USS Mustin (DDG-89)

Last updated

USS Mustin DDG-89 approaches USNS Rappahannock T-AO-204 for replenishment (34168612484).jpg
USS Mustin on 26 May 2017
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameMustin
Namesake Mustin family
Ordered6 March 1998
Builder Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down15 January 2001
Launched12 December 2001
Commissioned26 July 2003
Homeport San Diego
Identification
MottoToujours L'Audace; "Always Be Bold"
Honours and
awards
See Awards
Statusin active service
Badge USS Mustin DDG-89 Crest.png
General characteristics
Class and type Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement9,200 tons
Length509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam66 ft (20 m)
Draft31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speedexceeds 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement380 officers and enlisted
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

USS Mustin (DDG-89) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named in honor of the Mustin family who have devoted over a century to US Naval service. This ship is the 39th destroyer of her class. Mustin was the 18th ship of this class to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and construction began on 15 January 2001. She was launched on 12 December 2001 and was christened on 15 December 2001. On 26 July 2003, a twilight commissioning ceremony was held at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California.

Contents

Namesakes

Often referred to as "The Father of Naval Aviation", Captain Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923), a graduate of the US Naval Academy (class of 1896), was the principal architect for the concept of the catapult launch. He married Corinne DeForest Montague, great-granddaughter of Commodore Arthur Sinclair, and a first cousin and close confidante of Wallis Simpson. Simpson gained notoriety for her controversial relationship with King Edward VIII of Great Britain who abdicated his crown to marry her in 1936. [1] The Mustins had three children: Lloyd M., Henry A. and Gordon S.

As a Lieutenant Commander in January 1914, Mustin established Naval Aeronautic Station Pensacola, the Navy's first permanent air station together with a flight school, and became its first Commanding Officer. The first flight was made from the station on 2 February by Lieutenant J. H. Towers and Ensign G. de Chevalier. On 5 November 1915, while underway, Lieutenant Commander Mustin successfully flew an AB-2 flying boat off the stern of armored cruiser USS North Carolina (ACR-12) in Pensacola Bay, Florida, making the first ever recorded catapult launch from a ship underway. In 1899, he earned a commendation for distinguished service in the capture of Vigan, Philippines. The first operational missions of naval aircraft were flown under his command during the Veracruz operation in 1914 and he was the first to hold the title: Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Pacific Fleet. Designated Naval Aviator Number Eleven, Captain Mustin was instrumental in the design of the Naval Aviator insignia.

His eldest son, Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin (1911–1999), also a Naval Academy graduate (class of 1932), took part in developing the Navy's first lead-computing anti-aircraft gun sight, which proved of major importance in the air-sea actions of World War II, and served on the cruiser USS Atlanta (CL-51) during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. His ship was lost during that action, but he and other survivors landed on shore and he then served with a naval unit attached to the 1st Marine Division. His post-war service included commands at sea and development and evaluation of weapon systems. He later served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Vice Admiral Mustin's two sons, Vice Admiral Henry C. Mustin and Lieutenant Commander Thomas M. Mustin continued their family's tradition of military service. Vice Admiral Henry Mustin, another graduate of the Naval Academy (class of 1955), was a decorated Vietnam veteran who served in the 1980s as the Naval Inspector General, Commander, Second Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans and Policy. Lieutenant Commander Mustin, also a Naval Academy graduate (class of 1962) earned a Bronze Star during the Vietnam War for river patrol combat action.

Vice Admiral Henry Mustin's son John Burton Mustin (born 1967), a Naval Academy graduate (class of 1990), is a United States Navy vice admiral who currently serves as Chief of Navy Reserve since 7 August 2020. He previously served as the Vice Commander of the Fleet Forces Command.

Service history

On 1 February 2005, Mustin began her maiden deployment and returned on 1 August.

In July 2006, Mustin and her crew of 300 were deployed to Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, home of the Navy's Seventh Fleet, for permanent assignment. Though this was during the same month as the North Korea missile tests, the deployment was unrelated.

During the 2008 Cyclone Nargis crisis in Myanmar and the subsequent Joint Task Force Caring Response aid mission, Mustin, then as part of the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which including USS Juneau and USS Harpers Ferry, stood by off Burma from 13 May to 5 June, waiting for the Myanmar junta government to permit US aid to its citizens. [2] However, in early June, with permission still not forthcoming, it was decided to return the ARG to its scheduled operations. [3]

In March 2011, in company with aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, Mustin was deployed off northeastern Honshu, Japan. [4] [5] The mission was to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. [6]

During the 2011 Thailand floods, Mustin was docked at Port Laem Chabang on a routine visit when the Thai government requested the warship to prolong her stay for up to six days to provide aerial surveillance of the flooding. In response, The Pentagon gave permission for the two Seahawk helicopters, from HSL-51 detachment Six, to provide the imaging. [7]

On 28 May 2020, Mustin conducted a freedom of navigation operation past the Paracel Islands, which the Navy said it "upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also by challenging China’s claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands". [8] [9]

