Pearl Harbor-based ship embarks on last mission
William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Family members said goodbye to more than 800 sailors yesterday as three Hawai'i-based ships — the USS Fletcher, USS Reuben James and USS Paul Hamilton — deployed to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea for Operation Enduring Freedom.
AW1 William R. Goodwin • U.S. Navy
"It's my fourth (deployment), and it's always hard. It doesn't get any easier," said Carla Brown, whose husband, Bryan, is a sonar technician 1st class on the Fletcher.
As the families of sailors aboard the USS Fletcher watched, a Navy tug pushed the destroyer yesterday out of its berth at Pearl Harbor.
For the Fletcher, the departure was extra sentimental. The 22-year-old Spruance-class destroyer will be the first to take part in a new Navy program to swap out crews while it stays on an extended 18-month deployment — typically it's six months — to cut down on ship transit time to and from home port.
The mission means the 563-foot ship, a fixture at Pearl Harbor for more than two decades, may never return. The ship, also known as DD-992, is scheduled to be decommissioned following the deployment.
"I think the thing that comes to my mind is you've got a ship that is 22 years old and was the last of the Spruances. Technically, there is a (DD) 997, but realistically, this was supposed to be the last Spruance ever built," said Cmdr. Dell Epperson, who commanded the Fletcher from November 2000 to April of this year.
"To see her here on her last deployment is something that brings back a lot of good memories as well as great anticipation of her role in Operation Enduring Freedom," Epperson said yesterday. "When she sails away, that is the last time Hawai'i will have a homeported Spruance destroyer."
With the exception of DD-997, the 31 Spruance hulls were numbered from 963 to 992.
Named after Adm. Raymond Spruance, who helped turn the tide of World War II in the Battle of Midway and later was commander of Pacific Fleet, the anti-submarine and strike warfare ships were the first to employ gas turbine engines as their main propulsion system.
Four newer Arleigh Burke-class destroyers based at Pearl Harbor include the O'Kane, Hopper, Russell and Paul Hamilton.
The Hamilton and Reuben James, a frigate, also left yesterday as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group. The Pearl Harbor-based submarine USS Honolulu also is part of the deployment.
The typical deployment is for six months. The new "Sea Swap" test, however, extends the Fletcher's deployment an additional 12 months.
The crew of the San Diego-based USS Kinkaid will take over the Fletcher in six months, possibly in Australia, and the Fletcher crew will fly home. That will allow the Navy to decommission the Kinkaid a year early, saving $86 million in labor costs.
A third crew will take over the Fletcher after 12 months. "Sea Swaps" with other destroyers will follow.
While Navy officials said it remains to be seen how well sailors adapt to the program, Capt. Mark "Buz" Buzby, commander of Destroyer Squadron 31, which includes the Fletcher, thinks crews quickly will become accustomed to switching ships.
"Our crews have a lot of pride in their ships. Being a Fletcher sailor has always meant a lot," Buzby said. "But I think the crew is what's really important. Whether you are on 992 or 967, or whatever the hull number is, I think it's the camaraderie that you share as a crew going off to do a mission."
For families it means adjustments, too.
"It's going to be strange having a homecoming at the airport instead of at the pier," Brown said.
Across from Pearl Harbor's Makalapa Gate, red plastic cups in the chain-link fence spelled out, "We will miss you USS Fletcher."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
