USS Curtis Wilbur ( DDG - 54 ) USS " Curtis Wilbur " ( DDG - 54 ) is the fourth " Arleigh Burke " - class guided missile destroyer . " Curtis Wilbur " was named for Curtis D . Wilbur , forty - third Secretary of the Navy , who served under President Calvin Coolidge . Built by Bath Iron Works in Bath , Maine , she was commissioned in Long Beach , California , on 19 March 1994 . The keynote speaker for the ceremony was then - Secretary of the Navy , John H . Dalton . Ship history . 1990s . During the summer of 1994 , " Curtis Wilbur " participated in RIMPAC ' 94 , a major multi - national exercise involving more than thirty ships as well as numerous submarine s and air assets , both carrier - and land - based . During this exercise , she performed duties as Force Air Defense Coordinator . Also that summer , the Board of Inspection and Survey conducted Final Contract Trials to assess the material status of the ship . " Curtis Wilbur " became the first ship of the class , and only the second ship ever to complete the examination with zero mission degrading deficiencies . In October 1994 , " Curtis Wilbur " became the first Aegis - equipped ship to integrate women into the crew . " Curtis Wilbur " departed on her first Western Pacific Deployment on 31 July 1995 , transiting the Pacific and heading to the Persian Gulf . While deployed with the United States Naval Forces Central Command , she supported Operations Southern Watch and Vigilant Sentinel . During her 100 days in theater , she served as Air Warfare Commander , Surface Warfare Commander , Undersea Warfare Commander , and Strike Warfare Commander . " Curtis Wilbur " also served as a member of the United States Fifth Fleet Expeditionary Task Force supporting United Nations sanctions against Iraq . In September 1996 , " Curtis Wilbur " became part of the United States Seventh Fleet , shifting homeports from San Diego to Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka , Japan . Upon arrival in Japan , she successfully completed Tailored Ship ' s Training Availability II and III and was the first ship ever to validate the Final Evaluation Period . On 15 February 1997 , she deployed with the " Independence " Battle Group and participated in exercises Tandem Thrust ' 97 and Cobra Gold . " Curtis Wilbur " served as the Air Warfare Commander during this deployment . Throughout the remainder of 1997 , " Curtis Wilbur " participated in numerous Seventh Fleet Exercises , including Javelin Maker , Missilex 97 - 4 , Aswex 97 - 6JA , Harmex 97 - 2 , Annualex 09G , and Comptuex . For her " contributions to the fleet " , " Curtis Wilbur " was selected as the Destroyer Squadron Fifteen Battle Efficiency Winner for 1997 . In January 1998 , " Curtis Wilbur " participated in Sharem 108 - 1 before deploying again , on short notice , to the $ 3 . During this deployment , " Curtis Wilbur " visited ports in Singapore , Australia , Guam , Hong Kong , South Korea and Japan . She also participated in Merlion ' 98 and the Shimoda Black Ship Festival . In June 1998 " Curtis Wilbur " commenced her second Selected Restricted Availability ( SRA ) in Yokosuka . This nine - week shipyard period brought with it many new upgrades , including JTIDS ( Link 16 ) , JMCIS 98 , INMARSAT B , and numerous other Engineering and Combat System upgrades , making her the most capable destroyer in Seventh Fleet . Upon completion of SRA and Sea Trials in August 1998 , in addition to beginning the training cycle , " Curtis Wilbur " deployed for the joint and combined Exercise FOAL Eagle ‘ 98 with the Republic of Korea Navy and completed a successful Cruise Missile Tactical Qualification and Naval Surface Fire Support qualification . During the training cycle the ship certified the Main Space Fire Drill for ECERT at TSTA II and had a near flawless performance during ECERT . After completing her second complete training cycle while forward deployed , " Curtis Wilbur " participated in Sharem 127 with the Korean Navy and deployed in March 1999 with the " Kitty Hawk " Battle Group . After completing Tandem Thrust ’ 99 , an annual multi - national training exercise , " Curtis Wilbur " received immediate tasking to proceed at best speed en route the Persian Gulf . Steaming in company with " Kitty Hawk " and " Chancellorsville " ( CG - 62 ) , " Curtis Wilbur " conducted a no - notice high speed transit and arrived in the Persian Gulf on 18 April 1999 . Proceeding directly to the Northern Persian Gulf , " Curtis Wilbur " commenced operations in support of Operation Southern Watch ; enforcing the Southern No - Fly Zone over Iraq and supporting United Nations Sanctions against Iraq by conducting Maritime Interception Operations ( MIO ) as a member of Fifth Fleet . " Curtis Wilbur " also participated in two major exercises while on her second Persian Gulf deployment : Nautical Swimmer ’ 99 , a combined exercise with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces , and Sharem 128 , an Undersea Warfare exercise in the North Arabian Sea . Following port visits to Bunbury , Australia and Pattaya , Thailand , " Curtis Wilbur " returned to Yokosuka , Japan on 25 August 1999 . 2000s . On 1 October 2001 , " Curtis Wilbur " again departed Yokosuka on another deployment . Assigned to the " Kitty Hawk " Strike Group , she conducted operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Persian Gulf . After a port visit to Phuket , Thailand , " Curtis Wilbur " ' s first port visit in ten months , from 13 – 15 December , the ship returned to Yokosuka on 23 December 2001 . In early February 2002 , " Curtis Wilbur " , along with the Yokosuka - based ships " O ' Brien " ( DD - 975 ) , " Cowpens " ( CG - 63 ) , " John S . McCain " ( DDG - 56 ) , " Chancellorsville " , " Cushing " ( DD - 985 ) , " Vandegrift " ( FFG - 48 ) , " Gary " ( FFG - 51 ) , Sasebo - based " Essex " ( LHD - 2 ) , and " John Ericsson " ( T - AO - 194 ) and Japan Defense Ship " Sagami " ( AOE - 421 ) participated in Missilex ' 02 , an anti - ship missile defense training evolution . The Missilex took place on 7 and 8 February , in a training area off the island of Okinawa , with all the ships participating except " Ericsson " and " Sagami " , which had conducted replenishments at sea with several ships earlier in the exercise . Furthermore " Curtis Wilbur " was the first ship to enter the port of Da Nang , Vietnam , since 1976 in a relationship building port stay in August 2004 . In March 2011 , in company with the carrier " Ronald Reagan " , the ship was deployed off northeastern Honshu , Japan to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . During that time , the ship may have been exposed to leaking radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents .