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About the Name "McFaul"

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Homeports of USS McFaul

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USS McFaul (DDG 74)

USS McFAUL is the 24^th ARLEIGH BURKE - class Guided Missile Destroyer and the eleventh ship in that class built by Ingalls. USS McFAUL is the first ship in the Navy named after Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: February 12, 1996
	Launched: April 12, 1997
	Commissioned: April 25, 1998
	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: Norfolk, Va.
	Crew: 23 Officers, 24 Chief Petty Officers and 291 Enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS McFAUL. 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 McFAUL memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS McFAUL Cruise Books:

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Accidents aboard USS McFAUL:

Date

Where

Events

August 22, 2005

off Jacksonville, Fla.

USS McFAUL collides with the USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81) during exercises off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla. Both ships receive only minor damage and no injuries are reported. The bow damage on McFAUL can be seen on the photos below.

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About the Ship's Name, about Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul:

Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul was born 20 September 1957 in Orange County, California. He graduated from Bend Senior High School, Bend, Oregon in 1974. He enlisted in the Navy upon graduation from high school, and after recruit training was assigned to Naval Station Treasure Island, where he worked for Port Services as an Engine Specialist. In 1977, Chief McFaul volunteered and was selected to join the Naval Special Warfare Community.

He underwent Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal Training (Class 95) in the spring of 1978. Chief McFaul was assigned to SEAL Team ONE where he made three deployments in support of Special Operations out of Subic Bay, Philippines. In 1985, Donald McFaul the SEAL became Donald McFaul the civilian, trying his hand at engine repair and spending relaxing days of fishing in Seattle, Washington, and Kodiak, Alaska. Missing the challenge and excitement of the SEAL Team, Donald McFaul returned to the Special Warfare Community. He attended Defense Language Institute for Spanish in Monterey, California where he met his wife Patricia. In February 1988, Chief McFaul was assigned to SEAL team FOUR and Don and Patricia were married.

While at SEAL Team FOUR Chief McFaul deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of the Middle East Forces and later deployed to Naval Special Warfare Unit EIGHT at Naval Station Rodman, Republic of Panama. His final deployment was as Platoon Chief of Gulf Platoon on 18 December 1989, where he was killed in action during combat operations.

His awards include the Navy Achievement Medal with Gold Star, Navy Unit Citation, and Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Star. He was posthumously awarded the "Purple Heart" and the "Navy Cross".

Chief Donald McFaul is survived by his wife, Patricia; his daughter, Megan; mother, Shirley Lee, of Washington; brothers, Michael McFaul, J.R. Schooley, Duane Schooley, Jr.; and sisters, Debbie Baker, Candy Nelson and Karie Tarte.

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USS McFAUL History:

USS McFAUL was laid down at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula on January 26, 1996, launched on January 18, 1997, christened on April 12, 1997, and commissioned on April 25, 1998 at Garden City Terminal in Savannah, Georgia. After shakedown and early Atlantic work-ups that year, the ship entered the Fleet's training and certification rhythm. Crew members later received the Humanitarian Service Medal for actions between September and October 1998.

In mid-1999, following a Composite Training Unit Exercise with the JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67) battle group, she sailed on her maiden Mediterranean deployment from September 1999 to March 2000, calling at Barcelona on November 24, 1999. The following summer she joined the International Naval Review in New York Harbor on July 5, 2000, then returned to fleet exercises and pre-deployment maintenance. In 2001, she deployed from late spring into November with the ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) strike group. After the September 11 attacks, her itinerary shifted to Operation Enduring Freedom support in the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea from September through November, before returning to Norfolk to reset.

Through 2002, she cycled through certifications, a short-notice weapons offload and escort duty connected to the transfer of a decommissioned submarine, and additional Atlantic and Mediterranean operations that kept the crew proficient for rapid tasking. On February 17, 2004, she deployed with Expeditionary Strike Group TWO centered on WASP (LHD 1), conducting maritime security operations from the Mediterranean into the broader Middle East through late summer at a time when coalition naval forces were focused on counterterrorism, embargo enforcement and sea-lane assurance. The ship's sustained performance in this period is reflected in a Navy Unit Commendation covering March-August 2004. On August 22, 2005, while conducting exercises off Jacksonville, Florida, she sustained minor damage in a collision with WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81). Both destroyers returned to Norfolk under their own power and repairs were expeditiously completed. In February 2007, the ship was recognized with the Battle "E" for 2006, a year that included an extended forward presence period which earned her crew a Meritorious Unit Commendation for May-November.

