in the THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) Carrier Strike Group deployment that was to follow in January.

On January 17, 2020, she sailed with the THEODORE ROOSEVELT strike group for an Indo-Pacific and Middle East deployment complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the better-known episodes of that cruise was the April 15, 2020, harassment of U.S. ships by Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast craft in the northern Arabian Gulf, which drew unusual public attention during a period of constrained port access. The ship returned to San Diego on October 13, 2020, having remained at sea for the bulk of a nine-month tour.

After 257 days in a major San Diego availability, completed ahead of schedule on August 13, 2021, the destroyer rejoined the fleet's ready bench.

From early 2023, USS PAUL HAMILTON shifted from West Coast workups into a long Western Pacific and Middle East deployment that stitched together partner engagement, Combined Maritime Forces tasking, and high-visibility transits through regional chokepoints. After crossing the Pacific, she completed a logistics and liberty stop at Changi Naval Base, departing Singapore on February 5, 2023, and then conducted a bilateral at-sea phase with the Indian Navy's INS SAVITRI (P 53) in the Indian Ocean on February 7, emphasizing formation maneuvering, communications drills, and visit-board-search-and-seizure (VBSS) exchanges as PAUL HAMILTON moved toward the Arabian Sea. A brief refueling and resupply visit to Diego Garcia on February 11 highlighted the ship's use of the British Indian Ocean Territory outpost that underpins U.S. logistics across the Central Indian Ocean.

By late February, she was operating inside the Arabian Gulf within the U.S. 5th Fleet theater and interacting with Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) partners. On February 26, 2023, the commanding officer hosted a Bahrain Defence Force officer aboard during CTF-152 maritime security activity, a snapshot of the day-to-day coalition presence mission in crowded sea lanes and along critical energy routes. On March 23-24, 2023, PAUL HAMILTON executed a two-day combined patrol in the Arabian Sea with ESPS REINA SOFIA (F 84) and ITS CARLO BERGAMINI (F 590) under EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, running shiphandling, boarding-procedure, and navigation events to tighten U.S.-EU interoperability against illicit trafficking and non-state maritime threats. On April 21, 2023, while supporting CTF-150 in the Gulf of Oman, the destroyer interdicted a fishing vessel carrying 802 kg of methamphetamine and 1,000 kg of hashish - valued by CMF at roughly $42 million - after the smugglers attempted to jettison contraband over the side. U.S. Navy and Coast Guard personnel embarked in PAUL HAMILTON seized the craft and contraband. The seizure added to a sustained tempo of CMF drug interdictions and underscored the counter-terror finance and rule-of-law dimension of her deployment.

Following operations in the northern Gulf, PAUL HAMILTON conducted a Bahrain logistics stop on May 10, 2023, and got underway again on May 17. On May 19, amid elevated regional tensions and increased Iranian harassment of shipping, the U.S. 5th Fleet commander transited the Strait of Hormuz embarked in PAUL HAMILTON, alongside naval counterparts from the United Kingdom and France - a deliberate multinational signal supporting freedom of navigation and reassuring regional partners during a volatile period.

Through the summer, the ship continued patrols and replenishments across the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, then swung back to Southeast Asia for another Singapore port visit recorded July 31, 2023, before shaping east across the Pacific. She returned to San Diego on August 28, 2023, closing a seven-month deployment that knit together Seventh- and Fifth-Fleet tasking - partner exercises, CMF operations, counter-narcotics interdiction, and high-profile chokepoint presence.

In 2024, the destroyer's public record reflects a stateside sustainment and training year from Naval Base San Diego with a notable ordnance evolution: on April 9, 2024, PAUL HAMILTON became the first ship to moor at the new ammunition pier at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, validating the facility and conducting munitions-transfer operations that support West Coast surface force readiness. This milestone event, widely photographed, marked the pier's opening to fleet traffic and highlighted the ship's role in routine but critical logistics modernization.

In 2025, PAUL HAMILTON has remained San Diego-based, cycling through maintenance checkpoints, certifications, and local underway periods on the Southern California ranges. Imagery from September 17, 2025, shows the Naval Surface Force Pacific commander visiting the ship at the pier to review readiness - typical of the flag-level engagement that precedes and follows major availabilities and workups.

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Homeports of USS PAUL HAMILTON:

Period	Homeport
commissioned at Charleston, SC.
1995 - 2016	Pearl Harbor, Hi.
2016 - present	San Diego, Calif.

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USS PAUL HAMILTON Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me on July 27, 2006, and shows the PAUL HAMILTON returning to Pearl Harbor, HI., after her participation in RIMPAC 2006.

The photos below were taken by me on March 14, 2008, and show the PAUL HAMILTON undergoing maintenance at Pearl Harbor, HI.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 18, 2016 - 6 days after completing the homeport change from Pearl Harbor, Hi., to San Diego.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair on October 6, 2016. The PAUL HAMILTON is presently undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA).

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, Calif., undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) on October 11, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the PAUL HAMILTON at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, Calif., undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) on November 10, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the PAUL HAMILTON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 28 and November 29 (aerial photo), 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 28, 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PAUL HAMILTON underway in San Francisco Bay to participate in the Parade of Ships as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 6, 2023.