USS Chafee Returns to Pearl Harbor

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Robert Stirrup, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- More than 250 Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) after a three-month deployment in the Western Pacific July 12.

Chafee departed JBPHH April 5 for an independent deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

"This was a very productive deployment," said Cmdr. Chase Patrick, commanding officer of Chafee. "We never had a bad day at sea, we had a lot of fun and we got a lot of work accomplished."

While on deployment, Chafee took part in Exercise Malabar 2010, a week-long bilateral military exercise hosted by the Indian Navy to promote the interoperability between the United States and India.

Chafee also participated in operations supporting Commander Task Force 70 and trained alongside the Malaysian Navy.

Patrick spoke about how well the crew performed during the deployment.

"The crew performed great. They were very proficient from the navigation detail down to the engineers," said Patrick. "They did their jobs exceedingly well."

Friends and families were excited to see their Sailors return home as they waited at the pier.

Guided-missile destroyers are multimission surface combatants, capable of anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare missions. They operate independently for support of carrier and expeditionary strike groups.

USS Chafee Departs Pearl Harbor for Western Pacific Deployment

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW) Eric J. Cutright, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West, Det. Hawaii

PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam April 5 for a scheduled six-month deployment.

Chafee returned from its last deployment Aug. 24, 2009, and has been diligently maintaining its battle-readiness according to Cmdr. Heedong Choi, Chafee's commanding officer.

"Ever since returning from our last deployment, the crew of Chafee has continuously been training and maintaining the ship. The officers and crew have worked incredibly hard to keep-up our certifications and combat readiness in order to deploy again," said Choi.

The ship and its crew of more than 300 Sailors are expected to operate primarily in the 7th Fleet's Area of Responsibility (AOR), which is the largest in the Navy, spanning more than 48-million square miles of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

"As with all deploying ships in our Navy, the overarching mission is to provide presence in the 'global commons' and to execute the maritime strategy as outlined by the CNO, MCPON, and the commandant of the Coast Guard," said Choi.

Currently, Chafee has not been scheduled to join with any other strike group in the 7th Fleet AOR, but Choi explains that the ship and crew are prepared for any future joint effort.

"The men and women of Chafee are ready to meet all tasking through the spectrum of operations, from full-scale combat to humanitarian assistance/disaster response. We are always ready and capable to operate in any theater commensurate with the desires of our operational commanders," said Choi.

During last year's deployment, Chafee's crew performed multiple joint operations including Foal Eagle, Malabar and Cooperation and Readiness Afloat Training.

"My expectations have been consistent and persistent during my time as CO. First, is to be combat ready at all times; second is to exercise stewardship and third is to take care of each other," said Choi.

Guided-missile destroyers provide multimission offensive and defensive capabilities, and can operate independently or as part of carrier battle groups, amphibious ready groups and underway replenishment groups.

USS Chafee is scheduled to return in October.

USS Chafee Returns Home to Pearl Harbor

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark Logico, Commander, Navy Region Hawai’i Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) Sailors reunited with families and friends at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Aug. 24, after a Western Pacific deployment.

More than 300 officers and enlisted personnel aboard Chafee played a key role in supporting U.S. maritime strategy, which calls for credible combat power to be continuously postured to protect America's vital interests.

"As a surface ship, with a crew of more than 300 and state of the art technology, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is the Cadillac of the fleet," said Cmdr. Heedong Choi, commanding officer of Chafee. "We're an integral part of the maritime strategy, providing theater security cooperation along with maritime security operations. We're keeping the ocean safe so that commerce continues to flow."

Chafee deployed Feb. 24 with embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light (HSL) 37, Detachment 1 from Marine Corps Base Kaneohe.

During the deployment, Chafee traveled more than 30,000 nautical miles, performed 46 evolutions of boat operations and 110 sorties of flight operations.

"The Navy is about ships, and it's about the Sailors, and I try to focus on what my crew did," said Choi.

Chafee participated in exercises: Foal Eagle 2009, Malabar 2009 and Cooperation and Readiness Afloat Training (CARAT) 2009.

Chafee operated with the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and the Royal Thai Navy's aircraft carrier, HTMS Chakri Narubet, as well as numerous Yokosuka- and Pearl Harbor-based ships.

After completing Foal Eagle, Chafee headed for Sasebo, Japan to participate in Malabar 2009, a multilateral exercise with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force and the Indian navy. The exercise is designed to increase the interoperability between Indian, Japanese, and U.S. forces and strengthen stability in the Pacific region.

For the last half of the deployment, Chafee conducted bilateral operations in support of CARAT 2009, a series of bilateral exercises. CARAT provided an excellent opportunity to train with Southeast Asian navies including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei.

In addition to operational missions and training, Chafee crew members volunteered for community relations projects. Their efforts improved conditions at three schools, repaired a walking path to a monastery and helped with a housing development project during port calls to South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Republic of Philippines.

Choi said that Chafee paid 14 port call visits in 10 countries in the Western Pacific.

"I am proud of my husband," said a Chafee family member waiting at the pier, "but more than that, I am happy to see him return after a long deployment."