In August 2008, USS McFAUL was among the first U.S. Navy units tasked to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia in the aftermath of the August fighting. After staging in the eastern Mediterranean, she entered the Black Sea and arrived at Batumi on August 24 to offload relief cargo for civilian authorities as part of the U.S. response to the conflict. In November 2009, the Missile Defense Agency announced a plan to upgrade McFAUL with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities in the fiscal 2013 period. During a 2010, Fifth Fleet deployment amid heightened piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, McFAUL responded to a distress call on April 5, 2010, after attacks on the motor vessel RISING SUN. Her boarding teams interdicted a pirated Indian dhow near Salalah, Oman, rescuing eight mariners and detaining ten suspected pirates.

After stateside maintenance and training, she departed Norfolk again on February 27, 2012, for counter-piracy and maritime security in the Arabian Sea. Following the September 11-12, 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, McFAUL was among the destroyers ordered toward the Libyan coast on September 12 as a contingency presence while U.S. diplomatic and military leaders assessed options. She later returned to the Atlantic seaboard for the normal post-deployment repair and training cycle.

From early 2015, the destroyer undertook an independent eight-month cruise that crossed FOURTH, FIFTH and SIXTH Fleet waters, operating in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf in support of maritime security and partner-navy exercises. She returned to Norfolk on December 14, 2015. In subsequent years McFAUL alternated maintenance availabilities with integrated training and shorter forward periods. In 2018, she sortied ahead of Hurricane Florence and completed pre-deployment live-fire and readiness events. She began 2019 by deploying across the Atlantic, making a logistics stop at Rota in early February and arriving in Limassol, Cyprus on February 13-16 before transiting south through the Suez Canal. On March 12, she visited Eilat, Israel, then operated across the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf through the spring and summer, conducting escort, live-fire and combined exercises - including alongside CHUNG-HOON (DDG 93) in Manama - before re-entering SIXTH Fleet on August 27. She concluded the eight-month deployment with a September 20 return to Norfolk.

In early 2020, during a sustainment period, she again operated in SIXTH Fleet and departed Spain following a short visit to Rota as the Navy managed dynamic force employment across the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

In autumn 2022, McFAUL deployed with the GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78) Carrier Strike Group for the carrier's inaugural operational period in the North Atlantic and European waters, integrating air defense and strike group protection while participating in multinational events and making a port visit to Rotterdam in November. After completing early-2023 strike-group workups and certification, she again crossed the Atlantic with GERALD R. FORD in May and operated in the Mediterranean through the summer. On July 5, 2023, amid a spate of Iranian interference with commercial shipping, McFAUL responded to two distress situations in the Gulf of Oman. Her arrival on scene, supported by Navy patrol aircraft and unmanned systems, deterred attempted Iranian seizures of TRF MOSS and RICHMOND VOYAGER, including one incident in which an Iranian warship had fired at the merchantman. Following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the resulting regional tension, McFAUL's deployment was extended to bolster air-defense coverage and sea-lane security alongside the GERALD R. FORD group in the Eastern Mediterranean and in U.S. Fifth Fleet waters. She returned to Norfolk on January 4, 2024 after eight months, having completed 34 Strait of Hormuz transits, 17 close escorts, more than 50,000 nautical miles under way, and extensive combined activities with Gulf partners and U.S. Air Force units. A Navy summary on February 6 emphasized her dual role as an independently tasked ship in Fifth Fleet and as an air-defense unit for the carrier off Israel.

In early 2025, she made a community-relations port visit to Mobile, Alabama, from February 28 to March 3 as the city's Mardi Gras ship, hosting public tours between operations.

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Homeports of USS McFAUL:

Period	Homeport
commissioned at Savannah, Ga.
1998 - present	Norfolk, Va.

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USS McFAUL Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the McFAUL at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on November 9, 2008. The ship returned from a deployment three days earlier.

The photos below were taken by me and show the McFAUL at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 27 and 29, 2010, respectively.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning on October 28, 2013, and show the McFAUL undergoing her Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at MHI Ship Repair & Services, Norfolk, Va.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the McFAUL at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 23, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the McFAUL at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) on October 12, 2016.