USS Benfold (DDG 65)

USS BENFOLD is the 15^th ship in the ARLEIGH BURKE - class of Guided Missile Destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Edward Clyde Benfold. In October 2015, the BENFOLD shifted her homeport from San Diego, Calif., to Yokosuka, Japan.

Crew List:

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

About the Destroyer's Name, about Edward Clyde Benfold:

USS BENFOLD (DDG 65) was named after Hospitalman Third Class Edward C. Benfold, USN. Born in Staten Island, New York on January 15, 1931, Petty Officer Benfold graduated from Audubon High School in Audubon, New Jersey. Petty Officer Benfold entered the service at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1950. After completion of recruit training in Great Lakes, Illinois, he was selected for "A" school training as a Hospitalman. In July 1951 he was designated as a Medical Field Technician and was ordered to duty with the Fleet Marine Force, Ground, Pacific.

He was killed in action while serving with the First Marine Division in Korea. "For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Hospital Corpsman, attached to a Company in the First Marine Division during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 5 September 1952..." he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation continues:

"When his company was subjected to heavy artillery and mortar barrages, followed by a determined assault during the hours of darkness by an enemy force estimated at battalion strength, BENFOLD resolutely moved from position to position in the face of intense hostile fire, treating the wounded and lending words of encouragement. Leaving the protection of his sheltered position to treat the wounded when the platoon area in which he was working was attacked from both the front and the rear, he moved forward to an exposed ridge line where he observed two Marines in a large crater. As he approached the two men to determine their condition, an enemy soldier threw two grenades into the crater while two other enemies charged the position. Picking up a grenade in each hand, BENFOLD leaped out of the crater and hurled himself against the onrushing hostile soldiers, pushing the grenades against their chests and killing both the attackers.

Mortally wounded while carrying out this heroic act, BENFOLD, by his great personal valor and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death, was directly responsible for saving the lives of his two comrades. His exceptional courage reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for others."

USS BENFOLD History:

USS BENFOLD joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet after commissioning at San Diego on March 30, 1996, and spent the following year in workups for her first Western Pacific and Middle East deployment. On August 14, 1997, she got underway with the CONSTELLATION (CV 64) battle group for the Persian Gulf to support Operation Southern Watch amid continued Iraqi air-defense provocations following the 1991 ceasefire. The cruise ran through February 19, 1998, and included air-defense picket duties, Strait of Hormuz transits, and maritime security operations typical of Fifth Fleet tasking in that period.

After refresher training and certifications in 1998, BENFOLD again deployed on June 18, 1999, with CARRIER GROUP ONE centered on USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64). The battle group first monitored tension on the Korean Peninsula and then shifted to the Persian Gulf, conducting Southern Watch enforcement and maritime interception operations before the ship returned to San Diego on December 17, 1999. During this cruise BENFOLD operated with CHOSIN (CG 65), LAKE ERIE (CG 70), KINKAID (DD 965), and others, and made a liberty stop at Pattaya Beach, Thailand en route between theaters.

BENFOLD's next long deployment began March 13, 2001, again with the CONSTELLATION group for the Western Pacific and the Gulf. Through mid-September 2001, she carried out Southern Watch air-defense and maritime security tasks in a region where coalition patrols were routinely challenged by Iraqi tracking and airspace violations. The ship returned to San Diego on September 15, 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, as the Navy repositioned forces for the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom the following month.

Following a stateside training and maintenance cycle, BENFOLD departed again on October 18, 2004 with ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) CARRIER STRIKE GROUP NINE for a Western Pacific and Indian Ocean cruise that included disaster relief after the December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami. Operating off Sumatra during Operation Unified Assistance in late December 2004 and January 2005, the destroyer screened aviation and logistics traffic to the carrier and amphibious units as they moved relief supplies ashore. She completed the deployment in early March 2005.

On September 13, 2006, BENFOLD sailed with BOXER Expeditionary Strike Group 5 for the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf. ESG operations emphasized maritime security in the Fifth Fleet area, including presence and interdiction missions tied to Iraq and counterterrorism tasking, before BENFOLD returned March 13, 2007. Weeks later she shifted north for Alaska Shield/Northern Edge 2007 - an April 30-May 17 interagency and joint exercise across Alaska's ranges - then visited Naval Station Everett between events.

On May 4, 2008, BENFOLD deployed with the PELELIU (LHA 5) Expeditionary Strike Group alongside PELELIU, DUBUQUE (LPD 8), PEARL HARBOR (LSD 52), CAPE ST. GEORGE (CG 71), and HALSEY (DDG 97). The group conducted Seventh and Fifth Fleet tasking from Southeast Asia into the Arabian Sea and Gulf, before returning to San Diego on November 3, 2008.

In March 2009, BENFOLD executed "Stellar Daggers", a Pacific test series in which she engaged multiple targets with Standard Missiles, marking the first fleet demonstration of Aegis' ability to counter a terminal-phase short-range ballistic-missile surrogate and a low-altitude cruise-missile target simultaneously - an operational preview of integrated air and missile defense at sea. Later that year, on September 8, 2009, she deployed independently as a ballistic-missile defense (BMD) asset to the Fifth and Seventh Fleet theaters and returned March 16, 2010. The ship then joined Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010, arriving Pearl Harbor on June 24 and firing a surface-to-air missile off Hawaii on July 11 as part of multinational air-defense training.

