USS Spruance ( DD - 963 ) USS " Spruance " ( DD - 963 ) was the lead ship of the " Spruance " - class of destroyer s in the United States Navy . She was named for Admiral Raymond A . Spruance . " Spruance " was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula , Mississippi , and launched by Mrs . Raymond A . Spruance , Commander Raymond J . Harbrecht in command . " Spruance " served in the U . S . Atlantic Fleet , assigned to Destroyer Squadron 24 and operating out of Naval Station Mayport , Florida . She was decommissioned on 23 March 2005 and then was sunk as a target on 8 December 2006 . Ship ' s history . The " Spruance " was the first of a highly - successful class of anti - submarine warfare and antiship destroyers , and was the first destroyer powered by gas turbines in the U . S . Navy . At first she was armed with two 5 - inch naval gun s , an ASROC missile launcher , and an eight - cell NATO Sea Sparrow missile launcher . The " Spruance " received one Mark 41 Vertical Launch System ( VLS ) during the late 1980s . This replaced the original Mark 16 ASROC launcher . Also added to the " Spruance " after several years of service was an eight - cell launcher for Harpoon antiship missile s . The " Spruance ' s " first operational deployment was in October 1979 to the Mediterranean Sea , as a member of the USS Saratoga ( CV - 60 ) Carrier Battle Group . The other warship s in this task force included the USS " Biddle " , the " Conyngham " , the " Milwaukee " , and the " Mount Baker " . During this deployment , the " Spruance " made a transit into the Black Sea to conduct surveillance on the new Soviet helicopter carrier , " Moskva " , as she steamed from her building shipyard to the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet . The " Spruance " suffered a malfunction in one of her LM - 2500 Gas Turbine Main Engines and had to replace the engine while deployed . This was done successfully in port . The " Spruance " , being the first gas - turbine powered ship in the U . S . fleet , had an underway replenishment breakaway flag ( flown while pulling away from receiving supplies and fuel from a logistics ship at sea ) that was a replication of the large yellow warning seen on the side of aircraft carrier s , with red block letters saying " BEWARE JET BLAST " on a large yellow background . Upon " breaking " ( unfurling ) the flag on the halyards , they would play the theme from the movie " Superman " as they increased speed and sailed ahead of the logistics vessel . The " Spruance " entered her first major overhaul in 1980 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard . During a brief shipyard period in 1983 , she received the Phalanx CIWS and the TAS Mk 23 radar system . The " Spruance " steamed to the Arabian Sea in 1982 including a port visit to Mombasa , Kenya , in May 1982 . She briefly took station off Beirut in June 1982 before being relieved . In 1982 , she transited both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal during the same summer . The " Spruance " deployed for a six - month period in January 1983 to the Persian Gulf where she spent four and one - half months conducting observations in company with during the Iraq - Iran War . She also conducted operations with Teamwork ' 84 in the northern Atlantic and in the Arctic Ocean in 1984 . She deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in November 1984 and conducted her second Black Sea Operations over Thanksgiving 1984 . She returned from her deployment in May 1985 and shortly thereafter entered her second overhaul period during which she received VLS , Towed Array , and the SH 60 . She deployed for a six - month period on 26 May 1993 to the Red Sea where she spent over three and a half months conducting visit and board and search operations in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq . While attached to the U . S . 6th Fleet , the " Spruance " conducted a brief stop for fuel in Rota , Spain , followed by a liberty port visit in Palma , Spain . Additional stops in the Mediterranean consisted of a brief stop in Augusta Bay , Sicily , then to Souda Bay , Crete , for a maintenance period ( IMAV ) with the " Shenandoah " . The " Spruance " passed through the Suez Canal on 29 June . ADM Vern Clark and ADM Gary Roughead ( 27th and 29th Chiefs of Naval Operations ) were the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer , respectively of the Spruance from 1984 to 1985 . Upon arrival in the Red Sea , under command of CTG 152 . 1 , Commander Maritime Interdiction Forces , the " Spruance " assumed the duties of the flagship for the task force commander . While on station , the " Spruance " was the flagship for three different task force commanders . While on station , " Spruance " conducted exercises with the Egyptian Navy and the Jordanian Navy . During the " Spruance ' s " tenure in the Red Sea , she conducted several port visits to Hurghada , Egypt , for crew rest and relaxation . Other official port visits were conducted in Safaga , Egypt , and Aqaba , Jordan , where the " Spruance " hosted receptions for top military and embassy officials . On 10 September 1993 , " Spruance " intercepted the 18 , 000th ship since sanctions were put into place in August 1990 , as part of the multinational maritime interception effort enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq . The ship ' s crew intercepted the Maltese - flagged bulk carrier " Early Star " in the North Red Sea during normal intercept operations . The merchant ship was sailing from Massaua , Eritrea , to Aqaba . As the ship was empty , it was allowed to proceed toward its destination . " Spruance " was relieved as flagship by " Hayler " on 9 October after having completed more than 170 boardings , and then started her transit homeward through the Suez Canal on 11 October . Once back in the Mediterranean Sea , the ship made port calls in Toulon , France ; Alicante , Spain ; and Rota , Spain . She returned home on 14 November . In July 1994 , as part of Operation Restore Democracy , U . S . Navy ships were assigned to helping to enforce the United Nations embargo of Haiti . However , so many Haitians were picked up from the sea that U . S . Coast Guard ships needed an assist from U . S . Navy ships in the region to handle the volume . Among these was " Spruance " which took onboard nine hundred Haitians for the transit to Guantanamo Naval Station . " Spruance " transferred to Portsmouth VA and entered drydock after the deployment . In mid - 1996 , " Spruance " took part in the 24th annual U . S . invitational maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea , the BALTOPS 96 exercise . Made up of air , surface and subsurface operations , the exercise involved 47 ships and aircraft from 12 different squadrons sent by 13 NATO - member and Partnership for Peace nations : Belgium , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , Germany , Lithuania , Latvia , Netherlands , Poland , Russia , Sweden , United Kingdom , and United States . The " Spruance " steamed in the Mediterranean from April through October 1997 with the carrier battle group supporting " John F . Kennedy " ( CV - 67 ) . Serving as the flagstaff of Destroyer Squadron 24 , the " Spruance " made significant contributions throughout the deployment including : visiting thirteen foreign ports ; participating in five multinational naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea ; serving as Presidential Support Ship in Rotterdam , Netherlands ; representing the U . S . Navy in Thoule Sur Mer , France , in commemorating the fifty - second anniversary of the Allied landings in southern France ; and hosting Ukrainian military and diplomatic distinguished visitors during the 1997 Ukrainian Independence Day celebration . During that period , the " Spruance " also took part in the Partnership For Peace Exercise " Sea Breeze 97 " in the Black Sea . Sea Breeze 97 trained military forces on how to provide humanitarian relief for victims of a simulated earthquake in Southern Ukraine . In the fall of 1999 , the " Spruance " detached from the USS " John F . Kennedy " Battle Group to relieve the " Peterson " ( DD - 969 ) as the United States ' representative to the Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean ( STANAVFORMED ) . After dealing with the effects of Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Gert off the east coast of Florida , " Spruance " crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean with other ships from the USS " John F . Kennedy " Battle Group . STANAVFORMED is part of NATO ' s ` Reaction Force ' and as such was ready to respond to any crisis in NATO ' s area of interest , although its primary area of operations is the Mediterranean . " Spruance " was expected to remain assigned to STANAVFORMED through March 2000 . On 1 June 2000 , the " Spruance " became the first U . S . Navy ship to use the drydock in Jacksonville , Florida , in over ten years . She left Naval Station Mayport , Florida , early on 1 June , traveled up the St . John ' s River to the drydock facility , and remained there until early August . During the drydock , the ship was raised out of the water , her hull was cleaned and inspected , and corrective and preventative maintenance was performed . On 24 September 2001 , as part of the " John F . Kennedy " Carrier Battle Group , " Spruance " commenced use of the Vieques Island inner range in conjunction with their Composite Unit Training Exercises ( COMPUTEX ) . The exercise , which began the week prior , also utilized the northern and southern Puerto Rican operating areas , and involved complex battle group training events , naval surface fire - support training and air - to - ground bombing . COMPUTEX is an intermediate level battle group exercise designed to forge the battle group into a cohesive , fighting team , and is a critical step in the predeployment training cycle and prerequisite for the battle group ' s Joint Task Force Exercise ( JTFEX ) scheduled for early the following year . Successful completion of the COMPUTEX also certifies the carrier and its embarked air wing as qualified for open ocean operations . " Spruance " , along with the " John F . Kennedy " Battle Group took part , from 19 January through 26 January 2002 , in Phase I of Joint Task Force Exercise ( JTFEX ) 02 - 1 ; and from 7 – 14 February in Phase II of Joint Task Force Exercise ( JTFEX ) 02 - 1 . The JTFEX is designed to meet the requirement for quality , realistic training to prepare U . S . forces for joint and combined operations and also provides the opportunity to certify the CVBG for deployment . That particular JTFEX was scheduled for two phases to accommodate recent repairs to the carrier , which required it to be pierside during Phase I . The exercise took place in the waters off the East Coast , as well as on training ranges in North Carolina and Florida . Deploying with the " John F . Kennedy " battle group in June 2004 , " Spruance " returned to Mayport , Florida on 7 December 2004 . She decommissioned 23 March 2005 . She was sunk as a target for aircraft launched Harpoon missiles on 8 December 2006 . In fiction . In the " Stargate SG - 1 " episode " Lost City , Part 2 " , the " Spruance " was part of the USS " Nimitz " battle group . When one of Anubis ' s warships attacked the battle group , the destroyer reported to the White House that they were under fire from orbit , then all contact was lost . The " Spruance " was presumed lost with all hands .