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USS Stethem (DDG 63)

USS STETHEM is the 13^th ship in the ARLEIGH BURKE class and the first ship in the Navy named after Steelworker Robert D. Stethem.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS STETHEM. 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 STETHEM memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS STETHEM Cruise Books:

• WestPac Cruise Book 2001

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USS STETHEM History:

USS STETHEM, a Flight I ARLEIGH BURKE-class guided-missile destroyer built by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, began fabrication in 1992, was laid down on May 11, 1993, launched on June 17, 1994, and christened by Patricia L. Stethem on July 16, 1994. Following post-delivery preparations and transit through the Panama Canal, she was commissioned on October 21, 1995 at the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, California, honoring Steelworker Second Class Robert D. Stethem, a Seabee diver killed in the 1985 TWA Flight 847 hijacking.

After shakedown and trials, STETHEM completed Post-Delivery Test and Trials on February 15, 1996, certifying her for combat operations. On November 23, 1996, she was diverted off the Northern California coast to a search-and-rescue effort for a downed U.S. Air Force C-130. Alongside two embarked small boats, the ship patrolled the crash vicinity for roughly twenty hours during recovery operations, for which she received the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation. In the same period, the destroyer earned the Destroyer Squadron 21 Battle "E" for 1996.

On April 4, 1997, STETHEM deployed for the first time to the Arabian Gulf, reporting in Bahrain on July 3. During three months on station she served as Air Warfare Commander, Surface Warfare Commander, Ready Strike Platform, and LINK Coordinator, supporting Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and enforcing UN sanctions through more than fifty boardings. Liberty and logistics ports included Singapore, Malaysia, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Perth, and Sydney. She returned to San Diego on November 7, 1997, to begin her next training cycle.

On April 16, 1999, STETHEM sortied again to the Gulf as part of Middle East Force 99-2. After calls at Guam, Saipan, Singapore, and Thailand, she conducted Freedom of Navigation and Maritime Interception Operations for seventy-plus days on station before returning to the Pacific. In 2000, she garnered another DESRON-21 Battle "E", along with additional combat systems, safety, and retention honors reflecting a strong readiness record.

In mid-September 2000, while visiting San Francisco, STETHEM was tasked by Joint Interagency Task Force West to escort the fishing vessel GRAN TAURO - seized with over five metric tons of cocaine - south to San Diego, an interagency counter-drug action that punctuated her pre-deployment period.

On January 13, 2001, STETHEM departed San Diego for her third Arabian Gulf deployment (MEF 01-1). She in-chopped to Fifth Fleet on February 28 and spent sixty-eight days on station, conducting maritime interception operations, supporting SOUTHERN WATCH, and taking part in multinational exercises ARABIAN GAUNTLET and NEON FALCON. On April 27, she escorted a U.S. aircraft carrier through the Strait of Hormuz while redeploying to the Pacific via regional port visits across the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.

In 2002, the ship led San Diego's Fleet Week "Parade of Sail" on September 12 and opened for the first public tours hosted in the city after the 9/11 attacks, marking a highly visible homeport commitment during inter-deployment training.

A hallmark of 2003 was STETHEM's role in Tactical Tomahawk development and fleet introduction. On April 5, she executed the first-ever surface-ship launch of a Block IV TOMAHAWK, followed on May 8 by the first live-warhead launch, including an in-flight retargeting demonstration that culminated in a successful strike on San Clemente Island after a long-range flight. Subsequent weapons events included dual STANDARD Missile engagements during an air-defense exercise. The ship then shifted to opposition-force duties for Pacific Fleet's first Expeditionary Strike Group headed by USS PELELIU (LHA 5), capped by northern port calls in Juneau and Victoria.

In June 2005, STETHEM shifted homeport to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, joining the Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Japan (FDNF-J). Through late 2005, she integrated with USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63) for strike group operations, participated in JASEX '05, and concluded with ANNUALEX 2005 alongside the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

Regional integration accelerated in 2006 with a three-day PASSEX in March involving USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) and JMSDF units, the DESRON-15 Multi-Sail 2006 training in May, and Counter-Special Operations Forces Exercise 06 in the fall. The ship then joined USS ESSEX (LHD 2) and embarked Marines for TALON VISION and PHIBLEX 2007 in the Philippines, before closing the year in ANNUALEX. In 2007, she completed flight-deck qualifications, deployed on a spring patrol, joined the U.S.-India-Japan exercise MALABAR 07-01, and participated in VALIANT SHIELD 2007, reflecting the tempo of 7th Fleet presence and joint training.

