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USS Sterett (DDG 104)

USS STERETT is one of the ARLEIGH BURKE Flight IIA guided missile destroyers and the fourth ship in the Navy to bear the name.

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Crew List:

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

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

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Celeste represents worldwide mission capabilities of DDG 104, gold and dark blue symbolize U.S. Navy traditions. Scarlet denotes courage and the sacrifices made in battle by the three previous ships to bear the name STERETT since the founding of the nation. The scarlet mullet in base recalls the first incident in which a U.S. Navy vessel, DLG 31, shot down and destroyed a Russian-built MIG 17 airplane with a Terrier missile during the Battle of Dong Hoi in Vietnam. The mullets on top of the demi-trident represent the three previous ships named STERETT, (Destroyer No. 27, DD 407 and DLG/CG 31), the trident signifies expertise and mastery at sea. The sword and spy-glass are derived from the insignia of DLG/CG 31; the sword recalls that awarded to Andrew Sterett by Congress for the capture of a Tripolitan cruiser in 1801 while he commanded the USS ENTERPRISE during the Barbary Wars, the telescopic eye-glass symbolizes his outstanding service in the early days of the U.S. Navy. The bordure signifies unity and resolve.

The Crest:

The frigate recalls the first-ever U.S. victory against a foreign navy, in which Sterett participated as Third Lieutenant of the USF CONSTELLATION in the capture of the French frigate L’Insurgente in 1799. The annulet of stars represents the combined battle stars awarded to STERETTs DD 407 and DLG 31 for World War II and Vietnam service.

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Accidents aboard USS STERETT:

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About the Ship's Name:

Lieutenant Andrew Sterett was born 27 January 1778 in Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew’s father was a successful shipping merchant who had served as a captain during the Revolutionary War. Andrew was the fourth of ten children and despite his sizable inheritance, entered the Navy as a Lieutenant on 25 March 1798 at the age of twenty. He served as Third Lieutenant aboard the newly commissioned frigate CONSTELLATION. He was in command of a gun battery during the undeclared war with France in which the fledgling U. S. Navy scored its first victory on the high seas against the French frigate L’INSURGENTE.

By February 1800 Andrew Sterett had been promoted to First Lieutenant and participated in successful battles against French ships. Later that year he assumed his first command, the schooner ENTERPRISE. This was the first US Navy ship to bear that name.

The ENTERPRISE sailed to the Mediterranean with Commodore Richard Dale to quell the Barbary pirates. Andrew Sterett and the ENTERPRISE went up against the pirate warship TRIPOLI in a furious engagement. He successfully fought off three attempts by the pirates to board his crippled ship. ENTERPRISE beat back all attacks and defeated the pirates. He was presented with a sword by President Thomas Jefferson and his crew received an additional month’s pay for their heroism. Following several more dispatches to the coast of Tripoli, Sterett and the ENTERPRISE witnessed the return of freedom of the seas in the Mediterranean for American ships. He returned home in March of 1803 and resigned from the Navy in 1805. He pursued a career in the merchant marine and died a premature death in Lima, Peru on 9 June 1807 at the age of thirty.

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USS STERETT History:

USS STERETT was built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine; her keel was laid on March 20, 2005, she was launched on September 16, 2006, and she commissioned at the South Locust Point Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 9, 2008. After the ceremony she completed final post-delivery trials in the Atlantic and shifted via the Panama Canal to her initial homeport at Naval Base San Diego to begin the basic and advanced phases of the Pacific Fleet workup cycle.

In 2009, the destroyer wrapped up combat systems ship qualification trials and gunnery certifications off Southern California, then integrated with West Coast training commands to certify navigation, engineering, maritime interdiction, and air-defense warfare areas in preparation for her first long cruise.

During 2010, STERETT continued Pacific workups from San Diego and entered integrated training with carrier strike group elements, rehearsing air-defense commander duties and anti-submarine warfare in the eastern Pacific as the surface force sequenced ships for Western Pacific commitments.

In early 2011, STERETT deployed west with carrier and cruiser-destroyer units. On February 18-22, 2011, amid a spate of Somali piracy, she was directed to the hijacked U.S. yacht S/V QUEST. As negotiations unfolded with the pirates - coordinated from USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) with USS LEYTE GULF (CG 55) and USS BULKELEY (DDG 84) also present - a rocket-propelled grenade was fired from the yacht toward STERETT on the morning of February 22. Moments later gunfire erupted aboard QUEST and boarding teams intervened. Four American hostages were found fatally wounded; two pirates were killed in the action and thirteen surrendered, with additional suspects detained later. STERETT remained on scene for the aftermath, then resumed 5th Fleet maritime security tasking before returning to the Pacific.

Through 2012 and 2013, the destroyer executed sustainment at San Diego and periodic underway periods to maintain certifications and readiness for forward tasking, including events in the Hawaiian operating areas and 7th Fleet logistics hubs typical for independently deploying destroyers of the era.

