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General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms

Accidents aboard USS Princeton

History

About the Name "Princeton"

Patch Gallery

Image Gallery

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USS Princeton (CG 59)

USS PRINCETON is the 13^th TICONDEROGA - class guided missile cruiser and the 11^th ship of that class built by Ingalls. USS PRINCETON is the sixth ship in the Navy to bear this name.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS PRINCETON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS PRINCETON memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS PRINCETON Cruise Books:

• WestPac Cruise Book 1990
• Operation Desert Storm Cruise Book 1991
• WestPac Cruise Book 1998-99
• WestPac Cruise Book 2013

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

( Click on the coat of arms for a larger version )

The Shield:

The shield s thirteen red and white stripes around the edge are from a flag of the revolution and stand for the union of the colonies. A profile of George Washington is at the center; his leadership was the essence of the victory at Princeton in 1777. The smaller shield which bears Washington s profile represents the defense of our country, then and now. The golden anchor symbolizes the nation s proud heritage as a seagoing power.

The Crest:

The crest s upward thrust of the trident symbolizes the vertical launching system of the new USS PRINCETON, and the interlaced lightning bolts represent its quick striking ability. The three times of the trident stand for the ship s multi-mission warfighting capabilities: anti-air, antisubmarine, and surface/strike warfare. The semi-octagonal background shape is a representation of the ship s SPY-1B radar arrays and emphasizes the revolutionary capabilities of the AEGIS Combat System. The five stars represent the previous US Navy ships which bore the name PRINCETON.

The Motto:

The ship s motto is derived from a letter written on November 15, 1781, by George Washington to the Marquis de Lafayette in which he wrote: "It follows then as certain as night succeeds day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and that with it everything honorable and glorious." It is from this quotation that the ship s motto "HONOR AND GLORY" is derived.

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Accidents aboard USS PRINCETON:

Date	Where	Events
February 18, 1991	Persian Gulf (off Faylaka Island)	During Operation Desert Storm USS PRINCETON provided air defense for a MCM group including the USS AVENGER (MCM 1), USS LEADER (MSO 490), USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10) and other Naval Forces. During the sweeping of Iraqi mines, USS TRIPOLI hit a moored contact mine in 30 meters of water. USS AVENGER and USS LEADER attempted to assist the damaged warship while USS PRINCETON still provided air defense. At 0715 USS PRINCETON hit a Manta mine in 16 meters of water. A sympathetic actuation of another mine about 350 yards from USS PRINCETON occurred about three seconds later. These mine blasts caused substantial damage to USS PRINCETON, including a cracked superstructure, severe deck buckling, and a damaged propeller shaft and rudder. As damage control teams overcame fires and flooding aboard USS TRIPOLI and USS PRINCETON, the minesweepers USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO 449), USS LEADER, and USS AVENGER searched for additional mines in the area. The minesweeper USS ADROIT (MSO 509) led the salvage ship USS BEAUFORT (ATS 2) toward USS PRINCETON; USS BEAUFORT then towed the damaged warship to safety. USS PRINCETON restored her TLAM strike and Aegis AAW capabilities within two hours of the mine strike and reassumed duties as the local AAW commander, providing air defense for the Coalition MCM group for 30 additional hours until relieved by the USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50). A few crewmembers suffered injuries as a result of the mine blasts. In recognition of the superior and arduous work the crew put in to keep the ship in war-fighting status, USS PRINCETON and crew were awarded a Combat Action Ribbon. The photos below show the damage aboard the PRINCETON.
September 13, 2005	Persian Gulf	A USS PRINCETON crew member is found missing and is presumed lost at sea.

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History of USS PRINCETON:

USS PRINCETON was commissioned at Pascagoula on February 11, 1989, shifted to the Pacific via the Panama Canal, and initially homeported at Long Beach before later moving to San Diego during BRAC realignments. In 1990, the ship served as flagship for the first modern U.S. Navy visit to Vladivostok, reflecting late-Cold War naval outreach.

During Operation Desert Storm, on February 18, 1991, PRINCETON struck two influence mines while on air-defense duty off Failaka Island in the northern Persian Gulf. Temporary repairs were executed in Bahrain and Jebel Ali (Dubai), after which the cruiser proceeded under her own power back to the United States for full restoration. The episode influenced subsequent surface-force emphasis on mine-warfare awareness and damage-control training.

With repairs complete, PRINCETON returned to routine workups and West Coast tasking in 1992, then deployed to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean as regional post-Gulf War enforcement matured into Operation Southern Watch (established August 27, 1992). Through late 1992, the ship rotated between Gulf air-defense coverage and maritime security in the Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea, using Manama (Bahrain) and Jebel Ali as logistics hubs. An underway medical evacuation of a crewmember to big-deck amphibious ESSEX (LHD 2) underscored the tempo of operations that year. In early 1993, PRINCETON continued with the ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) battle group. By mid-March 1993, she was refueling at sea with ABRAHAM LINCOLN and INGRAHAM (FFG 61) en route to a Hong Kong port visit, then resumed Fifth Fleet air-defense commander (ADC) periods as coalition responses to Iraqi no-fly-zone violations accelerated in March-July 1993. The ship completed turnover and returned stateside later in 1993 after a sequence of liberty stops typical of the era (Hong Kong, Singapore) and logistics calls in the Gulf.

In 1994, PRINCETON cycled through basic phase and composite training with carrier units, refining AAW, SUW, and ASW integration. The 1995 deployment again paired the cruiser with ABRAHAM LINCOLN for a Western Pacific-Arabian Gulf patrol focused on Southern Watch enforcement and maritime interception operations. The group's pattern included repeated logistics periods in Jebel Ali and Bahrain. At sea, PRINCETON alternated plane-guard and ADC roles and participated in joint/combined exercises along the transit track. She completed the cruise and returned to San Diego in the final quarter of 1995, carrying forward lessons from theater air-defense to subsequent training. Through 1996, the ship executed local operations, missile exercises, and evaluations (including the tailored training availability/COMPTUEX sequence) in preparation for late-decade deployments, earning the Battle Efficiency "E".

Beginning in early 2007, USS PRINCETON deployed with CARRIER STRIKE GROUP 11 (CSG 11) centered on USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). After workups off Southern California, the ship departed San Diego in early April and proceeded west. Through May the strike group operated in the Western Pacific and the North Arabian Sea amid ongoing U.S. operations related to Afghanistan. In June the ship moved south to the Coral Sea to participate in the bilateral U.S.-Australian exercise TALISMAN SABRE 2007 (June 10-25), then shifted north in August to the Guam operating area for the large U.S. joint exercise VALIANT SHIELD 2007 (August 7-14). In early September, PRINCETON joined Indian, Japanese, Australian, and Singaporean units for the multilateral exercise MALABAR 07-2 in the Bay of Bengal (September 4-9), before routing back across the Pacific. Brief liberty periods included a late-August stop in Hong Kong. The cruiser returned to San Diego in late September 2007, closing a deployment that combined U.S. Seventh Fleet presence, Fifth Fleet support, and major multilateral training events.

On January 24, 2008, PRINCETON again sailed west with CSG 11 for a Western Pacific patrol while the forward-deployed carrier in Japan underwent maintenance. The strike group entered Seventh Fleet on February 8, 2008. The following day, Russian Tu-95 "Bear" aircraft transited near the carrier, prompting intercepts by embarked fighters - an episode widely reported at the time. After spring operations and port visits in Japan and Korea, the ship returned stateside in early summer. By July 30, 2008, PRINCETON was in Seattle to lead the Parade of Ships that opened the city's Seafair Fleet Week, remaining pier-side for public tours into early August.

In mid- to late-2009, PRINCETON rejoined NIMITZ for another extended cruise that evolved into sustained Fifth Fleet support to Operation Enduring Freedom. Through late 2009 and early 2010 the ship provided air-defense and sea-control escort for the carrier while flight operations supported missions over Afghanistan. The strike group's Middle East phase concluded in March 2010 with the homecoming to San Diego. Later that year, PRINCETON returned to the region for maritime security tasking under Combined Task Force 151 and, on September 9, 2010, supported the recapture of the German-owned M/V MAGELLAN STAR from Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Marines from USS DUBUQUE (LPD 8) conducted the boarding, and nine suspected pirates were subsequently transferred to PRINCETON for custody by U.S. authorities.

Following post-deployment maintenance and local operations in 2011-2012, PRINCETON prepared for another major deployment with NIMITZ. On April 3, 2013, the cruiser departed San Diego for a six-month cruise spanning Seventh and Fifth Fleet waters. After a sustainment exercise off Southern California, the group entered Seventh Fleet in early May, conducted drills with the Republic of Korea Navy during heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, then shifted to the Middle East in June to relieve another carrier force. Port calls punctuated the transit and on-station period, including a visit to Dubai on July 5-9 during the Gulf phase and a call at Singapore on October 14-17 during the return leg. PRINCETON completed the deployment with a late-October 2013 homecoming to San Diego.

After post-deployment stand-down, the ship entered a deep maintenance period. PRINCETON commenced an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) with BAE Systems in San Diego in December 2013, a major overhaul lasting approximately 14 months. Sea trials concluded on February 9, 2015, marking the ship's return to fleet operations after the yard period. PRINCETON then executed basic-phase training and certifications through late 2016 to rebuild full mission readiness for the next deployment cycle.

