USS Bulkeley (DDG-84)

Career (US)
Name:	USS Bulkeley
Namesake:	John D. Bulkeley
Ordered:	20 June 1996
Builder:	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down:	10 May 1999
Launched:	21 June 2000
Commissioned:	8 December 2001
Status:	in active service, as of 2011[update]
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Displacement:	9,200 tons
Length:	509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed:	30+ knots
Complement:	380 officers and enlisted
Armament:	1 x 32 cell, 1 x 64 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems, 96 x RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc, missiles 1 x 5/62 in (127/62 mm), 2 x 25 mm, 4 x 12.7 mm guns, 2 x Phalanx CIWS 2 x Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	2 x SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters
Motto:	Freedom's Torch

USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named after Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley, who was a World War II Medal of Honor recipient.

Bulkeley was laid down on 10 May 1999 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and launched on 21 June 2000 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was commissioned on 8 December 2001 and is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.

In February of 2011, the Bulkeley was involved in a mission to rescue four American citizens from the yacht Quest which was attacked by Somali pirates.^[1]

On 5 March 2011, Bulkeley was involved in rescuing a Japanese oil tanker, MV Guanabara, from Somali pirates while on duty with Combined Task Force 151 off the coast of Oman.^[2] Three of the pirates were tried and convicted in Japan, the fourth was turned over to juvenile authorities, as it was determined that he was a minor.^[3]

On 16 May 2011 the Bulkeley responded to a mayday call from the Panamanian flagged very large crude carrier Artemis Glory by dispatching a Blackhawk helicopter to its position. Seeing that a piratical skiff carrying four men was firing upon the Artemis Glory, the Blackhawk engaged the skiff. After killing its four crewmembers, the helicopther withdrew without any casualties to its own crewmembers or that of the Artemis Glory.^[4]

The ship returned to Norfolk on 15 July 2011. During its deployment, it had participated in operations which had captured 75 Somali pirates and had missile strikes by its carrier strike group against the Libyan government.^[5]

References

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

1. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41715530/ns/world_news-africa/t/four-american-hostages-killed-somali-pirates/
2. ^ "U.S. Navy frees ship from suspected Indian Ocean pirates". CNN. 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5x0hfcc8Q. Retrieved 7 March 2011. 
3. ^ "3 pirates indicted over attack on Japan-run tanker in Indian Ocean". Japan Today. 1 April 2011. http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/3-pirates-to-be-indicted-over-attack-on-japan-run-tanker-in-indian-ocean. Retrieved 3 April 2011. 
4. ^ http://combinedmaritimeforces.com/2011/05/17/uss-bulkeley-protects-mv-artemis-glory-from-pirate-attack/
5. ^ Wilson, Todd Allen, "USS Enterprise Returns To Norfolk", Newport News Daily Press, 16 July 2011.

January 2011 uss bulkeley deployed in Northfolk Virginia

External links

• Ship's official Web site