USS CUSHING (DD-985)

Career	USN Jack
Laid down:	2 February 1977
Launched:	17 June 1978
Commissioned:	21 September 1979
Status:	Decommissioned
Decommissioned:	21 September 2005
Fate:
Struck:	21 September 2005
General Characteristics
Displacement:	8,040 lt (8,168.64 t)
Length:	563 ft (171.6 m)
Beam:	55 ft (16.8 m)
Draft:	36 ft (11.0 m)
Propulsion:	4 × GE LM 2500 gas turbines driving two shafts
Speed:	> 30 knots (55 km/h)
Range:
Complement:	352 Enlisted, 30 Officers
Armament:	★ 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System ★ 2 × 5 in (127 mm) / 54 caliber Mark 45 dual purpose guns ★ 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns ★ 1 × 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher ★ 2 × quadruple Harpoon missile canisters ★ 2 × triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mark 46 torpedoes) ★ 6 × 6 canister Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff Systems ★ RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)
Aircraft:	2 x SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Radars:	★ AN/SPS 40B/C/D air search ★ AN/SPS 55 surface search ★ AN/SPS-64(V) Navigation ★ Mark 86 GFCS with AN/SPG-60 and AN/SPQ9A ★ SWG-3 Tomahawk weapon control system ★ Mk 48 MOD 1 TAS Radar ★ Mk 78 MOD 1 NATO Sea Sparrow Missile Director ★ Mark 91 missile FCS
Sonars:	★ SQQ-89(V)5 Sonar Suite ★ AN/SQS-53A/C hull mounted sonar ★ AN/SQR-17/19 passive towed array (TACTAS) ★ AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III ★ Mark 116 ASW FCS ★ AN/WLR-9 (Surface Ship Modified) ★ AN/WQC-6 XMT/RCV ★ AN/WQC-2 Underwater Telephone (Gertrude) ★ AN/SLQ-25 (Nixie) ★ MSTRP
EW:	★ AN/SLQ32(V)3 ★ SSQ-108 Outboard ELINT
Motto:	''Non Sibi Sed Patriae'' ("Not for self but for country")

'USS ''Cushing'' (DD-985)', named for Commander William Barker Cushing USN (1842–1874) and is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to carry the name. ''Cushing'' was a ''Spruance''-class destroyer (now replaced by the ''Arleigh Burke''-class) built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. USS ''Cushing'' operated out of Yokosuka in Japan for the last several years of her career.
''Cushing'' was the last ''Spruance'' class ship to remain in active service, until decommissioned on 21 September 2005.
She was approved to sale/grant to Pakistan. Delivery is expected before 2010.

