USS McFaul

## USS McFaul (DDG-74)

USS McFaul at sea

**USS *McFaul* (DDG-74)** is an *Arleigh Burke*-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul. This ship is the 24th destroyer of her class. USS *McFaul* was the 11th ship of this class to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and construction began on 26 January 1996. She was launched on 18 January 1997 and was christened on 12 April 1997. On 25 April 1998 she had her commissioning ceremony at the Garden City Terminal in Savannah, Georgia. As of July 2020 the ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 26 based out of Naval Station Norfolk.

### Service History

On 22 August 2005, *McFaul* was involved in a minor collision with the destroyer USS *Winston S. Churchill* off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. Both ships suffered minor damage, and no injuries were reported. Both ships returned to their homeport at Naval Station Norfolk under their own power.

On 16 February 2007, *McFaul* was awarded the 2006 Battle "E" award.

On 24 August 2008, *McFaul* arrived in Batumi, Georgia, as part of Operation Assured Delivery to "deliver humanitarian relief supplies ... as part of the larger United States response to the government of Georgia request for humanitarian assistance" in the wake of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. *McFaul* offloaded nearly 155,000 pounds (70,000 kg) of supplies—including hygiene items, baby food and care supplies, bottled water, and milk—donated by the United States Agency for International Development.

On 5 April 2010, *McFaul* responded to a distress call from the merchant vessel MV *Rising Sun* after she was attacked by pirates. *McFaul* was able to neutralize the threat, and captured ten suspected pirates and successfully rescued eight crewmembers from on board a dhow near Salalah, Oman. The pirates were then transferred to the destroyer USS *Carney* for a week before they were transferred back to *McFaul* where 30 days later they were turned over to the Somali Transitional Federal Government for subsequent prosecution.

On 12 September 2012, *McFaul* was ordered to the coast of Libya in what the Pentagon called a "contingency" in case a strike was ordered. This was in response to the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks.

On 5 July 2023, *McFaul* interrupted and prevented the attempted seizure of two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman. In two incidents, three hours apart, Iranian naval vessels closed on the tankers — and, according to the U.S. Navy, in the second incident, fired upon the tanker. In both cases, the Iranian vessels departed the scene upon the arrival of *McFaul*. The Navy released aerial video of the incidents. Iran's government claimed that one of the targeted ships had been involved in a collision and that there was an Iranian court order to seize the ship. Chervon, the company managing the vessel, stated that the ship was not involved in a collision and that they had received no notice regarding any legal proceedings.

### Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation – (Sep – Nov 2001, Mar – Aug 2004, Feb – Sep 2012)
* Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation – (Jan 1999 – Sep 2001, Jul – Sep 2001, May – Nov 2006)
* Battle "E" – (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
* Humanitarian Service Medal – (Sep – Oct 1998)
* Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award Small-Medium Afloat Category - (2021, 2022)