Navy to Commission New Guided Missile Destroyer Forrest Sherman

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NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense

No. 074-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan 26, 2006 Media Contact: (703)697-5131
Public/Industry(703)428-0711

Navy to Commission New Guided Missile Destroyer Forrest Sherman
The newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Forrest
Sherman, will be commissioned at 11 a.m. ET on Jan. 28, during a ceremony at
Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.



Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida's 1st District will deliver the
ceremony's principal address. Ann Sherman Fitzpatrick will serve as sponsor
of the ship named for her father. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will
give the first order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"



The new destroyer honors Adm. Forrest Percival Sherman who served
as chief of naval operations from November 1949 until his death on July 22,
1951. Following World War I service, he was designated a naval aviator and
later served on the USS Lexington during the carrier's first year in service.
He twice held squadron commands aboard the USS Saratoga and served as
navigator of the USS Ranger prior to joining the staff of commander, U.S.
Fleet.



When World War II began, he served in the war plans division under
the chief of naval operations. After assuming command of the USS Wasp in May
1942, he attained the rank of captain and earned the Navy Cross for his
leadership of that ship during early phases of the occupation and defense of
Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. After a Japanese submarine sank the USS
Wasp on Sept. 15, 1942, he became chief of staff, to commander air force,
Pacific Fleet and served in that capacity until November 1943, when he became
deputy chief of staff to Adm. Chester W. Nimitz. He earned a Distinguished
Service Medal for his role in planning the captures of the islands of the
Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Western Carolines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.



Following a brief tenure as commander, U.S. Naval Forces,
Mediterranean, Sherman became the youngest man ever to serve as chief of naval
operations on Nov. 2, 1949. One previous ship named in his honor, the USS
Forrest Sherman (1955-1982), earned a Navy Unit Commendation and performed
distinguished service off Lebanon (1958), Quemoy-Matsu (1958), Cuba (1961) and
in the Indian Ocean (1980).



Cmdr. Michael G. Van Durick of Pennsylvania will become the first
commanding officer of the ship, which has accommodations for 383 officers and
enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Forrest Sherman was built by
Northrop-Grumman Ship Systems. It has an overall length of 509.5 feet, a
waterline beam of 59 feet and a navigational draft of 32 feet. Four gas
turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.



The USS Forrest Sherman is the 48th of 62 Arleigh Burke-class
destroyers currently authorized by Congress. This highly capable
multi-mission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime
presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support
of the National Military Strategy.



The ship will be capable of fighting air, surface, and subsurface
battles simultaneously. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive
weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.



For more information on Arleigh Burke class destroyers, visit the
Navy fact file:
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships/ship-dd.html .