Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer
For other ships with the same name, see
USS Ross
.
USS
Ross
(DDG-71)
is an
Arleigh Burke
-class
guided-missile destroyer
in the
United States Navy
. She is the second Navy ship to be named
Ross
, the first Navy ship named for
Medal of Honor
recipient
Donald K. Ross
and the 21st destroyer of her class. The first
Ross
,
DD-563
, was named for
David Ross
, a
captain
in the
Continental Navy
.
Construction
[
edit
]
Ross
was the 10th ship of her class to be built at
Ingalls Shipbuilding
in
Pascagoula, Mississippi
. She was laid down on 10 April 1995; launched on 22 March 1996; sponsored by Mrs. Helen L. Ross, widow of the late Captain Ross; and commissioned on 28 June 1997, at
Galveston
, Texas,
Commander
Jeffrey R. Ginnow in command.
Service history
[
edit
]
After commissioning,
Ross
set sail for a Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trial, which lasted six weeks, and then sailed back to Pascagoula for three months for her Post Shakedown Availability (PSA). She was then returned to her homeport of
Portsmouth, Virginia
, and completed the Basic Training Phase: Engineering Certification, CART II, TSTA I, and III, Cruise Missile Tactical Qualification, Final Evaluation Period (FEP), and Logistics Management Assessment.
[
citation needed
]
Ross
completed her Intermediate Training Phase and set sail early in 1999 as part of
Carrier Group 8
, led by
Theodore Roosevelt
. The group sortied for a Joint Task Force Exercise to prepare for an upcoming six-month deployment set to commence on 26 March 1999. During this deployment to the
Mediterranean Sea
and
Adriatic Sea
Ross
participated in
Operation Allied Force
. On 22 September, she returned to
Naval Station Norfolk
.
[
citation needed
]
On 15 May 2000, she set sail for Northern Europe in order to participate in the
Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2000
. She served as the
flagship
for the Commander of Carrier Group Eight, and together with the destroyer
Peterson
operated with more than 50 ships from the numerous European countries.
[5]
During these exercises
Ross
visited
Stockholm, Sweden
, and
Kiel
, Germany, before returning to the United States in late June.
[
citation needed
]
On 16 October 2001,
Ross
was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and
Persian Gulf
in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom
,
[5]
and conducting operations in support of the U.N. resolutions against Iraq. During this deployment,
Ross
was again part of the
Theodore Roosevelt
Battle Group.
[5]
On 11 September 2001,
Ross
was underway on a three-hour notice in response to the
September 11 attacks
, acting temporarily as a Regional Air Defense Commander in support of Commander,
North American Air Defense Command
.
Ross
was also recognized that year with the Arizona Memorial Trophy for being the most combat ready ship in the US Navy.
[5]
On 6 June 2005, a
.50 caliber machine gun
on her deck fired while leaving a shipyard. The single .50 caliber bullet struck a nearby barge and two washing machines within the barge. The gun was discharged while performing a check on its firing operation.
[6]
Later in 2005,
Ross
participated in UNITAS 47-06 in place of the
cruiser
Thomas S. Gates
due to the damage to Pascagoula created by
Hurricane Katrina
.
Ross
enjoyed liberty in
Curacao
,
St. Maarten
, and
Rio de Janeiro
, while participating in the multi-ship exercise with naval forces from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay. During the return home,
Ross
encountered heavy seas at high speeds resulting in a tear in her hull. The crew isolated her flooding and performed de-watering during the remainder of the journey up the Atlantic coast eventually arriving in Norfolk in time for
Thanksgiving
.
In 2006,
Ross
returned from a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as part of
Standing NATO Maritime Group 1
. She conducted over 850 vessel queries, commanded over 17 ships from various nations, performed over 40 helicopter landings and takeoffs and 41 port visits to six countries and 14 ports. From 1 May 2006 to 7 November 2006,
Ross
traveled over 64,000
nautical miles
(119,000 km; 74,000 mi). In
Alicante
, Spain, in August 2006,
Ross
became the group
flagship
, embarking the American commander of the standing maritime group. Her mission was to perform as part of
Operation Active Endeavour
; deterring terrorism,
smuggling
and
human trafficking
in the Mediterranean.
In September 2014, responding to turmoil in
Ukraine
, the US Navy announced that a guided missile destroyer had entered the
Black Sea
in order to participate with Ukrainian ships in the naval exercise "Sea Breeze".
Ross
"serves to demonstrate the United States' commitment to strengthening the collective security of NATO allies and partners in the region," the Navy said in a press release.
