USS James E. Williams
USS "James E. Williams" (DDG-95) is an in the United States Navy. The ship was named for Boatswain's mate Petty officer first class James Eliott Williams (1930–1999), a River Patrol Boat commander and Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War who is considered to be the most decorated enlisted man in Navy history. As of July 2020 the ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 26 based out of Naval Station Norfolk. Construction. USS "James E. Williams" was laid down on 15 July 2002 by the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula , Mississippi and launched on 25 June 2003, sponsored by Elaine Weaver Williams, Chief Petty Officer Williams' widow. On 11 December 2004, "James E. Williams" was commissioned in Charleston, South Carolina, Commander Philip Warren Vance in command. Service history. On 2 May 2006, "James E. Williams" deployed on its maiden deployment as part of the Global War on Terrorism Surface Strike Group (GWOT SSG) 06-2. "James E. Williams", along with the amphibious transport dock and guided-missile cruiser , joined the Global War on Terrorism Surface Strike Group (GWOT SSG) 06-2 overseas on 18 April. On 17 October 2006, "James  E. Williams" completed its first deployment conducting anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia as part of the maritime security operations. "James E. Williams" deployed again on 9 July 2007 as a part of the Carrier Strike Group. The strike group consisted of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise", the destroyers , and ; the guided-missile cruiser ; and the fast-attack submarine , and also the fast combat support ship . On the morning of 30 October 2007, Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters, in Bahrain, received a call from the International Maritime Bureau, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, providing the status of the North Korean  cargo vessel "Dai Hong Dan", which had been taken over 29 October by Somali pirates. The ship was approximately northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. At that time, "James E. Williams" was about from the vessel and sent a helicopter to investigate the situation. The destroyer arrived in the vicinity of the Korean ship midday local time and contacted the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, ordering them to give up their weapons. At that point, the Korean crew had confronted the Somali pirates, regained control of the ship and began communicating with "James E. Williams", requesting medical assistance. The crew said  the pirates had been in control of the bridge, but the crew had retained control of the steering and engineering spaces. The crew of "James E. Williams" provided care and assistance for approximately 12 hours to crew members and Somali pirates aboard "Dai Hong Dan". Six pirates were captured and one was killed. The pirates remained aboard "Dai Hong Dan". In November 2007, "James E. Williams" aided the crew of the Taiwanese ship, M/V "Ching Fong Hwa" 168. After the Somali pirates returned to shore, the destroyer escorted the Taiwanese ship out of Somali waters and provided needed supplies  and medical assistance. On 19 December 2007, she returned from her second deployment to the Fifth Fleet AOR in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. On 20 April 2009, "James E. Williams" left on her 3rd deployment in 3 years, deploying to the sixth and fifth Fleet areas of operations from Naval Station Norfolk as the lead element of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. "James E. Williams" conducted maritime security operations in the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf regions, including working with other nations' maritime forces. She returned to her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk on 19 October 2009 . On the evening of 8 August 2013, rescued ten mariners from a burning Iranian-flagged dhow ("pictured") while operating in the Gulf of Oman. Of the ten mariners, eight were identified as Iranians and two were Pakistanis. The rescued mariners received medical treatment and transport to the carrier "Enterprise" before being repatriated back to Iran on 10 August. "James E. Williams" reentered the Mediterranean Sea on 25 August. Ports visited. During the 2014-2015 Deployment, "James E. Williams" made port calls to Rota, Spain; Djibouti, Djibouti; Port Victoria, Seychelles; and Port Louis, Mauritius. On 3 August 2017, the boat visited  Trondheim Seilforening in Trondheim, Norway. People lined up to see the great ship. On 29 November 2017 the boat visited Odesa port in Odesa, Ukraine. During the 2017 Deployment, the ship visited Rotterdam, Netherlands; Kiel, Germany (as a part of Kiel Week); Reykjavik, Iceland; Rota, Spain; Trondheim, Norway; Bergen, Norway; Riga, Latvia; Lisbon, Portugal; Souda Bay, Greece; Manama, Bahrain; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Odessa, Ukraine prior to returning to Norfolk, VA on 23 December 2017. The ship's crew also earned their Blue Nose for crossing into the Arctic Circle. USS "James E. Williams" and ARC Antioquia conducted a passing  exercise in the Caribbean Sea on 15 February 2021.