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General Characteristics

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms

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Homeports of USS Forrest Sherman

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USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98)

USS FORREST SHERMAN is the 48th ship in the ARLEIGH BURKE - class of Aegis guided missile destroyers and the second ship in the Navy named after Admiral Forrest P. Sherman.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: March 6, 1998
	Keel laid: August 12, 2003
	Launched: June 30, 2004
	Commissioned: January 28, 2006
	Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss.
	Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 508,5 feet (155 meters)
	Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters)
	Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 9,200 tons full load
	Speed: 32 knots
	Aircraft: two SH-60 (LAMPS 3) helicopters
	Armament: one Mk-45 5"/62 caliber lightweight gun, two Mk-41 VLS for Standard missiles and Tomahawk ASM/LAM, one 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk-50 and Mk-46 torpedoes, two Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm machine gun systems
	Homeport: Norfolk, Va.
	Crew: approx. 320

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Crew List:

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

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USS FORREST SHERMAN Cruise Books:

Maiden Cruise Book 2007

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Click here to read more about the Ship's Namesake - Admiral Forrest P. Sherman

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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Dark Blue and Gold, the colors traditionally associated with the Navy, represent the sea and excellence. The gold double chevrons denote support and protection, also honoring the ships named for Admiral Sherman. The eight stars symbolize various medals and citations awarded to Admiral Sherman. The two stars, on each side of the trident, also highlights the squadrons Admiral Sherman was assigned and commanded during various times in his naval career. The trident represents maritime dominion. The lightning flashes suggest the USS FORREST SHERMAN's quick strike capability of the modern AEGIS weapon system. The blue and white colors of the shield refer to the colors of the Chief of Naval Operations flag, in which Admiral Sherman was the youngest man appointed to the position. The palm fronds denote his service in the Pacific area. The star with the anchor symbolizes the DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL awarded to Admiral Sherman for his exceptional service, preparing for campaigns in the Pacific Ocean area. The purple anchor implies his award of the PURPLE HEART as the Commander of the USS WASP.

The Crest:

The heraldic winged lion reflects Admiral Sherman's vigilance and courage, demonstrated during his distinctive naval and aviation service. The cross patee commemorates his award of the NAVAL CROSS for his heroism as commanding officer of the USS WASP and Flag Captain to the Commander of a Task Force during the occupation of Tulagi-Guadacanal and other operations. The terrestrial glove suggests Admiral Sherman's versatile naval career from the sea to shore, holding positions in both on the sea and land-base. The crossed office sword and enlisted cutlass symbolize cooperation and teamwork.

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USS FORREST SHERMAN History:

USS FORREST SHERMAN was commissioned at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on January 28, 2006, then sailed to her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on February 3, 2006, following trials in the Gulf of Mexico the previous year and a christening at Pascagoula on October 2, 2004. Early post-commissioning events included an ammunition on-load at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown from February 21-23, 2006, and Atlantic gunnery workups in January 2007.

Her maiden overseas deployment began July 9, 2006, when she departed Norfolk with the ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group for a five-month cruise. The following year the destroyer's Mediterranean phase included a first port visit to NAVSUPPACT Souda Bay, Crete, in July 2007, before she joined a U.S. Sixth Fleet tasking around Africa's southeast littorals. During that Africa engagement, FORREST SHERMAN operated off Maputo, Mozambique, in September and called at Cape Town, South Africa, in early October 2007, where South African Air Force Cheetah fighters flew over the ship during a local exercise with South African forces. She returned to the Western Atlantic by early 2008.

From June 1, 2008, the destroyer deployed for three months in support of U.S. Southern Command's Partnership of the Americas 2008, a theater-security-cooperation cruise that linked port visits and exercises across Latin America and the Caribbean and dovetailed with large multilateral events such as PANAMAX later that summer. Missile exercises in the Atlantic punctuated her workups that June, and in April 2009, she took part in Fleet Week at Port Everglades, Florida, amid preparations for a seven-month overseas period that began in January 2009. By February 2010, FORREST SHERMAN was photographed in the Gulf of Aden during ongoing coalition counter-piracy and maritime-security patrols.

