USS Conolly ( DD - 979 ) USS " Conolly " ( DD - 979 ) , named for Admiral Richard Lansing Conolly USN , was a built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula , Mississippi . History . " Conolly " was laid down 29 September 1975 , launched 19 February 1977 and commissioned 14 October 1978 . From August to December 1980 , " Conolly " deployed as part of the Middle East Force . She deployed as part of this force again from October 1981 to February 1982 . In September 1982 , she deployed to the Mediterranean including operations off the coast of Lebanon . In June 1983 " Conolly " deployed again participating in UNITAS XXIV , an annual exercise working with partner navies in South America . " Conolly " made multiple port visits and worked with a variety of South American navies before returning home in December of the same year . " Conolly " was the flagship for the cruise , with the staff of Commander , South Atlantic ( COMSOLANT ) , Rear Admiral Clint Taylor , USN , embarked . Due to equipment casualties in the engineering plant while on the east coast of Chile , the crew had to repair in place the pneumatic clutch - brake assemblies on the two forward gas turbine engines , the second repair having to be completed at sea en route Montevideo , Uruguay . Once in port , the damaged LM - 2500 Gas Turbine Main Engine was replaced in 82 hours , using a large floating crane in the port facility . In addition to the UNITAS cruise , " Conolly " left Brazil in November and sailed , initially in company with , east to conduct a West African Training Cruise ( WATC ) . " Conolly " visited Liberville , Gabon ; Lagos , Nigeria ; Monrovia , Liberia and finally Dakar , Senegal , before transiting west to Roosevelt Roads , PR for a refueling stop before returning to her homeport of Norfolk , VA in mid - December , 1983 . While sailing from Brazil , " Conolly " was required to conduct a transfer of fuel , while underway , to the " Jesse L . Brown " , so that ship would have sufficient fuel to make her port call in Equatorial Guinea . " Conolly " was the first " Spruance " - class vessel to complete such a task , which was not an assigned capability for the ships . Approximately 30 , 000 gallons were sent to the " Brown " using 2½ " fire hoses to deliver the fuel , taking about 4 hours . In February , 1984 , " Conolly " sailed to Portland , ME , to enter a regular overhaul ( ROH ) at the newly opened Bath Iron Works facility . The overhaul lasted 10 months , during which " Conolly " was fitted with the Tomahawk Weapons System . Also installed was the MK 15 Close in Weapons System and the Mk 23 Target Acquisition System . During the yard period , Commander Harry Maixner was relieved by Commander Gary Voorheis as Captain of the ship . 1990s . In October 1985 " Conolly " once again deployed as part of the Middle East Force . She returned from this deployment in April 1986 . In June 1987 she made another deployment to the Mediterranean and followed this up with two more deployments in 1989 and 1992 as part of the Middle East Force . In 1993 , " Conolly " was deployed in support of Operation Support Democracy , enforcing United Nations sanctions against Haiti . From 6 June to 10 June 1994 , " Conolly " participated in World War II commemoration activities at Cavalaire - sur - Mer , France . That same year , " Conolly " deployed to the Arabian Peninsula , conducting maritime interception operations in the Red Sea in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq . During that deployment , on 12 July 1994 , " Conolly " came to the rescue of sixty - two crewmembers of the Panamanian - registered ferry " Al Loloa " following a fire on board the ferry . " Conolly " answered the vessel ' s distress call and proceeded to the scene of the fire . Sixty - one of the ferry ' s all Egypt ian crew had already abandoned ship and were found safe in five life rafts . A survey team from " Conolly " boarded the " Al Loloa " and found the fire out of control . Before returning to " Conolly " , the survey team found the missing crewmember unharmed . As part of a reorganization announced in July 1995 of the U . S . Atlantic Fleet ' s surface combatant ships into six core battle groups , nine destroyer squadrons and a new Western Hemisphere Group , " Conolly " ' s homeport was changed from Norfolk , Virginia , to Mayport , Florida , with the shift to occur in 1996 – 1997 . " Conolly " deployed with the carrier battle group , on 26 January 1996 for a regularly scheduled deployment . The previous December , the battle group and ARG participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 96 - 1 , their " final examination " before deployment , and the culmination of a year of intense preparation . While deployed , " Conolly " took part in the Ships Anti - Submarine Warfare Readiness Effectiveness Measuring 114 ( SHAREM ) Invitational Exercise 1 - 96 ( INVITEX ) , held 23 February – 29 February . SHAREM 114 was a U . S . 6th Fleet naval exercise conducted in the Gulf of Valencia off the east coast of Spain . Following the completion of Operation Destined Glory 96 , a NATO amphibious exercise , " Conolly " paid a visit to Augusta Bay , Sicily . Operation Destined Glory 96 , lasted 16 days and was a NATO forces combined amphibious exercise which began 13 March and continued through 26 March . It tested forces in the air and at sea in the Central Mediterranean near Sardinia and in the Tyrrhenian Sea and also trained ashore at Capo Teulada , Sardinia . Military units from the NATO countries of Greece , Italy , Netherlands , Spain , Turkey and United States took part in the exercise which focused on undersea , surface , electronic and air warfare , and included communications and shiphandling skills . On 11 April , " Conolly " was tasked with escorting , and to Liberia from the Adriatic Sea in support of JTF Assured Response . " Guam " , " Trenton " , " Portland " and " Conolly " were conducting routine training when they were directed to the coastal waters off Liberia . " Conolly " also assisted in search and rescue efforts when the airplane carrying United States Commerce Department Secretary Ron Brown crashed . It participated in Operation Sharp Guard , enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions in the former republics of Yugoslavia . While on station , " Conolly " queried 121 merchant vessels , ensuring no contraband cargo entered the troubled region . In June 1996 , " Conolly " took part in Exercise TAPON 96 , an allied exercise held in the Alboran Sea , Gulf of Cadiz and the eastern Atlantic Ocean . " Conolly " conducted combined warfare exercises with the Spanish aircraft carrier " Principe de Asturias " , and other surface ships including SPS " Baleares " ( F 71 ) , SPS " Santa Maria " ( F 81 ) , SPS " Numancia " ( F 83 ) , the Greek destroyer HS " Formion " ( D 220 ) , the Spanish submarine SPS " Delfin " ( S 61 ) and the US submarine . " Conolly " participated in the nine - day exercise which emphasized procedures and tactics for effective maritime choke - point control . " Conolly " also completed live - firing exercises in the Central Mediterranean Sea at Avgo Nisi gun - firing range , a small island north of Crete , Greece . She then traveled toward Sicily and conducted a torpedo - firing exercise . In March 1997 , " Conolly " shifted home port from Norfolk , VA . to Mayport , FL . Fate . " Conolly " was decommissioned 18 September 1998 and laid up at Philadelphia Naval Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility . " Conolly " was sunk as a target on 29 April 2009 as part of a joint fleet exercise . An effort to preserve her in Illinois failed after it lost the support of local politicians .