[7]
In November 2014, three sailors from
Ross
were attacked while ashore in the port of
Istanbul
, apparently by members of the
Turkey Youth Union
.
[8]
In May 2015,
Ross
was buzzed by a pair of Russian
Su-24 Fencers
at a distance of 500 m (1,600 ft) while the ship was on-station in the Black Sea.
[9]
Russian Federation State media
RIA Novosti
quoted a military source, which claimed that
Ross
had acted aggressively and was scared away by the bombers. The US Navy published a statement, denying the Russian claims and pointing out that the ship was in international waters and did not deviate from its operations.
[10]
On 21 October 2015,
Ross
intercepted a
Terrier missile
as part of ASD-15 anti-ballistic missile testing in the North Sea.
[11]
Ross
spent the summer of 2017 conducting
anti-submarine
patrols around the
Norwegian Sea
and the
Arctic Ocean
.
[12]
On 7 April 2017,
Ross
and
Porter
, from their positions in the Eastern Mediterranean,
fired a total of 59
Tomahawk missiles
at specific military targets at the
Shayrat
airfield in
Syria
. The missile barrage was in response to the death of at least 80 civilians in the immediate aftermath of 4 April 2017,
Khan Shaykhun chemical attack
in
Idlib province
, an attack that the US government concluded was launched by the Syrian regime, from Shayrat.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
On 16 February 2018,
Ross
joined
USS
Carney
(DDG-64)
in the
Black Sea
for an "unspecified regional proactive presence mission". The move follows increased tensions between Russia and the U.S. after American federal prosecutors announced indictments against 13 Russian citizens for their alleged interference in the
2016 U.S. Presidential campaign
.
[17]
In December 2019,
Ross
arrived in
Odesa
, Ukraine, on
Christmas Eve
, part of its mission in the Black Sea.
Ross
is the first U.S. vessel to stop in Odesa since the USS Porter made a port call there in October.
[18]
[19]
On 6 September 2022,
Ross
departed
Rota
and began her journey to
Norfolk
for a scheduled port shift. She was relieved by
USS
Paul Ignatius
(DDG-117)
.
[20]
Upgrades
[
edit
]
On 12 November 2009, the
Missile Defense Agency
announced that
Ross
would be upgraded during Fiscal Year 2012 to
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
(SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
.
[21]
In 2016, four destroyers patrolling with the
U.S. 6th Fleet
based in
Naval Station Rota, Spain
, including
Ross
received self-protection upgrades, replacing the aft
Phalanx CIWS
20mm
Vulcan cannon
with the
SeaRAM
11-cell
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
launcher. The SeaRam uses the same sensor dome as the Phalanx. This was the first time the close-range ship defense system was paired with an Aegis ship. All four ships to receive the upgrade were either Flight I or II, meaning they originally had two Phalanx CIWS systems when launched.
[22]
[23]
Awards
[
edit
]
Coat of arms
[
edit
]
Shield
[
edit
]
The shield is in the shape of a octagon with a gold background and blue trim. The center of the shield consists of an inverted silver star, anchor and crossing red lightning bolts.
The traditional Navy colors were chosen for the shield because dark blue and gold represents the sea and excellence respectively. The anchor represents the anchorage at
Pearl Harbor
, which brought the United States into World War II after being attacked 7 December 1941. The propeller represents Warrant Officer Ross and a Navy Machinist badge signifies the post he held at the time of action. The inverted silver star stands for his heroism during the attack and the Medal of Honor he won for valor on board the battleship USS Nevada. The shield's shape refers to the AEGIS combat system of DDG-71. The color gold represents excellence, while red denotes courage and sacrifice.
Crest
[
edit
]
The crest consists of a
griffin
holding a trident with a red and gold framing below.
The griffin, denoting vigilance, intelligence, and valor, reflects USS
Ross'
s versatile operational capabilities. The griffin holds a trident to represent the ship's offensive equipment with exceptional firepower. The color gold represents excellence.
Motto
[
edit
]
The ship's motto, written on a scroll of blue that has a red reverse side, is "
Fortune Favors Valor
." It refers to the honorable feats of Captain Ross and the Medal of Honor he received.
[25]
Seal
[
edit
]
The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS ROSS" at the top and "DDG 71" in the base all gold.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Mk46 MOD 1 Optical Sight System"
. Kollmorgen.
Archived
from the original on 30 November 2022
. Retrieved
26 January
2023
.
- ^
Rockwell, David (12 July 2017).