In early 2011, the ship participated under DESRON-24 leadership in the multinational exercise JOINT WARRIOR 11-1 off northern Scotland, then on July 3, 2011, she departed Norfolk for an eight-month deployment focused on ballistic-missile-defense and presence operations for U.S. Sixth Fleet. The following year she again supported JOINT WARRIOR in spring 2012, then shifted to the Eastern Mediterranean with port calls that included Haifa, Israel, in August and Souda Bay, Crete, on December 1, 2012, while conducting maritime security and theater-security-cooperation tasking. She returned to Norfolk on February 26, 2013.

FORREST SHERMAN got underway again on March 9, 2015, for a deployment that included Fifth Fleet operations, evidenced by live-fire events in August 2015, before resuming U.S. East Coast training across 2016-2017. On April 11, 2018, she sailed from Norfolk on a dynamic force employment deployment to U.S. Sixth Fleet, operating in the Mediterranean and along the French Riviera off Theoule-sur-Mer in June, then returned to Norfolk on July 21, 2018. The ship re-sortied on August 28, 2018, to resume the dynamic deployment as part of HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group.

She departed Norfolk again on September 14, 2019, assigned to HARRY S. TRUMAN CSG for a nine-month Middle East deployment. En route east she visited Souda Bay in October 2019, and later made a logistics call at Djibouti in November. On November 25, 2019, while conducting maritime-security operations in the Arabian Sea, FORREST SHERMAN interdicted a stateless dhow carrying Iranian-manufactured missile components and related materiel. U.S. authorities later detailed the seized items in public releases and legal filings. The ship continued theater operations into early 2020.

On July 20, 2020, the destroyer entered a Selected Restricted Availability at Marine Hydraulics Industries in Norfolk for maintenance. She returned to sea for workups and in April 2022, completed a short-notice surge deployment to the European theater, arriving back in Norfolk on April 13, 2022. On June 11, 2022, FORREST SHERMAN deployed again, this time to serve as flagship for Standing NATO Maritime Group Two in the Mediterranean under U.S. Sixth Fleet. During the summer she operated with allied frigates including the Spanish ALMIRANTE JUAN DE BORBON, Turkish KEMALREIS, and Hellenic KOUNTOURIOTIS, and made a port visit to Taranto, Italy, on June 27, 2022, as well as a logistics stop in Souda Bay announced in August. She completed the NATO deployment and returned to Naval Station Norfolk on December 22, 2022.

The ship commenced another Selected Restricted Availability at MHI on March 27, 2023, then in 2024 continued Atlantic-Fleet training cycles while NATO's BALTOPS and allied activities proceeded in the European theater. On May 6, 2025, FORREST SHERMAN departed Norfolk for a scheduled deployment to Sixth Fleet. During that cruise she visited Algiers, Algeria, in late May while operating in the central Mediterranean as part of ongoing NATO maritime presence and partnership engagements.

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Homeports of USS FORREST SHERMAN:

Period	Homeport
commissioned at Pensacola, Fla.
2006 - present	Norfolk, Va.

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USS FORREST SHERMAN Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on November 9, 2008.

The photos below were taken by me and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, after her participation in BALTOPS 2009. The photos were taken June 19 - 22, 2009.



			Click here for more Photos.

The photos below were taken by me and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 27, 2010 (first photo), and October 29, 2010.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the FORREST SHERMAN returning to Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 28, 2013.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 8, 2014.

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

The photos below were taken by Steven Collingwood and show the FORREST SHERMAN returning to Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on December 15, 2015, following a week-long ammo-offload at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Va., in preparation for an 8-month shipyard period.

The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the FORREST SHERMAN during a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair at Norfolk, Va., on April 12, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 12, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on December 26, 2021.

The photos below were taken by Michael Siweris and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on March 20, 2022. The ship departed Norfolk, Va., on February 10 and after visiting Rota, Spain, and Stockholm, Sweden, the FORREST SHERMAN arrived at Kiel on March 19. She departed again on March 21.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 9, 2023.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the FORREST SHERMAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2024.

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