USS Carney

## USS Carney (DDG-64)

USS Carney, 2005

**USS *Carney* (DDG-64)** is the 14th *Arleigh Burke*-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The ship is the first to be named after Admiral Robert Carney who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower administration.

*Carney* was laid down 3 August 1993 at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. She was launched 23 July 1994 with Betty Taussig, daughter of Admiral Carney, as sponsor. She was placed in commission 13 April 1996 and is homeported in Mayport, Florida.

### 1998-2010

*Carney* was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 14 prior to commissioning. *Carney* transferred to Destroyer Squadron 24 in September 1998. Her first deployment was to the Mediterranean Sea in 1997 and 1998 as part of the USS *George Washington* battle group. In 1999 *Carney* deployed again to the Mediterranean setting a milestone as the first United States Navy ship to operate in a bilateral United States-Japan Naval Exercise to be conducted in the Mediterranean Sea. In May 2001 *Carney* participated in Fleet Week in New York City.

In February 2002, *Carney* operated as part of the USS *John F. Kennedy* battle group while conducting phase one of technical evaluations of Cooperative Engagement Capability systems in the waters of Puerto Rico. Phase two of these evaluations were then conducted in the Virginia Capes operating area. She deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf in 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On 10 June 2002 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited the ship in Manama, Bahrain. In December 2003 *Carney* participated in a Vandel Exercise testing the capability to intercept hostile missiles with the ship's missiles. On 13 August 2004 *Carney* put to sea from Naval Station Mayport in order to avoid the effects of Hurricane Charley.

In March and April 2007, *Carney* visited St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and Barbados to show the US's commitment to stability to its regional partners. During a visit to Barbados, *Carney* hosted a reception. Among the guests were Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur.

In November 2007, *Carney* deployed with Carrier Strike Group Ten, led by the aircraft carrier USS *Harry S. Truman*, to the Middle East, where she carried out Theater Security Operations. She completed a number of multi-national exercises with a number of Middle Eastern countries and returned to Naval Station Mayport on 4 June 2008.

In July 2008, *Carney* was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for Fourth of July Celebrations. On 8 September 2009 *Carney* arrived in New York City to participate in the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival.

On 2 January 2010 *Carney* departed homeport for a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet AoR, as part of the *Dwight D. Eisenhower* carrier strike group. In May, the *Carney* took a month's sabbatical from CTF 150 and CTF 151 security operations, leaving the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) to participate in three separate and back-to-back multinational exercises: Arabian Shark 2010, an anti-submarine warfare exercise with Pakistan; Khunjar Haad 2010, an air defense exercise with Oman; and Eagle Salute 2010, a multi-warfare area exercise hosted by Egypt. Returning to Naval Station Mayport on 31 July 2010.

### 2011-2023

On 1 August 2011, *Carney* departed Naval Station Mayport for a scheduled deployment as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1). During the deployment, she disrupted four piracy attempts, boarded nine vessels, approached 28 suspected pirate vessels, and disarmed and captured 30 suspected pirates in support of Operation Ocean Shield.

On 17 October 2013, *Carney* departed Naval Station Mayport for a scheduled independent deployment. On 25 May 2014, *Carney* returned to Naval Station Mayport after a seven-month Persian Gulf deployment in support of Maritime Interception Operations (MIO).

On 25 September 2015, *Carney* arrived at its new homeport of Naval Station Rota, Spain, after a 19-day transit from Naval Station Mayport.

On 29 July 2016, *Carney* was called on to support the rescue of 97 migrants whose small inflatable watercraft was adrift in the water. The ship arrived where the migrants were adrift in their vessel and provided aid to them until a rescue ship, MS *Aquarius*, arrived.

In August 2016, *Carney* took part in Operation Odyssey Lightning, serving as an escort ship to USS *Wasp* whose aircraft carried out airstrikes on ISIS militants in Libya. *Carney* also fired illumination rounds from its 5-inch gun to help a U.S.-backed Libyan ground forces fighting ISIS in Sirte. Carney also conducted shore bombardments of ISIS targets with its 5-inch gun, firing 285 shells during the course of its deployment.

In November 2016, *Carney* was deployed in Drapetsona port, Greece, to provide air cover for President's Barack Obama visit to Athens.

In late March 2017, "Carney" arrived at HMNB Clyde in Scotland in preparation for NATO Exercise Joint Warrior.

On 17 February 2018, *Carney* joined USS *Ross* (DDG-71) in the Black Sea near Russia for an "unspecified regional proactive presence mission". The move followed increased tensions between Russia and the U.S. after American federal prosecutors announced indictments against 13 Russian citizens for their alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

On 27 June 2020, *Carney* departed Rota, Spain for its homeport shift to Mayport, Florida.

On 8 October 2023, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, directed the *Gerald R. Ford*carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean in response. Along with the carrier, the group includes the cruiser *Normandy*, and the destroyers *Ramage*, *Carney*, *Roosevelt* and *Thomas Hudner*.

On 19 October 2023, it was reported that *Carney* intercepted three missiles and eight drones believed to have been fired by Houthi militants in Yemen. Although the targets were uncertain, the missiles and drones were shot down because they were headed north along the Red Sea in the direction of Israel amid rising tensions in the region during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. It was subsequently reported that *Carney* actually encountered a larger and more sustained barrage than was previously known on that day, shooting down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours.

### Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation - (October 1997 – April 1998, May 2000 – May 2001)
* Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - (January 1999 – September 2001, April–September 2002)
* Navy E Ribbon - (1997, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2020)
* Arizona Memorial Trophy - (2015–2016)
* Battenberg Cup - (2009)

### Upgrade

On 12 November 2009, the Missile Defense Agency announced that *Carney* would be upgraded during fiscal 2012 to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

In 2016, four destroyers patrolling with the U.S. 6th Fleet based in Naval Station Rota, Spain, including *Carney* received self-protection upgrades, replacing the aft Phalanx CIWS 20mm Vulcan cannon with the SeaRAM 11-cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher. The SeaRam uses the same sensor dome as the Phalanx. This was the first time the close-range ship defense system was paired with an Aegis ship. All four ships to receive the upgrade were either Flight I or II, meaning they originally had two Phalanx CIWS systems when launched. SeaRAM was first introduced to the Independence-class littoral combat ship.