USS ''Benfold'' (DDG-65) is a Flight I in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. She is a multi-mission platform capable of

anti-aircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

(AAW) with the powerful Aegis Combat System suite and

anti-aircraft missiles Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

(ASW), with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets,

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's ...

(ASUW) with

Harpoon missile The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack M ...

s, and strategic land strike using Tomahawk missiles. ''Benfold'' was one of the first ships fitted with the

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System The Aegis ballistic missile defense system (Aegis BMD or ABMD), also known as ''Sea-Based Midcourse'', is a Missile Defense Agency program under the United States Department of Defense developed to provide missile defense against short and inte ...

and during the 2010 Stellar Daggers exercise was the first ship to simultaneously engage a ballistic missile and a cruise missile. Former ''Benfold'' commanding officers include Admiral

Mark Ferguson Mark Ferguson may refer to: * Mark E. Ferguson III (born 1956), U.S. Navy admiral * Mark Ferguson (footballer) (born 1960), English footballer * Mark Ferguson (actor) (born 1961), Australian actor and television presenter * Mark Ferguson (news pr ...

, Admiral Michael Gilday, Vice Admiral

Thomas H. Copeman III Thomas Henry Copeman III (born 1959) is a retired officer of the United States Navy. In mid-2009 he was appointed commandant of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. His final assignment was as Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific fr ...

, and author D. Michael Abrashoff.

Design, construction and improvements

Built by the

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and, as of 2023, is the largest private em ...

Corporation in

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula metropolitan area, and is part of the Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi–Pascag ...

, ''Benfold'' is the 15th of a planned 90 ''Arleigh Burke''-class

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

s. Named for posthumous

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

United States Marine Corps

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient Hospital Corpsman Third Class Edward Clyde Benfold, she joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet for service on 30 March 1996. Equipped with the Aegis air-defense system and the Mark-41 Vertical Launch System for multiple types of guided missiles, ''Benfold'' is capable of defensive and offensive operations against warplanes, anti-ship missiles, surface ships, submarines, and shore targets. In addition to her missiles, she carries one 5-inch rapid-fire naval gun for action against surface ships and for shore bombardment. She also carries anti-submarine torpedoes, and two

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS () is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Co ...

anti-missile guns. She has a flight deck for MH-60R/S Seahawk Helicopters and is capable of refueling and re-arming these helicopters, but she does not have a hangar for storing and maintaining helicopters.

Modernization 2011

In 2011, ''Benfold'' entered drydock at

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

, San Diego to receive an extensive $32 million mid-life upgrade. The hull mechanical and electrical (HM&E) upgrades included a fully integrated bridge, improved machinery and damage control, quality of life improvements, an advanced galley, and commercial-off-the-shelf computing equipment.

Modernization 2013

In 2013, ''Benfold'' underwent extensive combat systems upgrades to include the installation of Aegis Baseline 9C, Ballistic Missile Defense version 5.0, A(V) 15 SONAR Suite, and also became Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) capable.

Service history

Deployments

* 14 August 1997 to 19 February 1998 –

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

* 18 June 1999 to 17 December 1999 –

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

/Persian Gulf * 13 March 2001 to 15 September 2001 – Gulf * 18 October 2004 to 1 March 2005 * 13 September to 2006 13 March 2007 * 4 May 2008 to 3 November 2008 * 8 September 2009 to 16 March 2010 * 15 June 2012 to 11 January 2013 – Persian Gulf * 2 October 2015 to present - U.S. 7th Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan

Naval exercises 2012

In 2012, ''Benfold'' was the first

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

–based naval ship invited to participate in the Koa Kai naval exercises. ''Benfold'' conducted integrated flight operations, anti-surface and anti-submarine training, dynamic ship maneuvers, ballistic missile defense, small boat attacks and Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) utilizing the Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team.

Collision

On 19 November 2017 ''Benfold'' was involved in a minor collision with a Japanese commercial tug off

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the i ...

. The tug lost power and drifted into ''Benfold'', causing damage described as minimal, with some scraping to the ship's side. There were no injuries reported on either vessel; ''Benfold'' continued at sea, while the tug was towed to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

Freedom of Navigation operations

''Benfold'' has conducted the following Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea: * 12 July 2021 –

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea and currently controlled by the People's Republic of China. The word ''paracel'' is of Portuguese origi ...

* 8 September 2021 –

Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands (; zh, s=南沙群岛, t=南沙群島, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; ; ) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atoll ...

* 18 January 2022 – Spratly Islands * 20 January 2022 – Paracel Islands * 13 July 2022 – Paracel Islands * 16 July 2022 – Spratly Islands In 2022, ''Benfold'' was praised by Seventh Fleet leadership as an exemplar of good ship preservation. On 6 August 2023, ''Benfold'' and three other destroyers responded to a joint Chinese-Russian patrol in international waters near Alaska. The Chinese–Russian flotilla left without incident. On 9 August 2023, the Navy announced plans to extend the ship's service life beyond the initial 35 years, intending to keep ''Benfold'' in service until at least 2036. The Navy has announced plans to rotate ''Benfold'' to Everett, Washington, replacing her in Japan with .

Awards

*2003–2004 – USS ''Arizona'' Memorial Trophy Award, for "superior performance in combat readiness and battle efficiency." *1998 – Spokane Trophy *

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

for 01-Oct-1997 to 30-Apr-1998 *

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

as a part of the ''Constellation'' Battle Group for 01-Jan-1999 to 10-Sep-2001 *

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

, for four separate time periods between October 1997 and August 2001 *

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (incl ...

for

Operation Unified Assistance Operation Unified Assistance was the American military's humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. On 28 December 2004, elements of the Combined Support Force were deployed to U-Tapao International Airport in Thaila ...

from 28-Dec-2004 to 12-Feb-2005 * CNO Afloat Safety Award (PACFLT) - (2007) * Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy – (2022) *

Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award The Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award is presented annually by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations to one ship in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and one in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Generally the recipient is the ship with the highest score in ...

- (2022) ''Benfold'' has been awarded the Navy Battle "E" for the following years: 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 (listed as "BENFOLD DDG 76" on awards site, year of ''Benfold'' DDG-65 / ''Higgins'' DDG-76 "Sea Swap"), 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2018, 2021, and 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benfold (DDG-65) 1994 ships Destroyers of the United States Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi