USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. It is part of the Seventh Fleet, and its homeport is the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 15.
This warship is named after John S. McCain, Sr., and John S. McCain, Jr., both Admirals in the United States Navy. John S. McCain, Sr., commanded the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, and acted as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force during the latter stages of World War II. John S. McCain, Jr., commanded the U.S. Navy submarines USS Gunnel and USS Dentuda during World War II. Subsequently, he held a number of posts, rising to Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command before retiring in 1972. These men were the grandfather and father of Senator John S. McCain III.
| <img src=”http://subic.morefun.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/USS-John-S.-McCain-56.jpg” alt=”USS John S. McCain at ALAVA Pier Subic Bay /> |
| USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) at ALAVA Pier Subic Bay |
John S. McCain’s keel was laid down on 3 September 1991, at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The ship was launched on 26 September 1992, sponsored by Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain. McCain was commissioned on 2 July 1994, at the Bath Iron Works. The former President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, was the ceremony’s principal speaker.
The ship was initially assigned a home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and shifted to a forward-deploy port in Yokosuka, Japan in 1997.
In January 2003, John S. McCain deployed to the Persian Gulf. The ship launched 39 Tomahawk missiles in support of the invasion of Iraq and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for its service. It is cited by John Keegan in “The Invasion of Iraq” as having fired the first shots of that war, though many[who?] dispute this claim. John S. McCain was awarded the Navy Battle E for DESRON 15 in 2003 and again in 2004.
On 16 February 2007, John S. McCain was awarded the 2006 Battle “E” award.
On 11 June 2009, a Chinese submarine reportedly collided with the towed sonar array of John S. McCain near Subic Bay, Philippines. The incident caused damage to the array but was described as an “inadvertent encounter”.
In June 2009, John S. McCain pursued the North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam 1 toward Burma in enforcement of the new United Nations resolution of an arms export embargo against North Korea. The vessel was suspected of carrying arms for the Burmese junta government. Kang Nam 1 returned to North Korea without delivering its cargo to Burma.
On 2 October 2016, USS John S. McCain and USS Frank Cable made the first port visit by US Navy ships to Cam Ranh Bay since end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
First Published: wikipedia.org
Image Source: globalnation.inquirer.net