In early 2009, STETHEM took part in COBRA GOLD with the ESSEX Expeditionary Strike Group, continuing routine Yokosuka-based patrols and bilateral training. The following year she joined DESRON-15's Multi-Sail on April 16, 2010, then operated with the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) Carrier Strike Group through spring and summer presence operations. In November 2010 she participated in joint U.S.-Republic of Korea naval drills west of the Korean Peninsula, part of strengthened regional deterrence and alliance signaling following heightened tensions on the peninsula.

Throughout 2011, STETHEM executed FOAL EAGLE and MALABAR, then closed the year in the annual U.S.-Japan bilateral ANNUALEX. After a short dry-dock in Yokosuka in June 2011 and local operations into early 2012, she conducted Multi-Sail 2012 on January 29 and then deployed independently from March to November 2012 across the 7th and 5th Fleet areas, including the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, with a return to Yokosuka on November 16.

Following local Yokosuka operations in 2013-2014, STETHEM took part in high-end events including RIMPAC-related operations in mid-2014 and VALIANT SHIELD 2014, where she fired RGM-84 HARPOON missiles during complex maritime strike training in the Philippine Sea. In January 2015, she entered Dry-Dock 4 at Yokosuka for maintenance and emerged for local operations through the year, including time at Sasebo. In September 2016, she again participated in VALIANT SHIELD, visited Busan in October for allied engagement with the Republic of Korea Navy, and returned to Yokosuka on November 17.

In March 2017, STETHEM was underway around Guam for Multi-Sail 2017, then on July 2 conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) transiting within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracels to challenge excessive maritime claims - one of several U.S. actions in the period aimed at preserving navigational rights amid competing claims by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. On August 1, while on routine patrol about 140 miles west of Subic Bay, a sailor was reported overboard. An intensive 79-hour search drew assets from the U.S., JMSDF (including JS IZUMO and JS SAZANAMI), the People's Liberation Army Navy, and Military Sealift Command, before the effort was suspended on August 4.

In April 2019, STETHEM supported Japan-led search and recovery efforts after a Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A crashed east of Misawa on April 9. The destroyer joined U.S. P-8A patrol aircraft and Japanese maritime forces searching roughly 5,000 square nautical miles before specialized deep-water systems took over. The event underscored allied coordination and the protection of sensitive technology. On July 18, 2019, after fourteen years forward-deployed in Japan, she arrived at her new homeport of Naval Base San Diego to undergo a planned maintenance and modernization period that included combat-system upgrades for air and missile defense, surface, and undersea warfare.

From 2020 through 2022, STETHEM remained based in San Diego for sustainment, crew turnover, and basic/advanced phase training following depot work. She held a change-of-command ceremony on February 14, 2022, and resumed West Coast operations, including underway periods with other DESRON and cruiser-destroyer units in the Southern California Operating Areas.

In early 2023, the destroyer completed a surface-ship availability and undocked at BAE Systems San Diego on May 8, clearing the way for sea trials and deployment work-ups. By the summer she deployed to the Middle East, operating under U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in the Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea and adjacent waters. Her 5th Fleet period featured maritime security missions, close integration with amphibious ship USS CARTER HALL (LSD 50), and experimentation with small unmanned aerial systems - such as FlexRotor UAV operations documented on November 9, 2023 - supporting situational awareness in choke points and high-traffic sea lanes.

From October 19, 2023 through May 30, 2024, STETHEM served through an intense phase of regional security operations alongside numerous U.S. and coalition units amid heightened threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden and Strait of Hormuz. The Secretary of the Navy subsequently awarded a Navy Unit Commendation to commands that distinguished themselves in that period - including USS STETHEM - recognizing sustained operational excellence across operations such as SENTINEL and PROSPERITY GUARDIAN that safeguarded freedom of navigation and disrupted malign maritime activity.

By 2025, STETHEM had returned to U.S. 3rd Fleet for post-deployment sustainment and routine Pacific operations from San Diego, continuing her third decade of service.

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Homeports of USS STETHEM:

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About the Destroyer’s Name, about Steelworker Robert D. Stethem:

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USS STETHEM Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by Brian Barton and shows the STETHEM at San Diego, Calif., on December 4, 2003. The aircraft carrier in the background is the USS NIMITZ (CVN 68).

The photo below was taken by Bruce Bennett and shows the STETHEM passing Coronado Island, San Diego, Calif., on December 4, 2003.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STETHEM undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair on October 12, 2019.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the STETHEM 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 STETHEM at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 28, 2021.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STETHEM in the graving dry-dock at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 10, 2022.

The photos below were taken by me and show USS STETHEM at the Continental Maritime of San Diego Shipyard on July 26, 2024.

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