BENFOLD entered a mid-life HM&E modernization at BAE Systems San Diego in 2011, receiving a fully integrated bridge, machinery and damage-control upgrades, and other habitability improvements. In 2013, she completed a major combat-systems upgrade to Aegis Baseline 9C with BMD 5.0 and Cooperative Engagement Capability, improving her ability to conduct integrated air and missile defense and networked fires.

After exercises that included Koa Kai in early 2012, BENFOLD deployed June 15, 2012, for independent operations primarily in Seventh Fleet, returning to San Diego January 11, 2013. The period immediately before her forward-deployment shift included additional trials and certifications of her upgraded combat system.

The Navy announced on October 16, 2014, that BENFOLD would join the Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Japan at Yokosuka to bolster integrated air and missile defense in the Western Pacific. She departed San Diego in early October and shifted homeport to Yokosuka later that month, joining Destroyer Squadron 15 and Carrier Strike Group 5 for routine patrols and allied exercises in the Philippine Sea, East China Sea, and broader Western Pacific.

In 2016, the destroyer took part in exercise Valiant Shield around Guam and the Marianas. On September 13, she and JOHN S. MCCAIN (DDG 56) executed a live Harpoon event during the SINKEX of the decommissioned frigate RENTZ (FFG 46), part of a larger joint live-fire that sank the target northeast of Guam. The same summer, amid regional tension following the South China Sea arbitral ruling, BENFOLD made a scheduled port visit to Qingdao, China, arriving August 8 for engagements with the PLA Navy's North Sea Fleet before getting underway again on August 12.

In September 2017, BENFOLD deployed to waters off Guam for the inaugural U.S.-Singapore bilateral exercise PACIFIC GRIFFIN, a complex anti-surface and air-defense training series that underscored growing U.S.-Singapore naval interoperability. While operating near Sagami Wan on November 18, 2017, the ship experienced a glancing collision with a Japanese tug during towing operations. The tug was secured quickly and there were no injuries.

During Valiant Shield 2018 (September 16-23), BENFOLD conducted integrated joint operations in the Philippine Sea while on patrol with Carrier Strike Group 5. Her crew completed sustained at-sea training and maintenance evolutions during the exercise period.

In 2021, the ship's Western Pacific activity reflected the theater's sharper focus on freedom of navigation and allied integration. In March, she trained with JMSDF and forward-deployed U.S. forces during bilateral advanced warfare training evolutions. On July 12, she conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) challenging excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands. On July 28, she executed a routine Taiwan Strait transit and on September 8, she conducted a South China Sea operation near the Spratly Islands - each event reflecting long-standing U.S. policy on high-seas freedoms. In October, during PACIFIC GRIFFIN 2021 with the Republic of Singapore Navy, BENFOLD conducted a live SM-2 engagement as part of combined air-defense training.

In 2022, she continued these operations: a Paracels FONOP on January 20; Paracels and Spratlys operations on July 13 and July 16, respectively; and a Taiwan Strait transit on July 19, each conducted under routine Seventh Fleet tasking and accompanied by public notifications due to regional sensitivities. That summer, she also supported Valiant Shield 2022 events in the Philippine Sea, including the multi-axis SINKEX of former USS VANDEGRIFT (FFG 48) in which BENFOLD contributed a targeted surface-to-surface strike as part of the joint kill chain.

In April 2023, BENFOLD participated in a trilateral ballistic-missile defense exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS ATAGO and Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS YULGOK YI I, a direct response to North Korean missile activity and an effort to improve allied sensor-to-shooter coordination. Shortly thereafter, she made a port visit to Busan, underscoring routine presence and alliance commitments on the Korean Peninsula. Through the remainder of 2023, she executed patrols and exercises across the Philippine Sea and East China Sea within Destroyer Squadron 15 and Commander, Task Force 71.

Across 2024 and into 2025, BENFOLD has remained forward-deployed to Yokosuka with DESRON 15, conducting recurring presence operations, air-defense and ballistic-missile defense patrols, and multinational training events in the Philippine Sea and surrounding waters as part of Seventh Fleet's surface force while larger joint and combined exercises in the region - such as Valiant Shield - continued to emphasize integrated fires and maritime domain awareness.

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.

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

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on September 29, 2011, shortly after returning from a short 3-day underway period off southern California.

The photos below were taken by me and show the BENFOLD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 10, 2012.

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

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BENFOLD departing Naval Base San Diego, Calif., for her new homeport Yokosuka, Japan, on October 2, 2015. BENFOLD made a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Hi., October 8-9, and arrived at Yokosuka on October 19.

The photos below were taken by Hagen Wagner and show the BENFOLD at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, on July 28, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BENFOLD undergoing a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard, Japan, on August 3, 2019.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: September 27, 1993
	Launched: November 5, 1994
	Commissioned: March 30, 1996
	Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss.
	Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Blades on each Propeller: five
	Length: 505,25 feet (154 meters)
	Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
	Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 8.300 tons full load
	Speed: 30+ knots
	Aircraft: None. But LAMPS 3 electronics installed on landing deck for coordinated DDG/helicopter ASW operations.
	Armament: two MK 41 VLS for Standard missiles, Tomahawk; Harpoon missile launchers, one Mk 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun, two Phalanx CIWS, Mk 46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts)
	Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
	Crew: 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted

Period	Homeport
commissioned at San Diego, Calif.
1996 - 2015	San Diego, Calif.
2015 - present	Yokosuka, Japan