Through early 2017, the cruiser completed COMPTUEX with the reconstituted NIMITZ strike group and conducted complex strait-transit and air-defense exercises off the U.S. West Coast. PRINCETON deployed mid-year, reaching India's east coast for Exercise MALABAR 2017 - arriving at Chennai on July 9 for the in-port phase before the at-sea component in the Bay of Bengal alongside Indian and Japanese units. Afterward the cruiser proceeded into Fifth Fleet for air-defense commander duties and theater security operations, with liberty stops during the Gulf phase at Manama (Bahrain), Abu Dhabi and Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Hamad Port (Qatar), and Duqm (Oman). On the homeward passage, the strike group paused for port visits at Pattaya (Thailand) and Sasebo (Japan) and a late-November layover at Pearl Harbor before returning to San Diego in December 2017. In recognition of its warfare readiness across that competitive deployment cycle, PRINCETON received the Pacific Fleet's 2017 Spokane Trophy in a ceremony held October 19, 2018.

In 2018, the ship entered another maintenance availability in San Diego, with work beginning March 5 and culminating in on-time completion after sea trials on September 27. The timely finish, highlighted by Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, returned PRINCETON to operations for the following training year. In October 2019, the cruiser took part in community-outreach events during San Francisco Fleet Week, hosting visitors and participating in the city's naval activities while continuing local training under U.S. Third Fleet.

In spring 2020, the ship joined NIMITZ for pre-deployment workups and deployed into the Indo-Pacific amid COVID-19 health mitigation measures that reshaped liberty and logistics. On July 20-21, 2020, PRINCETON participated in a cooperative deployment with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean, executing an air-defense exercise, live-fire events, and integrated flight operations as part of broader U.S.-India maritime coordination. The strike group entered Fifth Fleet on July 24 for sustained air-defense and escort operations supporting regional security and freedom of navigation. During that phase, and under strict protocols, PRINCETON pulled into Manama, Bahrain, October 7-11 for logistics and maintenance - the first U.S. carrier-strike-group port visit to Bahrain under COVID-19 restrictions. The cruiser continued operations in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf through the end of the year.

Through January-February 2021, as the deployment wound down, PRINCETON remained with NIMITZ for final operations before the strike group's return to San Diego on February 26, 2021, concluding one of the Navy's longest carrier deployments of the post-9/11 era. The ship then reset at homeport and re-entered the training cycle.

In 2022, PRINCETON focused on maintenance, inspections, and basic-to-advanced training evolutions on the West Coast. Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visited the ship on March 31, 2022, for a readiness engagement with the crew. The cruiser continued local underway periods and integrated events to sustain certifications across air, surface, and subsurface warfare areas.

During 2023, PRINCETON remained active in fleet engagement and community relations while maintaining operational proficiency. In late May the ship supported Fleet Week activities on the Southern California coast, hosting visitors aboard. From June 6-8, a detachment of sailors conducted a namesake visit to Princeton, New Jersey, engaging with local officials, schools, and residents to strengthen ties between the community and the crew. With CARL VINSON CSG-1, PRINCETON deployed to the Western Pacific on October 12, 2023, made a scheduled Manila port call (January 5, 2024), and returned to San Diego around February 23-26, 2024. Another long cruise began November 18, 2024, spanning Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleet waters with port visits to Pearl Harbor, Port Klang, Busan (March 2, 2025 arrival with the carrier), Laem Chabang, and Sasebo. The ship completed the deployment with homecoming on August 13, 2025.

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About the Ship's Name, about the Battle of Princeton:

On January 3, 1776, the Battle of Princeton took place during the War of Independence. In the Battle of Trenton that took place on December 26, 1776, the troops under General George Washington defeated the British-Hessian troops. One week later the British under General Charles Cornwallis moved forward along the Delaware River against the troops of Washington. At the morning of January 3, 1777, Washington moved forward to Princeton where he beat a British department that wanted to move to Cornwallis. Cornwallis moved his troops to Brunswick, NJ. After the British defeat the American self-confidence increased.

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USS PRINCETON Patch Gallery:

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USS PRINCETON Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by William Chiu and show PRINCETON at Hong Kong on May 12, 1991.

The photos below were taken by Michael Nebel and show the PRINCETON at Bravo Pier, Naval Air Station North Island, in 1998.

The photos below were taken by me and show the PRINCETON passing downtown San Diego, Calif., after departing from Naval Base San Diego. The photos were taken on March 23, 2010.

The photos below were taken by me and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 15, 2012.

The photo below was taken by me and shows the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2012.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 27, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 2, 2015. Note the new white radom near the aft VLS.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 18, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 20, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 29, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 2, 2019.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during an open ship event aboard USS PRINCETON as part of Fleet Week San Francisco, Calif., on October 9, 2019.

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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON in San Francisco Bay during the Parade of Ships as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 11, 2019.

The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the PRINCETON at the NASSCO Shipyard at San Diego, Calif., on November 28 and 29 (aerial photo), 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at the NASSCO Shipyard at San Diego, Calif., on December28, 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 29, 2022.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during an open ship event aboard USS PRINCETON (CG 59) as part of Fleet Week San Francisco, Calif., on October 5, 2022.

			Click here for more Photos.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the PRINCETON during the Parade of Ships as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 7, 2022.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show USS PRINCETON at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 15, 2024.

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