USS Higgins

USS Higgins
History
United States
Name: USS Higgins
Namesake: William R. Higgins
Ordered: 19 January 1993
Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down: 14 November 1996
Launched: 4 October 1997
Acquired: 14 January 1999
Commissioned: 24 April 1999
Homeport: Naval Base San Diego
Motto: First to Fight
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • Light: approx. 6,664 tons
  • Full: approx. 8,756 tons
Length: 505 ft (154 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed: >30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:
Complement:
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 1 SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter can be embarked, no hangar

USS Higgins (DDG-76) is a Flight II Template:Scalss- in the United States Navy. She is named for Colonel William R. Higgins. President George Bush awarded Colonel Higgins the Presidential Citizen’s Award two years after the colonel died. Two years later the president named the ship, which was to be built as the 26th destroyer of her class, after Colonel Higgins. USS Higgins was the 15th ship of this class to be built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, and construction began on 14 November 1996. She was launched and christened on 4 October 1997. On 24 April 1999 she was commissioned during a ceremony at Port Everglades, Florida.

Service history

The ship performed logistical support for United States Coast Guard helicopters undergoing relief operations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[1]

Commanding officers

The Commanding Officer (CO) of USS Higgins is the most senior officer that is in command of the ship. Sailors will refer to the CO as "the Captain" (regardless of rank), or sometimes informally as "Skipper". Below is the list of commanding officers of USS Higgins.

# Name Start End
15 CDR Marc R. Deltete 6 May 2016 Present
14 CDR Allen P. Johnson 10 October 2014 6 May 2016
13 CDR Nicole L. Maver-Shue 28 May 2013 10 October 2014
12 CDR Andrew F. Carlson 2 December 2011 28 May 2013
11 CDR Rome Ruiz 11 June 2010 2 December 2011
10 CDR Carl W. Meuser 12 December 2008 11 June 2010
9 CDR Fred W. Smith Jr. 15 May 2007 12 December 2008
8 CAPT Roy I. Kitchener 8 May 2007 15 May 2007
7 CDR Jeffrey P. Menne 9 November 2006 8 May 2007
6 CDR Jesse A. Wilson Jr. 12 November 2004 9 November 2006
5 CDR Roy I. Kitchener 10 October 2003 12 November 2004
4 CDR Charles R. Hill 24 April 2003 10 October 2003
3 CDR Michael M. Gilday 15 February 2002 24 April 2003
2 CDR William R. Ault 2 June 2000 15 February 2002
1 CDR James Lee T. Smith 24 April 1999 2 June 2000

Coat of Arms

Shield

The shield has background of blue with a “V” cutting through the center. The griffin is shown in the “V” yielding an axe and a trident.

The traditional Navy colors were chosen for the shield because dark blue, white and gold respectively represent the sea, integrity and excellence. The griffin, holding an axe and a trident, denotes valor and intelligence. The axe indicates her ability and readiness for engaging land based hostilities, while the trident symbolizes her modern weapon systems, giving her air combat and undersea engagement versatility. The “V” of the shield represents victory and the cloverleaf is for good fortune.

Crest

The crest consists of an anchor with swords crossing in the middle, both surrounded by wreaths.

The anchor is representative of the U.S. Navy. Two wreaths, one behind and one surrounding the anchor, symbolize the military and civilian honors awarded to Colonel Higgins for some unusual achievements. Crossed swords, a Naval officer’s sword and a Marine Corps Mameluke, represent the long-standing tradition of Navy and Marine Corps cooperation in times of peace and war.

Motto

The motto is written on a scroll of gold that has a blue reverse side.

The ships motto is "First to Fight". The motto is a reference to the honorable feats of Colonel Higgins.

Seal

The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS Higgins" at the top and "DDG 76" in the base all gold.

References

  1. ↑ "First U.S. vessel arrives at Port-au-Prince". MSNBC. 13 Jan 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Higgins (DDG-76).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.