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USS Higgins (DDG 76)

USS HIGGINS is the 26^th ship in the ARLEIGH BURKE - class of guided missile destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Marine Corps Colonel William R. Higgins.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: January 19, 1993
	Keel laid: November 14, 1996
	Launched: October 4, 1997
	Commissioned: April 24, 1999
	Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
	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), two Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm machine gun systems
	Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
	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 HIGGINS. 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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History of USS HIGGINS:

USS HIGGINS took shape at Bath Iron Works in Maine, where construction began on November 14, 1996, the hull slid into the Kennebec on October 4, 1997, and the ship joined the fleet at Port Everglades, Florida, on April 24, 1999. After shakedown off the U.S. East Coast and a Panama Canal transit, she arrived in San Diego in mid-1999 and spent the summer completing combat systems qualifications and live-fire events off San Clemente Island, settling into a rhythm of workups and weapons onloads that carried into 2000.

Through mid-2000, she exercised with Pacific Fleet units, embarked ordnance at Seal Beach, and rehearsed long-range air defense and strike coordination ahead of her first Western Pacific deployment. That maiden cruise ran from November 2000 into May 2001, and took the destroyer across the Philippine Sea and into the Arabian Gulf for maritime security operations and carrier escort duties, including Strait of Hormuz transits and oil-platform protection patrols at a time when regional tensions and sanctions enforcement kept U.S. warships constantly underway. After returning to San Diego in late spring, she shifted to local operations and higher-end air-defense training for the remainder of the year.

In 2002, HIGGINS entered one of the Navy's most ambitious readiness experiments - the "Sea Swap" initiative - departing on November 2 for a forward-deployed stretch that would keep the hull continuously on station while crews rotated. Through early 2003, she moved between the Western Pacific and U.S. Central Command waters, then supported the opening months of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March-April 2003 with maritime interdiction, air-defense picket, and Tomahawk strike support roles alongside other destroyers and cruisers screening carrier groups in the North Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf. She remained forward through the cease-fire and the long summer of stabilization operations, conducting visit-board-search-and-seizure missions, combined exercises, and escort duties until the Sea Swap experiment concluded in April 2004 and HIGGINS returned to San Diego for a yard period and system refresh aimed at restoring the ship after nearly seventeen months of continuous tasking.

Through late 2004 and early 2005 she cycled through inspections, certifications, and strike group workups and then deployed again from May to November 2005 to the Western Pacific and 5th Fleet, splitting time between carrier-screen, maritime security, and theater cooperation port visits before returning to California to support San Diego Fleet Week in September 2006 and to prepare for another surge.

In early 2007, HIGGINS joined the NIMITZ (CVN 68) strike group across the Western Pacific and into 5th Fleet, operating in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf in support of counterterrorism and Iraq stabilization missions. She repeatedly transited the Strait of Hormuz with coalition formations, conducted bilateral exercises with Gulf partners - among them a surface-warfare drill with the Royal Saudi Navy - and took turns protecting the Al Basra and Khor al Amaya oil terminals that underpinned Iraq's post-war revenue. After a brief logistics stop in Bahrain in June she resumed patrols and anti-submarine drills, capped the summer with port calls at Hong Kong and Singapore, and returned to San Diego in September to stand down and enter a maintenance availability.

The ship spent early 2008 back in the Western Pacific, participating in undersea warfare exercises near Guam with the NIMITZ group and units of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, then closed the year with stateside training in preparation for a global deployment. She sailed again in July 2009 and, after crossing the Pacific and Indian Oceans and entering U.S. 6th Fleet on September 1, 2009, called at Haifa, Israel, and supported JACKAL STONE 2009, a U.S. Special Operations Command Europe exercise with multiple partner nations. She shifted later that fall to Souda Bay, Crete, and through the Suez Canal for continued presence operations. In January 2010, as a magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, HIGGINS was diverted to the Caribbean and arrived off Port-au-Prince on January 14 to provide afloat logistics and deck support for U.S. Coast Guard helicopter relief flights and to move medical supplies and personnel ashore during Operation Unified Response, before completing her around-the-world cruise and returning to San Diego that spring.

In 2011, she again deployed to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf, conducting air-defense, maritime security, and partner-navy engagements. Photographs from March-May place her in the Gulf with CARL VINSON (CVN 70) strike group units, and she exchanged honors with a Royal Thai Navy ship during a Southeast Asia swing, reflecting the blend of deterrence patrols and regional diplomacy typical for that period. In 2012, HIGGINS shifted back to high-end training, joining RIMPAC from late June to early August around the Hawaiian Islands, where she executed anti-air, anti-surface, and replenishment events with a 22-nation force before returning to San Diego in the autumn.

She deployed again in early 2013, calling at Singapore in February on the way to 5th Fleet. By June she was in the Arabian Gulf conducting torpedo exercises and maritime security patrols before heading back to the Pacific and home later that year. After maintenance and local operations in 2014, HIGGINS left San Diego on July 7, 2015 for an independent, carrier-detached deployment through 7th and 5th Fleets, where she combined theater security cooperation, counter-smuggling boardings, and air-defense stationing. During a period when no U.S. carrier was in 5th Fleet she helped cover high-priority missions and in one case recovered four Saudi fishermen from a burning boat and transferred them safely to local authorities, returning to San Diego on February 11, 2016.

