USS ''O'Brien'' (DD-975) was a 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 ...

Division of

Litton Industries Litton Industries, Inc., was an American defense contractor that specialized in shipbuilding, aerospace, electronic components, and information technology. The company was founded in 1953 and was named after inventor Charles Litton Sr., who was ...

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 ...

. It was named for

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Jeremiah O'Brien and his five brothers: Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph. The O'Briens were crew members on board the sloop ''Unity'', which captured HMS ''Margaretta'' at the entrance to Machias harbor on 12 June 1775. ''O’Brien'' was decommissioned on 24 September 2004, and was later sunk as part of a training exercise in 2006.

History

The destroyer has completed seven major deployments to the Western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five 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 bounded by the cont ...

/Indian Oceans and seven deployments to the

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 ...

. During her third deployment (13 January 1984 – 1 August 1984), which included 81 consecutive days at sea in the Indian Ocean, ''O'Brien'' took part in two refugee rescue missions, earning the

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 ...

. ''O'Brien''s fourth western pacific deployment (January 1986 – June 1986) took the destroyer further north. Operations included joint U.S./

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

naval exercises TEAM SPIRIT 86 and TAE KWAN DO 86-1. Ports visited: Subic Bay and Manila, Philippines; Okinawa, Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Pohang and Pusan, Korea; Hong Kong Following the installation of an advanced towed array sonar system in 1987, ''O'Brien'' conducted experimental sonar evaluation operations in the Northern Pacific and

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

. During her fifth deployment, ''O'Brien'' became part of the Middle East Force. ''O'Brien'' participated in

Operation Earnest Will Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was an American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest na ...

, escorting reflagged

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i tankers, and

Operation Praying Mantis Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 attack by the United States on Iranian naval targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. warship four days earlier. On 14 April, the American guided missile frigate stru ...

, during which ''O'Brien'' was a key member of the three-ship surface action group that engaged and sank the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian guided missile frigate . ''O'Brien'' underwent an extensive overhaul and received major weapon systems improvements in 1988 including the Mk 41

Vertical Launch System A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...

(VLS) for the

Tomahawk cruise missile The BGM-109 Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is an American long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. ...

, the SQR-1 tactical towed array sonar system and the LAMPS MK III

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

system. While assigned to the Middle East Force from September to December 1990, ''O'Brien'' participated in

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Conducting Persian Gulf patrols in support of the United Nations embargo of Iraq, ''O'Brien'' investigated over four hundred vessels. In December 1991 and again from February to April 1992, ''O'Brien'' conducted counter narcotic operations off the coasts of Central and South America. In August 1992, ''O'Brien'' departed

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 ...

to become a member of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces. En route from San Diego 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 ...

, ''O'Brien'' conducted follow-on testing and evaluation of the vertically launched anti-submarine rocket and the SQQ-89 sonar system on the Pacific Missile Test Range off

Kauai, Hawaii Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the List of islands of the United States by area, 21st-largest ...

. ''O'Brien'' arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, in October 1992. In June 1993, ''O'Brien'' departed Yokosuka for her third deployment to the Middle East Force where she conducted Persian Gulf patrols in support of

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

and surveillance operations in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...

. ''O'Brien'' participated in several joint exercises with the U.S. Marines and

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, as well as combined exercises with the Armed Forces of Singapore, Brunei, and the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. ''O'Brien'' departed on her fourth Middle East Force deployment on 17 February 1995 and continued to conduct operations in support of the United Nations embargo on Iraq. ''O'Brien''s operational tempo remained very high throughout 1996, including her fifth Middle East Force Deployment, participating in the large

naval exercise A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

RIMPAC The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held ...

'96 as well as a member of the

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

contingency force. During Pacific Middle East Force (PACMEF), ''O'Brien'' continued conducting operations in support of the United Nations embargo on Iraq and her efforts resulted in the seizure of over 1.5 million gallons of contraband oil. ''O'Brien'' was away from homeport for 233 days in 1996, but was awarded with the

Battle E Device A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

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 ...

, Humanitarian Service Award and then nominated for the prestigious Spokane Trophy. In 1999, ''O'Brien'' participated in exercises with the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

and in CROCEX '99 with 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 ...

. 2000 was yet another high tempo year with 188 days spent underway. ''O'Brien'' participated in Counter Special Operations Forces Exercise (CSOFEX) in Korea, COBRA Gold 2000,

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

operations and completed an entire tactical training cycle in a record 19 days. All of the previous years' hard work paid off in 2001 when ''O'Brien'' participated in PACMEF '01, conducting maritime interdiction operations, including boarding over thirty merchant vessels throughout the summer in the Persian Gulf. On 11 September, ''O'Brien'' emergency sortied from

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

to the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

. She participated in the opening Tomahawk cruise missile strikes into

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 support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

Sinking

In early 2006, the ex-USS ''O'Brien'' was sunk by missiles from , shells from and two P3C Orion patrol aircraft in a combined fleet training exercise off the Pacific Missile Range Facility near Kauai, Hawaii.Video of USS ''O'Brien'' sinking
/ref>

Ship's crest

''O'Brien''s official crest, as exhibited, symbolizes the rich tradition of courage and determination initiated by Jeremiah O'Brien, and continued by those ships that bore his name. The golden pile and its associated elements are resplendent in symbolism. The pile, in conjunction with the way bars, represents a ship at sea and is symbolic of the grand tradition of the U.S. Navy. Taken by itself, the pile also represents the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...

"V", equaling the total number of ships, including DD-975, to be honored with the name of ''O'Brien''. The

shamrock A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of the Irish word and simply means "young clover". At most times'', Shamrock'' refers to either the species ...

centered at the top of the pile alludes to Jeremiah O'Brien's Irish ancestry and, in addition, to the arms of the previous . The crossed nautical tridents overlapped by the single cannon dedicate the first naval battle of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

in which Jeremiah O’Brien and his men defeated the British warship, ''Margaretta''. O'Brien and his men, armed with only limited muskets, axes, and pitchforks (represented by the crossed tridents) boarded ''Margaretta'' and defeated an enemy armed with superior guns and training. Pine trees on either side of the cannon symbolize the state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, the home of Jeremiah O'Brien and the site of his famed victory. Reflected in the ship's motto, "Loyalty, Unity, Freedom", are the qualities of Captain O'Brien's contribution to the American Revolution. The motto also displays the guile of a long line of U.S. Navy sailors on ships named ''O'Brien''.

Gallery

An aerial starboard bow view of the destroyer USS O'BRIEN (DD 975) underway - DPLA - d5d74184a1c650fe48ff688a869cf376.jpeg, USS ''O'Brien'' on 6 May 1983 330-CFD-DN-SC-92-06790 (22111694255).jpg, USS ''O'Brien'' on 1 April 1987 The destroyer USS O'BRIEN (DD 975) pulls alongside the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). A Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2) SH-3 Sea King helicop - DPLA - 1fe566b7b00f2484fc91931d4f1539c5.jpeg, USS ''O'Brien'' on 1 October 1988 DD-975.jpg, USS ''O'Brien'' at Port of Yokosuka, Japan on 14 October 2002 US Navy 040924-N-7949W-002 Crewmembers assigned to the Spruance-class destroyer USS O'Brien (DD 975) leave the ship for the final time.jpg, USS ''O'Briens decommissioning ceremony on 24 September 2004

References

External links

* *
united-states-navy.com: USS ''O'Brien''

USS ''O'Brien''Crew pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien (Dd-975) Spruance-class destroyers Cold War destroyers of the United States Gulf War ships of the United States 1976 ships Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi Ships sunk as targets