Special
release from the U.S. Department of Defense
Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig has announced the
decision to name the 44th ship of the Arleigh Burke class of
guided missile destroyers, "Nitze."
DDG 94's name will honor Paul
H. Nitze, whose distinguished government career included serving
as the 57th secretary of the Navy from 1963 to 1967. During his
time as the Navy secretary, he raised the level of attention
given to quality of Service issues. His many achievements
included establishing the first Personnel Policy Board and
retention task force (the Alford Board), and obtaining targeted
personnel bonuses. He lengthened commanding officer tours and
raised command responsibility pay.
Nitze became a strong
advocate for officers' advanced education opportunities and
worked to enhance greater integration of senior Navy staff by
moving the Chief of Naval Operations' office next to his own. He
also worked to ease unnecessary burdens on sailors by relaxing
in-port duty section requirements and hiring civilian custodial
workers.
Born in Amherst, Mass., on
Jan. 16, 1907, Nitze graduated "Cum Laude" from
Harvard University in 1928. After working in investment banking
where he was known as a Wall Street prodigy, he left in 1941 to
enter government service. In 1942, he was chief of the Metals
and Minerals Branch of the Board of Economic Warfare, until
named director, Foreign Procurement and Development Branch of
the Foreign Economic Administration in 1943. During the period
1944-1946, Nitze served as director and then as vice chairman of
the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey for which President Truman
awarded him the Medal of Merit.
For the next several years,
he served with the Department of State, beginning in the
position of deputy director of the Office of International Trade
Policy. In 1949, he was named deputy to the assistant secretary
of State for Economic Affairs. In August of that year, he became
deputy director of the State Department's policy planning staff,
and was appointed director the following year. As director,
Nitze was the principal author of a highly influential secret
National Security Council document (NSC-68), which provided the
strategic outline for increased U.S. expenditures to counter the
perceived threat of Soviet armament.
From 1953 to 1961, Nitze
served as president of the Foreign Service Educational
Foundation while concurrently serving as associate of the
Washington Center of Foreign Policy Reseach, the School of
Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University. His
publications during this period include "U.S. Foreign
Policy: 1945-1955." In 1961 President Kennedy appointed
Nitze assistant secretary of Defense for International Security
Affairs and in 1963 he became the secretary of the Navy, serving
until 1967.
Following his term as
secretary of the Navy, he served as deputy secretary of Defense
(1967-1969), as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Strategic
Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) (1969- 1973), and assistant
secretary of Defense for International Affairs (1973-1976).
Later, fearing Soviet rearmament, he opposed the ratification of
SALT II (1979). He was President Reagan's chief negotiator of
the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty (1981-1984). In
1984, Nitze was named special advisor to the president and
secretary of State on Arms Control. For more than forty years,
Nitze was one of the chief architects of U.S. policy toward the
Soviet Union. President Reagan awarded Nitze the Presidential
Medal of Freedom in 1985 for his contributions to the freedom
and security of the United States. Danzig said, "Paul
Nitze, in his many central roles in and out of government,
brought strategic intellect and extraordinary courage to bear
that helped shape our national security in an era when it was
uniquely challenged. As secretary of the Navy, he also
demonstrated a respect and care for sailors and Marines that
directly improved their quality of service. USS Nitze will
reflect Paul Nitze's toughness and care in all that the vessel
undertakes for America in the years ahead."
Arleigh Burke class
destroyers are equipped to operate with battle groups in
high-threat environments and conduct a variety of missions, from
peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and
power projection, in support of national military strategy. They
also provide essential escort capabilities to Navy and Marine
Corps amphibious forces, combat logistics ships and convoys.
These multi-mission ships are
equipped with the Navy's AEGIS combat weapons system, which
combines space-age communication, radar and weapons technologies
into a single platform for unlimited flexibility and significant
influence while operating "Forward...From the Sea."
These destroyers replace older, less capable ships that are
being taken out of service as the Navy reduces spending while
maintaining quality as part of its overall plan to recapitalize
the fleet.
DDG 94 will be built by Bath
Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and will join the fleet in 2004. The
ship is capable of firing surface- to-air missiles and Tomahawk
cruise missiles from forward and aft vertical launching systems
and is configured with port and starboard torpedo tubes, one
five-inch gun; and advanced electronic warfare systems. This
will be the 16th Flight IIA Arleigh Burke class destroyer to
employ an embarked helicopter detachment capable of supporting
dual SH-60 helicopters.
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