She spent 2016 and early 2017 in upkeep and workups and then deployed again in November 2017, joining operations with THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) strike group in the Arabian Sea and Gulf early in 2018. On April 14, 2018, HIGGINS launched Tomahawk land-attack missiles from the northern Arabian Gulf as part of the U.S., U.K., and French strikes on Syrian regime chemical-weapons infrastructure following the Douma attack. Six weeks later, on May 27, 2018, she and the cruiser ANTIETAM (CG 54) conducted a two-ship freedom-of-navigation operation near the Paracel Islands to challenge unlawful straight baselines and prior-notification claims, and on June 21, 2018, she returned to San Diego from a seven-month cruise that had spanned both 5th and 7th Fleet theaters.

After a period of stateside operations in 2019 and 2020, HIGGINS shifted forward in the summer of 2021, leaving California and arriving at Fleet Activities Yokosuka on August 16, 2021, to join Destroyer Squadron 15 and the U.S. 7th Fleet's permanently deployed surface force. From Japan, she settled into the tempo of Western Pacific patrols, integrated air-maritime exercises, and multilateral presence operations. On September 20, 2022, in company with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate VANCOUVER, she executed a routine Taiwan Strait transit through waters where high-seas freedoms apply, a visible signal amid elevated cross-Strait tensions. In 2023, she continued that forward-deployed routine while deepening community ties in Japan. In April 2024, she fired a Standard Missile-2 during a live-fire event in the Philippine Sea as part of air-defense training, and in May 2024, she visited Shimoda for the Black Ship Festival that commemorates Commodore Perry's 1853 arrival, underscoring alliance links even as she maintained a steady watch in the Philippine and East China seas.

In January 2025, HIGGINS conducted bilateral maneuvering and communications drills with the Royal Canadian Navy frigate OTTAWA, and on August 24, 2025, she held a change of command in Apra Harbor, Guam, reflecting her frequent presence along the First Island Chain. The next day the ship executed an at-sea simulation of expeditionary Standard Missile reload tactics to expand 7th Fleet's resilience. In mid-September 2025, she and a Royal Navy frigate transited the Taiwan Strait on a routine passage consistent with international law.

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Homeports of USS HIGGINS:

Period	Homeport
commissioned at Port Everglades, Fla.
1999 - 2021	San Diego, Calif.
2021 - present	Yokosuka, Japan

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About the Ship's Name, about Colonel William R. Higgins:

Born in Danville, Kentucky on Jan. 15, 1945, Rich Higgins graduated from Southern High School in Louisville and earned his bachelor's degree from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. A scholarship student in the Navy ROTC, he received the Marine Corps Association Award and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1967. He later obtained a master's degrees from Pepperdine University and Auburn University. He graduated from the Army Infantry Officers Advanced Course, the Air Force Command and Staff College, and the National War College.

As a lieutenant, he participated in combat operations during 1968 with C Company, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines in the Republic of Vietnam as a rifle platoon commander and rifle company executive officer, and was aide-de-camp to the Assistant 3d Marine Division Commander.

In 1969 Lt. Higgins served at Headquarters Marine Corps and in 1970 as the Officer-in-Charge of the Officer Selection Team in Louisville, Kentucky.

Captain Higgins returned to Vietnam in 1972 as an infantry battalion Advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps, then served as a rifle company commander with C Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines.

From 1973 - 1977, Captain Higgins served at the Staff Noncommissioned Officers Academy and Officers Candidates School, both in Quantico, Virginia.

Returning to the Fleet Marine Force in 1977, Capt. Higgins was assigned to the 2d Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he again served as a rifle company commander with A Company, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines. Upon promotion to major, he was reassigned as the Logistics Officer for Regimental Landing Team-2, 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade.

After completion of the Air Force Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1980, designated a distinguished graduate, he returned to Washington where he served at Headquarters as a Plans Officer until his selection to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

During 1981 and 1982, he served as Military Assistant to the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, then as Assistant for Interagency Matters to the Executive Secretary for the Department of Defense. After graduation from the National War College in 1985, he returned to the Pentagon as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, where he served until he was transferred to his United Nations assignment in July 1987. He was promoted to colonel on Mar. 1, 1989.

After being held captive by pro-Iranian terrorists in Lebanon, Col. Higgins was murdered. The exact date of death is uncertain; however, he was declared dead on Jul. 6, 1990. His remains were eventually recovered and interred at Quantico National Cemetery Dec. 30, 1991.

Col. Higgins' military decorations include: the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (posthumous), Bronze Star with combat "V", Purple Heart (posthumous), Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with bronze star and combat "V", Combat Action Ribbon, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star, Staff Service Honor Medal, United Nations Medal, and numerous unit commendations and campaign ribbons. On Mar. 18, 1992, President George Bush awarded Col. Higgins the Presidential Citizens Medal (posthumous).

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USS HIGGINS Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by Thomas Heinrich and shows the HIGGINS at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 21, 2009.

The photos below were taken by me and show the HIGGINS at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

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

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

The photo below was taken by me on October 5, 2012, and shows the HIGGINS moored at Bravo Pier (the Ammunition Pier) at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., after a transit from Port Hueneme, Calif.

The photos below were taken by me and show the HIGGINS returning home to Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 10, 2012, after two weeks of training off southern California.

The photos below were taken by Lydia Perz and show the HIGGINS at Huntington Ingalls Industries Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard for a five-month Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) on May 3, 2014.

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

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the HIGGINS undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard on April 18, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the HIGGINS undergoing her Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard on October 6, 2016.

The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the HIGGINS undergoing her Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) at Huntington Ingalls Industries Continental Maritime of San Diego shipyard on December 20, 2016.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the HIGGINS at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2017.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the HIGGINS undergoing an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (E-DSRA) at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, San Diego, Calif., on September 28, 2018.

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