USS ''Michael Murphy'' (DDG-112) is an '' Arleigh Burke-class'' ( Flight IIA)

Aegis The aegis ( ; ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named Aex, a ...

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 ...

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 ...

and is the last Flight IIA variant. She is named for

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

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Michael P. Murphy (1976–2005). Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during

Operation Red Wings Operation Red Wings (often incorrectly referred to as ''Operation Redwing'' or ''Operation Red Wing''), informally referred to as the Battle of Abbas Ghar, was a joint military operation conducted by the United States in the Pech District ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in June 2005. He was the first sailor awarded the Medal of Honor since the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The ship's name was announced by Secretary of the Navy,

Donald C. Winter Donald Charles Winter (born June 15, 1948) is an Americans, American technologist and business leader who served as United States Secretary of the Navy. A former top executive of TRW, Aerospace & Defense, he was nominated in 2005 by President Geor ...

on 7 May 2008. The ship was christened on 7 May 2011, Murphy's birthday, by her sponsor Maureen Murphy, Michael Murphy's mother. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 31 of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific. ''Michael Murphy'' was intended to be the last ship of the ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyers but, following the cancellation of the program after the completion of the first three vessels, the Navy continued construction on the ''Arleigh Burke'' class.

Construction and commissioning

Her contract was awarded on 13 September 2002 to the

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...

and the first cut of steel was made by Vice Admiral John Morgan, the first commanding officer of

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the class, . The ship's

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid down on 18 June 2010, and during the event, Maureen Murphy and Edwin Bard inscribed the signatures of Murphy's family on an iron plate during a dedication cerrmony for ''Michael Murphy''. The plate was affixed to the ship's hull during construction. After her christening, the destroyer was moved to

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

for several months in order to finalize construction. On 1 October 2012 the destroyer arrived in New York for her commissioning, which occurred on 6 October.

Service history

2012

On 16 October 2012 ''Michael Murphy'' arrived in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

for her first international port of call. Led by

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Larry L. Palmer, dozens of sailors ventured out into the community to help the children of Barbados at the Boscobelle Primary School and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The sailors presented stuffed animals to the children at the hospital. At the primary school, the crew members helped to beautify the school grounds by planting trees, as well as clearing away brush and debris. The students of the primary school also had stuffed animals donated to them by the sailors. On 21 November, ''Michael Murphy'' arrived at her home port of

Naval Station Pearl Harbor Naval Station Pearl Harbor is a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In 2010, as part of the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission, the naval station was consolidated with the United States A ...

, part of

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is Joint Base, an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl ...

2013

On 15 February 2013 ''Michael Murphy'' held her first family day cruise. On 23 May 2013 ''Michael Murphy'' held her first change of command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam.

2014

On 4 February 2014 ''Michael Murphy'' participated with aviation forces from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps in joint training exercise Koa Kai. Participating units conducted integrated flight operations, anti-surface and anti-submarine training. On 28 February, the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

ship suffered a fire and breakdown approximately northeast of Pearl Harbor that left the ship stranded without power, lighting or water. ''Michael Murphy'', already underway, was immediately dispatched to assist in towing and recovery efforts. ''Michael Murphy'' received 17 family members of the crew and two civilian contractors from ''Protecteur''; however, due to adverse weather conditions, ''Michael Murphy''s attempts to take her under tow were unsuccessful. , a , arrived two days later, connected to and towed the stricken ship until the towing cable broke. Finally, , a , arrived on 2 March to assume the towing duties and brought ''Protecteur'' into

on 6 March. On 7 July 2014 ''Michael Murphy'' departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam to participate in the at-sea phase of the multinational exercise

Rim of the Pacific The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime Military exercise, warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held wikt:biennial, biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exc ...

(RIMPAC). On 26 June, RIMPAC 2014 commenced and ''Michael Murphy'' participated in all 36 days, including the closing reception on 1 August. On 20 October 2014, ''Michael Murphy'' departed on her first deployment to the Western Pacific with the

United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the ...

2015

On 26 May 2015, ''Michael Murphy'' was awarded with a

Canadian Forces' Unit Commendation The Canadian Forces' Unit Commendation (French: ) is an award given to military units for "a deed or activity considered beyond the demand of normal duty". Not only Canadian military units are eligible; Commonwealth and foreign units are also elig ...

in recognition of the service she provided to the stranded Canadian naval vessel after she had caught fire at sea.

2017

USS Michael Murphy Visits Fiji Ahead of Oceania Maritime Security Operations

In January 2017, ''Michael Murphy'', along with sister ''Arleigh Burke''-class destroyer and ''Ticonderoga''-class cruiser , accompanied in a deployment to the western Pacific. In April of that year, the ''Carl Vinson''

Carrier Strike Group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...

(CSG) cancelled a scheduled port call in Australia in response to increasing tensions between

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

(DPRK) and the United States over the DPRK's nuclear weapons program.

2018

''Michael Murphy'' participated in KAKADU 2018, a multinational exercise hosted by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

. During the sea phase of the exercise, forces from twenty-seven countries will train together in several complex warfighting scenarios, including an air defense exercise, gunnery exercise, search and rescue training, underway replenishment approaches, anti-submarine warfare vulnerability training, and divisional tactics.

2019

''Michael Murphy'' deployed to the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations, following her participation in exercises UNITAS LX and Teamwork South 2019 in Valparaiso, Chile, from 24 June to 3 July.

2024

''Michael Murphy'' arrived at the

Port of Colombo The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as a ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

on 23 July 2024 on a formal visit. The vessel is scheduled to depart the island on 26 July 2024. ''Michael Murphy'' arrived at the port of Colombo on a replenishment visit on 16 November 2024. The vessel is captained by Commander Jonathan B. Greenwald and is scheduled to depart on 17 November 2024.

Awards

* Battle "E" – (2021) *

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

Meritorious Team Commendation The Meritorious Team Commendation (MTC) is a unit award of the United States Coast Guard. Created on 22 December 1993, the Meritorious Team Commendation is awarded for performance of exceptional actions that would normally warrant a Commandant's ...

- (2020) *

- (2014) * Retention Excellence Award - (2019)

Gallery

File:USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) photo illustration.jpg, Photo of LT Michael Murphy in a commemoration poster released by the Navy File:The guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) returns to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, March 29, 2013 130329-N-WF272-030.jpg, ''Michael Murphy'' returning to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, 29 March 2013 File:Lights adorn the guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii 121218-N-WF272-018.jpg, ''Michael Murphy'' seen at night in Pearl Harbor, 18 December 2012 File:USS Michael Murphy passes USS Gridley. (8430022852).jpg, ''Michael Murphy'' and on 28 January 2013

References

External links

Official page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Murphy Ddg-112 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Ships built in Bath, Maine 2011 ships