Contents

History

Ship's crest

Gallery

See also

External links

History

''Cushing'' was laid down 27 December 1976 by Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula MS; launched 17 June 1978; and commissioned 21 September 1979. ''Cushing'' was the last U.S. warship to transit the Panama Canal prior to control of the canal being handed over to Panama in 1979.
Prior to comissioning, ''Cushing'' departed her builders in Mississippi in order to avoid the oncoming Hurricane Frederick of 1979. She remained in the Gulf of Mexico with a crew comprised of USN sailors and builder personnel. After the passage of the storm, she returned to her builders for final outfitting prior to departure for her first homeport of San Diego, California.
During the mid-to-late 1980s ''Cushing'' was a member of the Pacific Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron--Destroyer Squadron 31. She was specially modified to support the DESRON staff operations and served as the primary flagship. She was also one of the few of the class that carried the AN/SQR-15 Towed Array Sonar System.
''Cushing'' received her first female crewmembers in 1993.
As part of a 1995 reorganization of the Pacific Fleet's surface ships into six core battle groups and eight destroyer squadrons, with the reorganization scheduled to be completed by 1 October, and homeport changes to be completed within the following year, ''Cushing'' was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 5.
A prototype Remote Minehunting System (RMS) was installed onboard ''Cushing'' in time for the fall 1996 USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) deployment to provide the battle group with a mine reconnaissance capability. This was an upgrade of the system successfully used in 1995 with the additional capability for shipboard launch and recovery and direct interface to the shipboard system. In fiscal year 1997, the RMS concept was successfully demonstrated by employment of a prototype system from ''Cushing'' during a Persian Gulf exercise.
In early 1997, ''Cushing'' was conducting Maritime Interception Operations in the Persian Gulf.
''Cushing'' departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 16 March 1998, for its new home port of Yokosuka, Japan. The Cushing had been homeported in Pearl Harbor since 1991 and was set to replace USS Fife (DD-991) which was changing homeports to Everett, Washington. During its time in Pearl Harbor, ''Cushing'' made four Western Pacific deployments and one to the South Atlantic. Upon arrival in Japan, ''Cushing'' was assigned to Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15, and deployed in May to participate in CARAT '98, a multi-national exercise with navies of Southeast Asian nations. CARAT '98 was the fourth annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise held between the United States and six Southeast Asia countries from 12 May to 5 August 1998. As part of a series of bilateral training exercises, CARAT 98 had U.S. forces training with military forces of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. CARAT '98 demonstrated U.S. commitment to security and stability in Southeast Asia while increasing the operational readiness and capabilities of U.S. forces. The exercise also promoted interoperability and cooperation with U.S. regional friends and allies by offering a broad spectrum of mutually beneficial training opportunities.
From 22 March to 25 March 1999 ''Cushing'' operated along with Battle Force 7th Fleet and took part in a multi-national live-fire missile exercise (MTX 99) in waters near the Marianas Islands. Also involved in the MTX 99 were naval units from Australia, Canada, Singapore and the Republic of Korea. Fired during MTX 99 were live weapons which included Harpoon, Penguin and Maverick missiles, torpedoes and various shipboard weapons systems. The former USS Oklahoma City (CL-91) was used as the target vessel.
''Cushing'' took part in the 38th Foal Eagle exercise held in the fall of 1999. A regularly scheduled exercise, Foal Eagle combined forces from the Republic of Korea (ROK) with US ones. In August 2000, ''Cushing'' took part in SHAREM 138. ''Cushing'' and various units in the Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF), participated in SHAREM (Ship ASW Readiness Effectiveness Measuring) 138 along with units from the host, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force near Okinawa, Japan. Although weather conditions curtailed SHAREM events, valuable training was accomplished in the art of Undersea Warfare (USW).
''Cushing'' took part in Missile Exercise (MISSILEX) 01-1 which was held 17 November to 18 November, 2000 as part of a coordinated task group operation.
During a Naval Surface Fire Support exercise held near Guam on 4-5 December 2000, the Cushing posted a better-than-perfect score during a gun shoot. The exercise was designed to test the accuracy and effectiveness of ''Cushing''’s guns and the proficiency of its watch teams. When the grade sheets were tallied, with bonus points for superior communications performance, ''Cushing'' was awarded 101.5 points out of 100.
''Cushing'' was honored by Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15, when she received the Silver Enlisted Surface Warfare Excellence Pennant on 25 January 2001. As a result, ''Cushing'' was now authorized to fly the pennant as all enlisted personnel E5 and senior have qualified as enlisted surface warfare specialists within the required time standard set forth by the Chief of Naval Operations. ''Cushing'' was the first ship of Destroyer Squadron 15 to qualify for this prestigious award.
On 7 November 2003, ''Cushing'' began joint exercise Annualex 15G, which included maneuvers with the Japanese Navy.

Ship's crest

''Cushing's coat of arms symbolizes the spirit and endeavors of William Barker Cushing, as well as the tradition of destroyers named in honor of this brave naval officer.
The predominant colors of dark blue and gold are traditionally associated with the Navy and symbolize the sea and excellence. The indented division of the shield represents a log boom and pile and is suggestive of the manner in which Commander Cushing accomplished the sinking of the CSS ''Albemarle''. The upper area of the pile is red, alluding to the danger of this famous action and that Commander Cushing was under enemy fire more than any other Union Navy officer. The lion's head is a symbol of courage and strength and signifies the character of Commander Cushing. His spirit is also reflected in the ship's motto, "Non Sibi Sed Patriae", a statement attributed to the ancient Roman Cicero that translates to "Not for Self but for Country". The trident is a traditional maritime symbol and its sharp points suggest offensive action. The spar torpedo is dark blue alluding to the dark night and the covert nature of the sinking of the ''Albemarle''. The dark blue also recalls the fact that Commander Cushing took the torpedo, at that time a Confederate weapon, and successfully used it to sink an enemy vessel. The five stars refer to the fact that ''Cushing'' is the fifth ship in the U. S. Navy to be carry the name.

Gallery

See also

★ List of United States Navy destroyers

External links

★ Article on decommissioning

★ nvr.navy.mil: USS ''Cushing''

★ navsource.org: USS ''Cushing''

★ navysite.de: USS ''Cushing''

★ USS ''Cushing'' Association