"The Kollmorgen/L-3 KEO Legacy"
.
Teal Group
.
Archived
from the original on 29 May 2023
. Retrieved
29 May
2023
.
- ^
Hart, Jackie (17 December 2023).
"Decoy Launch System Installed Aboard USS Ramage"
.
navy.mil
. Archived from
the original
on 28 April 2016
. Retrieved
26 January
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"History - USS Ross (DDG-71)"
.
US Navy
. Retrieved
17 May
2024
.
- ^
"Navy destroyer opens fire leaving port Chicago Sun-Times - Find Articles"
. Archived from
the original
on 5 October 2007
. Retrieved
13 May
2007
.
- ^
"USS Ross to Enter Black Sea Story Number: NNS140903-10"
.
Navy News Service
. 3 September 2014.
- ^
"US Sailors Victims of Videotaped Attack in Istanbul"
.
ABC News
. 12 November 2014.
- ^
Shinkman, Paul D. (1 June 2015).
"More 'Top Gun': Russian Jets Buzz U.S. Navy Destroyer in Black Sea"
.
U.S. News & World Report
. Archived from
the original
on 2 June 2015
. Retrieved
1 June
2015
.
- ^
Withnall, Adam (2 June 2015).
"US Navy releases video showing dramatic close pass by Russian warplane in Black Sea"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
2 June
2015
.
- ^
"USS Ross intercepts ballistic missile during coalition test"
. Spacewar.com
. Retrieved
7 April
2017
.
- ^
Ziezulewicz, Geoff (7 July 2017).
"Ross sailors cross into Arctic Circle, join 'Order of the Blue Nose'
"
.
The Navy Times
. Retrieved
10 July
2017
.
The Ross has been conducting anti-submarine patrols in the high north Atlantic Ocean, Norwegian Sea and Arctic Ocean with fellow destroyers Laboon and James E. Williams, as well as with the cruiser Leyte Gulf during the summer.
- ^
Hennigan, W.J. & Wilkinson, Tracy (6 April 2017).
"U.S. Launches Dozens of Missiles in Response to Chemical Weapons Attack"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
7 April
2017
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Gordon, Michael R., Cooper, Helene & Shear, Michael D. (6 April 2017).
"Dozens of U.S. Missiles Hit Air Base in Syria"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
7 April
2017
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Phipps, Claire (6 April 2017).
"Syria: US Launches 60 Missiles in Strike on Airbase near Homs"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
7 April
2017
.
- ^
Sopel, Jon & BBC Staff (6 April 2017).
"Syria War: US Launches Missile Strikes in Response to Chemical 'Attack'
"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
7 April
2017
.
- ^
"Two U.S. guided missile destroyers now operating in the Black Sea"
. usni.org. 18 February 2018
. Retrieved
20 February
2018
.
- ^
(in Vietnamese)
Chi?n h?m M? tren đ??ng t?i Ukraine b? chi?n đ?u c? Nga d?a t?n cong "US vessel on its way to Ukraine simulated Russian attack"
.
Nguoi Viet Daily News
. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^
USS Ross arrives in Ukraine after simulated Russian attack at sea
.
UPI
. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^
Correll, Diana Stancy (8 September 2022).
"USS Ross departs Rota for home port shift to Norfolk"
. Navy Times
. Retrieved
23 September
2022
.
- ^
"MDA announces next 6 BMD ships"
,
Navy Times
, 12 November 2009.
- ^
Eckstein, Megan (15 September 2015).
"Navy Integrating SeaRAM on Rota-Based DDGs; First Installation Complete In November"
.
usni.org
. U.S. Naval Institute.
Archived
from the original on 8 October 2016
. Retrieved
20 November
2016
.
- ^
Eckstein, Megan (8 March 2016).
"Navy Successfully Completes First Live Fire Test of SeaRAM From Destroyer"
.
usni.org
. USNI News
. Retrieved
8 March
2016
.
- ^
"trump-orders-missile-attack-in-retaliation-for-syrian-chemical-strikes"
. defense.gov.
- ^
"USS Ross DDG-71"
. surflant.usff.navy.mil
. Retrieved
24 February
2022
.
This article includes information collected from the
Naval Vessel Register
, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the
public domain
. The entry can be found
here
.
Evans, Mark L. (31 August 2015).
"Ross II (DDG-71)"
.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
.
Navy Department
,
Naval History and Heritage Command
. Retrieved
8 April
2017
.
External links
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]
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Flight I ships
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5"/62 variant
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Flight III ships
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