History:
USS THE SULLIVANS was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath,
Maine, by Bath Iron Works Co.; launched on 12 August 1995;
sponsored by Kelly Sullivan Loughren, granddaughter of Albert
Leo Sullivan; and commissioned at Staten Island, N.Y., on 19
April 1997, Commander Gerard D. Roncolato in command.
On 26 April, THE SULLIVANS departed New York for Norfolk
where, after arriving on the 27th, the crew completed underway
replenishment qualifications with PLATTE (AO-186). The warship
then sailed for Mayport on 29 April and arrived in her new
homeport on 2 May.
After completing two days of gunnery trials in mid-May,
THE SULLIVANS embarked upon her shakedown deployment to the West
Indies on 27 May. That cruise took her to the waters off Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands, where the destroyer conducted
numerous sonar, gunnery, and torpedo exercises. The warship also
twice entered Roosevelt Roads and stopped once at St. Thomas for
port visits. On 29 June, THE SULLIVANS conducted test firings of
Standard SM-2 ER missiles from her vertical launch system (VLS).
After a brief stop at Mayport for the 4 July weekend, the
warship joined other ARLEIGH BURKE - class destroyers, cruisers,
destroyers, and frigates off the Virginia Capes for a
multiple-ship missile firing exercise. She returned to Mayport
on the 12th for upkeep.
Following three days of damage control exercises in
mid-August, the crew began preparations for a post shakedown
availability. She sailed for Maine on 3 September, arriving at
Bath Iron Works on the 5th. The shipyard repainted the hull,
altered the superstructure, and installed equipment upgrades in
the engineering plant and combat systems suite. When the yard
work was completed THE SULLIVANS got underway for Mayport,
arriving there on the 23 November.
On 8 December the destroyer joined ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) off
Georgia for a week of underway training. While providing plane
guard services on the 11th, a McDonnell Douglas T-45A trainer ("Goshawk")
splashed following take-off. THE SULLIVANS made a high-speed
dash to the site. While the carrier's rescue helicopter safely
rescued the pilot, boats launched by THE SULLIVANS picked up
considerable pieces of wreckage which were helpful in
determining the cause of the crash. The crew also completed
helicopter deck landing qualifications before returning to port
for the holidays on the 12th.
In January 1998, the crew of THE SULLIVANS began a series
of exercises designed "to build the capability for
long-term self-sustained training onboard." They included
engineering, combat, seamanship, and battle scenario training
exercises. These local operations lasted until 18 May when the
warship got underway for New York and the annual "Fleet
Week" celebrations.
Following a week long port visit, THE SULLIVANS got
underway on 26 May for Halifax, Nava Scotia to conduct training
workups for the upcoming Exercise "Unified Spirit `98."
During the exercise she joined an amphibious task force formed
around NASSAU (LHA-4), two LPDs, and two LSDs. The warship
screened the "gator" ships during an exercise focusing
on multi-national peace enforcement operations. Ships from
Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark,
Belgium, and Portugal also participated in the exercise. After
this exercise, the ship visited Boston and then sailed with
relatives and family for Mayport, arriving on 1 July.
After a summer of conducting midshipmen training off the
Florida coast, Commander Roncolato was relieved by Commander E.
Scott Hebner, USN, in a change of command ceremony on 4
September 1998. THE SULLIVANS is assigned to Destroyer Squadron
Twenty-Four, a component of the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY Battle
Group. In 1999, the ship participated in various training
exercises to prepare for her maiden deployment in October to the
Mediterranean and then in 2000 continued into the Arabian Sea
and participated in exercises and boarding operations until late
March. On 9 February, 2000, Commander Daniel Paul Keller, USN
relieved Commander Heber in a change of command ceremony, held
at sea on station in the Arabian Gulf. After port visits in the
Persian Gulf, she returned through the Mediterranean to her
homeport in April 2000, successfully completing her first six
month deployment. After participating in BEACHFEST at Port
Canaveral, FL, THE SULLIVANS underwent a major maintenance
overhaul to prepare for future operations.
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