Guided missile destroyers operate in support of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups and are multimission, anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare surface combatants.

Chafee Departs for Western Pacific

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael A. Lantron, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs


PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- More than 350 Sailors assigned to the Pearl Harbor-based guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) were joined by their friends and family as they departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor Jan. 30 for a deployment under the Navy's Fleet Response Plan (FRP).

The ship deployed as part of Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and will operate in the Western Pacific while forward-deployed USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) undergoes scheduled maintenance in Yokosuka, Japan.

"I'm nervous. This is my husband's first time deploying, but he's doing his job and I'll support him in whatever he does," said a spouse of a Chafee Sailor.

In Sept. 2007, the Nimitz CSG, which included Chafee, returned from a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific.

"The Chafee team has done an outstanding job in giving the ship a turnaround from the return in September to get ready for this deployment," said Cmdr. Robert Tortora, commanding officer, Chafee. "It takes a lot of hard work, and the Sailors have done a great job in getting the ship ready."

Despite the quick turnaround to get the ship back underway for deployment, the crew looks forward to be able to return to sea and operate while underway.

"I love going out to sea and doing my job - driving the ship, standing lookout watch and making sure the ship goes where it needs to go," said Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Steven Bryant.

The Navy's FRP provides the U.S. with the ability to respond to any global commitment with flexible and sustainable forces and the ability to rapidly respond to a range of situations on short notice.

Chafee is 471 feet in length, 59 feet wide and has a maximum speed of 30 plus knots. The ship operates in support of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups, and replenishment groups and is a multi-mission (anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare) surface combatant.

USS Chafee Returns From Successful Deployment

By Ensign Matthew Bennett, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs, and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul D. Honnick, Fleet Public Affairs Center Det. Hawaii

Guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90), with her crew of more than 300 Sailors, will returned home to Pearl Harbor, Sept. 22, marking the end a successful 167-day Western Pacific and Middle East deployment.

The Sailors of Chafee return home from the ship’s second deployment to family, friends and the comforts of Hawaii knowing that they performed exceptionally well across a broad range of tasks and operations.

"I am extremely proud of the crew's exceptional performance,” said Cmdr. Robert P. Tortora, Chafee’s commanding officer. “Team Chafee was ready for all tasking and incredibly flexible from the day we sailed to the day we returned."

“It was a real demanding deployment. We pretty much covered every warfare area there is, but the crew stuck together and everybody did a great job,” said Chief Operations Specialist (SW/AW) Charlie Bennie.

A crowd of thousands waited patiently on the pier to welcome back the ship and her crew.

“My Sailors are very excited to be back and they all have plans. Every single one of them is going to go spend time with their families, fly back to the States; everybody has something they want to go do today, tomorrow and for the next month as we stand down after these 167 days away,” said Tortora.

Chafee departed Pearl Harbor April 9, as part of the San Diego based Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and deployed to the U.S 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations.

While deployed to the Middle East, Chafee conducted maritime operations with coalition partners off the Horn of Africa to disrupt piracy and terrorist activities in the area. Chafee then entered the Persian Gulf and began tasking to further regional maritime security goals; including escort of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74); oil platform defense off the coast of Iraq; and maritime security patrols. Chafee’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) teams conducted small boat approaches and assisted in operations in the Central and Southern Arabian Gulf to offer goodwill visits to local mariners, helping to foster a spirit of cooperation between Navy coalition partners and the local maritime community.

After departing the Middle East, Chafee rejoined the Nimitz CSG and transited to the U.S. 7th Fleet to participate in exercise Valiant Shield 2007 (VS07) Aug 7-14. VS07 was a multi-dimensional joint exercise off the coast of Guam with U.S. forces including the Stennis, Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) CSGs and more than 25 Navy ships, as well as numerous sub-surface, and U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force aircraft. VS07 was designed to focus on integrated joint training among U.S. military forces, enabling real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces and in detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on the land and in the cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas.

In addition, Chafee and the Nimitz CSG joined the Kitty Hawk CSG and India’s aircraft carrier INS Viraat (R 22) to participate in the multilateral exercise Malabar 07-2. This annual exercise included ships from India, Australia, Japan, and Singapore in the Bay of Bengal to advance mutual maritime understanding and interoperability.

The deployment was not all work as Chafee Sailors were able to visit Guam, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore and Middle East ports for liberty calls along the way.
Sailors also showed their compassion and hard work by participating in community relations projects. About 70 Sailors participated in projects, volunteering their time at Guam’s Ayuda Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing educational and medical supplies to hospitals and schools for the underprivileged in Micronesia.

In Singapore, Chafee Sailors traveled to the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre, located in Shatin, New Territories Hong Kong. The Centre provides food, shelter to the needy. The Sailors helped preserve the Centre by placing sandbags around the facility’s mountain edge.

In addition to Chafee, the Nimitz CSG consists of Carrier Air Wing 11 and Destroyer Squadron 23, and includes the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68); the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), the guided-missile destroyers USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), USS Higgins (DDG 76), and USS Pinckney (DDG 91); Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 49 “Scorpions,” and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 11, Det. 3.