USS Stout

USS Stout (DDG-55) is the fifth Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, she was commissioned on 13 August 1994 and she is currently home-ported in Naval Station Norfolk. She is part of Destroyer Squadron 26.[1] Stout is named for Rear Admiral Herald F. Stout (1903–1987), who distinguished himself as the Commanding Officer of the destroyer USS Claxton during World War II. In November 1943, Commander Stout received two Navy Crosses in the span of three weeks for his actions in the Pacific. Stout aided Destroyer Squadron 23 in sinking five heavily armed Japanese warships and damaging four others during the Solomon Islands campaign as well as sinking four more Japanese warships and damaging two others to establish a beachhead on Bougainville Island. The ship was ordered from Ingalls Shipbuilding on 13 December 1988. The keel was laid down on 8 August 1991 and the vessel was launched on 16 October 1992. Stout was commissioned on 13 August 1994. As of July 2020 the ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 26 based out of Naval Station Norfolk.

History
United States
Name: USS Stout
Namesake: Rear Admiral Herald F. Stout
Ordered: 13 December 1988
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down: 8 August 1991
Launched: 16 October 1992
Commissioned: 13 August 1994
Homeport: Norfolk, Virginia
Motto:

Tough, rugged, fast and ready

Previously: Courage – Valor – Integrity
Nickname(s): "Bold Knight"
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t)
  • Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
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; 35 mph)
Range:
Complement:
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters can be embarked

[2]

Ship history

Board of Inspection and Survey

In April 2008, the ship comprehensively failed[3] her Board of Inspection and Survey examination and was declared "unfit for sustained combat operations."[4][5] The ship has since passed 13 of 13 rigorous unit level training inspections. Stout deployed in March 2009 on routine security operations in the Sixth Fleet operational area. On 15 July 2009, Fox News Channel reported Stout was in the Black Sea cooperating with Georgian forces in training exercises.

Relief of Commanding Officer and Command Master Chief

On 1 March 2011 while on deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in support of the crisis in Libya, Commander Nathan Borchers, Command Master Chief Susan Bruce-Ross, six other chiefs, one junior officer, and one petty officer of Stout were relieved by the Commander Sixth Fleet. The cited cause was a "pervasive pattern of unprofessional behavior" among the ship's crew including "fraternization, orders violations and disregard for naval standards of conduct and behavior which contributed to poor crew morale and a hostile command climate."[6][7] The investigation found that a "gang" of five chiefs had bullied crew members, actively impeded communication among the ship's command channels, and forced crewmembers to work around the gang in order to get work accomplished.[8]

Operation Odyssey Dawn
Stout launches a Tomahawk missile in Operation Odyssey Dawn

On 19 March 2011, in conjunction with other US Navy ships, the destroyer launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defenses as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn.[8][9]

Syrian civil war

On 28 August 2013, the U.S. Navy announced that a fifth Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Stout, was en route to join the other four Burke-class destroyers deployed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid allegations that the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during the ongoing Syrian civil war, including the gas attacks that occurred on 21 August 2013.[10]

Establishes New Navy Record For Longest Stint At Sea
The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG-55) travels alongside the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, May 31, 2020.

On 3 October 2020, Stout moored in Rota, Spain, after 215 days consecutively at sea, surpassing the Navy’s known record of 206 days at sea previously held by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS San Jacinto (CG-56) as a result of the coronavirus and operational requirements.[11][12]

Honors and awards

On 16 February 2007, Stout was awarded the 2006 Battle "E".[13]

Coat of Arms

Shield

The battle axe is adapted from the Stout family's coat of arms. Its upright position underscores Stout's massive firepower and high survivability while the double axe head alludes to the all encompassing offensive and defensive power of the integrated AEGIS combat system. The star highlights Rear Admiral Stout's many awards, including the Silver Star. With resolute courage and daring aggressiveness, then Commander Stout aided his task force in sinking several Japanese warships to establish a beachhead on Bougainville Island. This Naval battle is symbolized by the wedge piercing the field of the shield. The wedge and field represents Rear Admiral Stout and the United States Navy's ability to disable and destroy a surface force of superior firepower.[14]

Crest

The cross symbolizes the two Navy Crosses Rear Admiral Stout was awarded as well as exemplifies the strong devotion to God and Country that characterized his Naval career. It is inflamed to recall the fierce naval battle during the Solomon Islands campaign. The lion is a metaphor for the courage and strength which Rear Admiral Stout and his crew had during World War II and to those who have served on board Stout (DDG 55).[14]

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

  1. Official website
  2. "Our Ships". Destroyer Squadron 26. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. "U.S. Navy Finds Glaring Flaws in 2 Surface Ships". Defense News. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  4. "Navy Board of Inspection and Survey Report: USS Stout". Navy Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012.
  5. Eisman, Dale (4 May 2009). "Lawmakers Seek Openness After Navy Closes Reports". Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. "Destroyer CO, CMC fired during deployment". Navy Times. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. Jontz, Sandra (1 March 2011). "CO, nine others removed from USS Stout over port visit misconduct". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  8. McMichael, William (6 April 2011). "Report: Chiefs created 'hostile' climate on Stout". Navy Times. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  9. Burns, Robert (20 March 2011). "First wave of allied assault: 112 cruise missiles". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  10. "Official: 5th destroyer headed to the Med". Navy Times. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  11. "USS Stout Breaks Record As It Departs US 5th Fleet". Navy Press Office. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  12. "USS Stout Arrives in Rota, Spain, and the History Books". U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa / U.S. 6th Fleet. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  13. Ludwick, Paula M. (19 February 2007). "Surface Force Ships, Crew Earn Battle "E"". US Navy. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  14. "Coat of Arms: USS Stout (DDG 55)". Institute of Heraldry, The Pentagon. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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