STERETT departed San Diego with the CARL VINSON (CVN 70) Carrier Strike Group on August 22, 2014, bound first for the Western Pacific. The group participated in Valiant Shield 2014 near Guam in September, after which STERETT continued 7th Fleet operations. Official imagery shows her conducting replenishment with USNS TIPPECANOE (T-AO 199) on October 14, 2014, while underway in 7th Fleet. The strike group then entered U.S. 5th Fleet on October 15, 2014, and STERETT operated in the Arabian Gulf supporting maritime security and the coalition air campaign (Operation Inherent Resolve) - including a documented RAS with USNS RAINIER (T-AOE 7) on December 19, 2014. After about six months in 5th Fleet, the strike group departed the region on April 16, 2015, and STERETT returned to San Diego on June 4, 2015, closing a 10-month deployment that spanned 7th and 5th Fleets.

After returning from the 2014-2015 deployment, STERETT entered a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair under a contract awarded on June 23, 2015. The yard period extended into early 2016. On January 2, 2016, STERETT was shifted "dead-stick" to Pier 8, Berth 6, Naval Base San Diego following completion of the availability.

From March 31, 2017, STERETT deployed as the lead unit of the STERETT-DEWEY (DDG 105) Surface Action Group under the "3rd Fleet Forward" construct. After a Hawaii phase and integration events, she operated in the South China Sea alongside U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers on June 8; made a Hong Kong port visit on April 29; called at Zhanjiang, China, on June 12 - the first U.S. Navy visit to mainland China that year - and participated in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX) Singapore in mid-May. The SAG also executed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) events and combined operations with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force before STERETT returned to San Diego on August 28, 2017.

Through 2018, STERETT continued West Coast training and a short 7th Fleet period supporting the "Up-Gunned" expeditionary strike group concept with USS WASP (LHD 1), punctuated by port visits to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Hong Kong during a spring deployment window documented in association records. She then reset in home waters to prepare for carrier integration.

In 2019, the destroyer advanced toward another major deployment while maintaining certifications under a San Diego sustainment model that emphasized quick surge readiness and interoperability with carrier strike groups assigned to Pacific operations.

In 2020, STERETT deployed with the NIMITZ (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Group. On September 18, she steamed in formation with USS NIMITZ and USS PRINCETON (CG 59) during a Strait of Hormuz transit into the Arabian Gulf, one of several high-visibility movements as the group alternated between 5th and 7th Fleet theaters under pandemic restrictions that curtailed foreign port calls.

From late January into February 2021, STERETT was still deployed with the NIMITZ Carrier Strike Group in U.S. Fifth Fleet, conducting at-sea operations under COVID restrictions. On February 26, 2021, she returned to Naval Base San Diego after more than ten months forward, closing a cruise that had included support to Operations Freedom's Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, and Octave Quartz. A change of command followed on March 12, 2021, as the ship entered its post-deployment reset.

STERETT then commenced a Selected Restricted Availability in San Diego: on May 17, 2021 she was moved "dead-stick" to Continental Maritime of San Diego for the availability, and on October 15, 2021, she returned to Naval Station San Diego after completing the roughly six-month SRA, resuming local sea trials and certifications.

On January 15, 2022, STERETT's administrative alignment shifted to Commander, Destroyer Squadron One in San Diego. She entered dry dock at BAE Systems' Pride of California on May 26, 2022, for a docking evolution supporting hull/mechanical/electrical work and continued crew turnover and training through the summer, including a July 14, 2022, change of command.

In 2023, the destroyer executed a high-tempo sustainment year from San Diego, culminating in recognition the following spring: on May 1, 2024, Commander, Naval Surface Force Pacific announced STERETT as a 2023 Battle "E" winner. During RIMPAC 2024, in July-August, she appeared in combined replenishment events and large-force formations around Hawaii.

STERETT deployed with CARL VINSON (CVN 70) Carrier Strike Group on November 17, 2024, conducting routine operations across the Philippine Sea and South China Sea through the winter. Official imagery places STERETT with the formation on January 7, 2025, in the South China Sea, and the group pulled into Busan, Republic of Korea, for a scheduled port visit on March 2, 2025. Through mid-March, STERETT participated in regional trilateral drills and remained on western Pacific presence missions. After periods supporting Middle East tasking and additional at-sea operations, STERETT completed the deployment and returned to San Diego on August 13, 2025, following nine months across U.S. 3rd, 7th, and 5th Fleets. Command releases highlighted more than 77,000 nautical miles, 35 replenishments at sea, participation in multi-carrier and allied events, and unit awards earned during the cruise.

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Homeports of USS STERETT:

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USS STERETT Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

The photos below were taken by me and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3, 2012.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, Calif., on October 2, 2015.

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

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 6, 2016.

The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 20, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee and show the STERETT at Hong Kong on April 29, 2017. The STERETT departed San Diego, Calif., on March 31, 2017, for a WestPac cruise as part of a Surface Action Group. Hong Kong is the ship's second port visit during the cruise.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2017.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the STERETT at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair on March 2, 2019.

The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 29, 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at the BAE Systems shipyard at San Diego, Calif., on May 29, 2022. Note that the ship is now fitted with an Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy, or ODIN. The system can be spotted in front of the bridge and it's the successor of the Laser Weapons System (LaWS) which was a 30-kilowatt laser installed aboard USS PONCE (AFSB(I) 15) in 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the STERETT at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 10, 2022.

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

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