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Sullivan Brothers Information
Return to The
Sullivan Brothers InformationThe second The Sullivans (DDG-68)
was laid down on 14 June 1993 at Bath, Maine, by Bath ron 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.
The motto of the ship, honoring the five Sullivan brothers, is
"We Stick Together." Homeported in Mayport, Florida,
The Sullivans currently serves in the Atlantic Fleet.
18 August 2000