USS Decatur ( DDG - 73 ) USS " Decatur " ( DDG - 73 ) is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer . The fifth ship to carry the name , " Decatur " was laid down on 11 January 1996 by Bath Iron Works , Bath , Maine ; launched on 9 November 1996 , sponsored by Mrs . Joan E . Shalikashvili , wife of John M . Shalikashvili , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ; and commissioned 19 June 1998 , Commander Mike Knollmann in command . She is named in honor of Stephen Decatur . History . Following a combination shakedown and transit cruise to the west coast , during which " Decatur " visited San Juan , Puerto Rico ; Puerto Vallarta , Mexico she was commissioned on 19 June 1998 in Bath , Maine with the ceremony taking place 29 August 1998 , at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland , Oregon . The guided - missile destroyer arrived at her new home port of San Diego on 4 September . She spent the remainder of the year conducting acoustic trials and combat system evaluations . " Decatur " then spent three months in a post - shakedown availability in the Southwest Marine Yard . In April 1999 , the warship conducted a short cruise to the Northwest , visiting Decatur Island , Washington , and Vancouver , British Columbia , before returning to San Diego in early May . After a second visit to Washington in August , " Decatur " sent a boarding team of Damage Control Experts to assist MV " Gardenia Ace " — a car carrier — which had suffered a fire in her engine room . 2000s . 2000 . Upon completion of her final missile tests and sea trials , " Decatur " commenced her first western Pacific deployment on 7 January 2000 . After stopping at Pearl Harbor to load Tomahawk land - attack missiles , the guided - missile destroyer proceeded to the Yellow Sea for Exercise Sharem 2000 — a joint U . S . and South Korean naval exercise — in late January . On the 30th , the warship visited Chinhae , South Korea , and over the next two weeks also stopped at Yokosuka and Nagasaki , Japan . She then sailed south through the Taiwan Strait , made a three - day port visit to Hong Kong , and then commenced a South China Sea exercise with units of the Philippine Navy . In early March , " Decatur " visited Malaysia and Guam before sailing south across the Equator to Fiji in April . After visits to American Samoa , and numerous ports in Australia , the guided missile destroyer returned to San Diego on 8 June . Following upkeep and voyage repairs , the warship operated locally out of San Diego for the rest of the year . 2001 . In February 2001 , " Decatur " began various battle group and missile training off the West Coast . Following the terrorist plane hijackings and crashes in New York , Washington and Pennsylvania on 11 September , the Destroyer put to sea for Operation NOBLE EAGLE in southern California waters . Returning to San Diego on the 23d , the warship spent seven weeks preparing for her deployment with the USS " John C . Stennis " ( CVN - 74 ) battle group on 12 November . The warships steamed west and , after stops at Hong Kong and Singapore , transited the Strait of Malacca on 11 December . Sailing northwest into the Indian Ocean , the battlegroup moved into Central Commands AOR to participate in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM , in Afghanistan . Decatur remained with the USS " Peleliu " ( LHA - 5 ) Amphibious Ready Group for the rest of the year . 2002 . Between 17 December 2001 and 16 April 2002 , " Decatur " escorted the USS " Peleliu " ( LHA - 5 ) Amphibious Ready Group — during which time her security team boarded three merchant ships ( including one non - compliant boarding of M / V " Francisco Dagohoy " on 10 April — in support of Maritime Interdiction Operations . During this period , the warship made three short port visits to Manama , Bahrain . Departing the region on 2 May , the warship sailed for home , stopping in Phuket , Thailand ; Bali , Indonesia ; Dili , East Timor ; Apra , Guam ; and Pearl Harbor before arriving in San Diego on 8 June 2002 . " Decatur " spent the rest of the year in upkeep or training out of San Diego . 2003 . The Decatur departed on their third deployment overall , and second deployment to the Persian Gulf , in August 2003 . She made stops in Pearl Harbor and Singapore before arriving in the Persian Gulf . The Decatur made a port visit to the Seychelles for four days in November . In December 2003 , the Decatur seized a 40 - foot dhow on 15 December , discovering an estimated two tons of narcotics allegedly linked to an al - Qaeda smuggling operation . The drugs had an estimated street value of 8 to 10 million dollars . 2004 . In May 2004 , Decatur moved dead - stick to dry - dock , its first dry - dock period since construction . 2005 . From May through June 2005 , Decatur made a series of port visits to the Northwestern United States , including visits to Port Hueneme , Victoria British Columbia , and the Portland Rose Festival . 2006 . In January 2006 , Decatur departed for her fourth deployment ( third to the Persian Gulf ) as part of a Carrier Strike Group , led by the USS Ronald Reagan . Throughout the deployment , she conducted Maritime Security Operations in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf ; participated in three major ASW exercises ( including Arabian Shark and Valiant Shield ) ; and as part of the Coalition Task Force ( CTF ) 473 , conducted operations with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in support of OEF . Her port visits were Australia , Malaysia , Bahrain ( 2x ) , Oman , Thailand , and Hong Kong . She stopped in Hawai ' i to pick up civilians for a Tiger Cruise on her return to homeport in July . 2007 . On 16 February 2007 , " Decatur " was awarded the 2006 Battle " E " award . In June 2007 , " Decatur " tested her Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System by launching a RIM - 161 Standard ( SM - 3 ) . It was the first such test from a US Aegis Destroyer . 2008 . On 27 May 2008 , " Decatur " departed on her fifth deployment overall , and fourth deployment to the Persian Gulf . She spent a significant amount of time in 7th Fleet , stopping in Hong Kong , Japan and Singapore before proceeding in to the 5th Fleet Area for duties . Departing 5th Fleet in September she transitted east , stopping in Phuket and Hawaii prior to her return to San Diego in November 2008 . 2009 . " Decatur " deployed from May until November , 2009 . She visited Guam , Japan , Singapore , Bahrain , Dubai , and Thailand . 2010 . On 1 Dec 2010 Shanti Sethi was promoted from Executive Officer to Commander . She is the 12th female commander in the U . S . Navy . Up to its disbandment in 2011 , the ship routinely deployed with Carrier Strike Group Seven . 2012 . On 26 May 2012 CDR Joel A . Ellingson was promoted from Executive Officer to Commanding Officer of Decatur . 2013 . On Tuesday , April 2 , 2013 , the USS Decatur was sent to the Western Pacific near the Korean Peninsula , to join another destroyer , the USS McCain , in response to growing threats and an increase in belligerent statements and actions by North Korea ' s leadership , which were made following the beginning of a joint U . S . - South Korean military drill operation and also as a result of new sanctions which were issued after it launched a rocket and then tested a nuclear bomb underground . Among these new threats were : the planned re - activation of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor , the closure of the Kaesong industrial plant along the border , a declaration that the armistice that ended the 1950s Korean War was invalid , the disconnecting of an emergency hotline to the South ' s leadership - perhaps the last direct communications link to the South , and putting missile batteries on standby mode to potentially strike South Korea and / or U . S . bases in Okinawa , Japan and the Pacific ) . A third warship , the USS Fitzgerald , is also available , if need be , and radar is being deployed to the area . As a show of force and as part of the drills , the U . S . has sent bombers and other aircraft ( including the B - 2 stealth bomber , capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons ) , to the region , and both South Korea and the U . S . have pledged to vigorously defend themselves .