On 19 December 2020, Mustin transited the contested Taiwan Strait, which the US Navy said was "in accordance with international law" to "demonstrate the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific." [10]

In Spring 2021, Mustin monitored Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning after the latter sailed through the Miyako Strait, along with alleged Chinese militia boats amassed near Whitsun Reef in the Philippines. Liaoning entered the Philippine Sea immediately after the Whitsun Reef incident. On 4 April, Mustin approached Liaoning, maneuvred between her and her escorts, and photographed the commanding officer relaxing with his feet up, next to the executive officer with his arms crossed. Mustin was accused of "cognitive warfare" and was called "very vile." [11] A quote from one media outlet described the incident as such;

"There are some photos that come to define the beginning of an era, and the Mustin photo has that feel. It perfectly encapsulates this moment in time as the US Navy, and the rest of the western world, looks on as China’s military continues its meteoric rise. Liaoning, China’s first carrier, is an excellent example of that." [12]

U.S. Navy sailors on the USS Mustin (DDG-89) monitor the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning in Apirl 2021.jpg

Later, Vice Admiral Roy Kitchener claimed the photo was evidence that the carrier had "operating restrictions" with her escorts which allowed the US warship to get so close. [13]

After completing a homeport shift from Yokosuka in July 2021, she is now part of Destroyer Squadron 1, based at San Diego, California.

Awards

USS Mustin in 2015 with awards visible on the starboard bridge wing. Bridge of USS Mustin (DDG-89).jpg
USS Mustin in 2015 with awards visible on the starboard bridge wing.

Mustin has been awarded the Navy E Ribbon for 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018. [14] Mustin also received the Humanitarian Service Medal for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as well as Typhoon Haiyan. [14] As part of Task Force 70, Mustin received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for 10 April 2012 to 31 December 2013. [14]

Coat of arms

USS Mustin DDG-89 Crest.png
Shield

The shield has background of blue with four gold stars, an inflamed delta, a triple barreled battleship gun, annulet and polestar.

Crest

The crest consists thirteen stars over a Surface Warfare Officer device bounded by palm fronds and dolphins.

Motto

The motto is written on a scroll of white with blue trim.

The ship's motto is "Toujours L'Audace" or "Always be Bold".

Seal

The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS Mustin" at the top and "DDG 89" in the base all gold.

Notes

  1. Morton 2003
  2. Fletcher, Martin; Sugden, Joanna (9 May 2008). "US threatens military aid drops as Burma leaders stall". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  3. "2008 USPACOM Press Releases". USPACOM. 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011. U.S. Navy Ships to Depart Coast of Burma
  4. Rabiroff, John (17 March 2011). "U.S. military delivers 40 tons of supplies to hardest-hit areas". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. "Warships Supporting Earthquake in Japan". Seawaves. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011.
  6. Stewart, Joshua (14 March 2011). "Navy ships off Japan move to avoid radiation". Military Times . Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  7. "US military helicopters to survey deadly Thai flooding". BBC. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2015. Thai authorities have asked US military helicopters to survey flooding ...
  8. US warship challenges restrictions near disputed islands in South China Sea. 28 May 2020. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. Khu trục hạm Mỹ USS Mustin tiếp tục thách đố Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông. 28 May 2020. Nguoi Viet Daily News (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  10. "USS Mustin conducts Taiwan Strait Transit". c7f.navy.mil. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  11. "US navy warns China 'we're watching you' as destroyer shadows Liaoning carrier group". scmp.com. 11 April 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  12. "U.S. and Chinese Carriers Are Both Sailing in the South China Sea. That's Strange". Popular Mechanics. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  13. "US Navy says its photo of Chinese aircraft carrier showed PLA's 'restrictions'". scmp.com. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Unit Awards Website". US Navy. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Seventh Fleet</span> Numbered fleet of the United States Navy

The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 50 to 70 ships, 150 aircraft and 27,000 Sailors and Marines. Its principal responsibilities are to provide joint command in natural disaster or military operations and operational command of all U.S. naval forces in the region.

USS <i>The Sullivans</i> (DDG-68) Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer. She is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the five Sullivan brothers–George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, aged 20 to 27–who died when their ship, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese submarine in November 1942 in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II.

USS <i>John S. McCain</i> (DDG-56) US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer currently in the service of the United States Navy. She is part of the Destroyer Squadron 23 within the Third Fleet, and has her homeport at Naval Station Everett in Everett, Washington.

USS <i>Curtis Wilbur</i> Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) is the fourth Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Curtis Wilbur was named for Curtis D. Wilbur, forty-third Secretary of the Navy, who served under President Calvin Coolidge. In 2016, she was based at Yokosuka, Japan, as part of Destroyer Squadron 15.

USS <i>Cowpens</i> (CG-63) Ticonderoga-class cruiser

USS Cowpens (CG-63) was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser in service with the United States Navy from 1991 to 2024. The ship is named after the Battle of Cowpens, a major American victory near Cowpens, South Carolina, in the American Revolution. She was built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. Cowpens was last stationed at Naval Base San Diego.

USS <i>Benfold</i> US Navy destroyer

USS Benfold (DDG-65) is a Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is a multi-mission platform capable of anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) with the powerful Aegis Combat System suite and anti-aircraft missiles, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), with towed sonar array, anti-submarine rockets, anti-surface warfare (ASUW) with Harpoon missiles, and strategic land strike using Tomahawk missiles. Benfold was one of the first ships fitted with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and during the 2010 Stellar Daggers exercise was the first ship to simultaneously engage a ballistic missile and a cruise missile.

USS <i>McCampbell</i> Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS McCampbell (DDG-85) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named in honor of Naval Aviator Captain David S. McCampbell, a Medal of Honor and Navy Cross recipient who was the Navy's leading ace in World War II. This ship is the 35th destroyer of her class. USS McCampbell was the 20th ship of this class to be built by Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine, and construction began on 16 July 1999. She was launched and christened on 2 July 2000. On 17 August 2002, the commissioning ceremony was held at Pier 30 in San Francisco, California.

USS <i>Fife</i> Spruance-class destroyer

USS Fife (DD-991), a Spruance-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Admiral James Fife, Jr. (1897–1975), a distinguished Submarine Force commander during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka</span> United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating forces assigned in the Western Pacific. CFAY is the largest strategically important U.S. naval installation in the western Pacific.

INS <i>Rana</i> (D52) Rajput class destroyer

INS Rana is a Rajput-class destroyer in active service with the Indian Navy. She was commissioned on 28 June 1982.

USS <i>Gravely</i> Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

USS Gravely (DDG-107) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named after Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Commissioned in 2010, she has been on several overseas deployments.

United States ship naming conventions for the U.S. Navy were established by congressional action at least as early as 1862. Title 13, section 1531, of the U.S. Code, enacted in that year, reads, in part,

The vessels of the Navy shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy under direction of the President according to the following rule: Sailing-vessels of the first class shall be named after the States of the Union, those of the second class after the rivers, those of the third class after the principal cities and towns and those of the fourth class as the President may direct.

USS <i>William P. Lawrence</i> American guided missile destroyer

USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer built by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. She is the 60th ship in her class. The ship is named for Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence (1930–2005), a naval aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, Mercury astronaut finalist, Vietnam War prisoner of war, a U.S. Third Fleet commander, a Chief of Naval Personnel, and a Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.

USS <i>Fitzgerald</i> Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the US Navy

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), named for United States Navy officer Lieutenant William Charles Fitzgerald, is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the US Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Strike Group 10</span> Military unit

Carrier Strike Group 10, is a U.S. Navy carrier strike group. As of August 2022, CSG-10 consists of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), the strike group's current flagship, with Carrier Air Wing Seven embarked on board, as well as the Ticonderoga-class cruiserLeyte Gulf, and four ships of Destroyer Squadron 26.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923)</span>

Henry Croskey Mustin was a pioneering naval aviator who undertook the task of establishing the first Naval Aeronautic Station on the site of the abandoned Navy Yard at Warrington, Florida in 1914. He was designated Navy Air Pilot No. 3 and later Naval Aviator No. 11. Two U.S. Navy destroyers have borne the name Mustin in honor of Captain Mustin and his descendants, three of whom have served as flag officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrier Strike Group 5</span> Military unit

Carrier Strike Group 5, also known as CSG 5 or CARSTRKGRU 5, is the U.S. Navy carrier strike group assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet and permanently forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet. The Strike Group Flagship is the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) which also embarks Strike Warfare Commander, Carrier Air Wing Five and its nine squadrons. As of June 2015, CSG 5 includes two Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Destroyer Squadron Fifteen, which serves as the Sea Combat Commander and is responsible for nine assigned Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd M. Mustin</span> United States Navy admiral

Lloyd Montague Mustin was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and among the namesakes of USS Mustin (DDG-89). He took part in developing the Navy's first lead-computing anti-aircraft gun sight, which proved of major importance in the air-sea actions of World War II, and he served on the cruiser USS Atlanta during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. His ship was lost during that action, and with other survivors he landed on Guadalcanal and served ashore with a naval unit attached to the First Marine Division. His postwar service included commands at sea and development and evaluation of weapon systems. He later served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustin family</span>

The Mustin family has recorded a tradition of service in the United States Navy extending from 1896 to the present. Their naval roots trace back to the first Arthur Sinclair, of Scalloway, in Shetland, father of Commodore Arthur Sinclair, who as a boy seaman sailed with Commodore George Anson in 1740, on a British mission to capture Spanish possessions in the Pacific, during the War of Jenkin's Ear. He later settled in Colonial Virginia and served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. Probably the most famous member was Henry Croskey Mustin, a pioneering naval aviator who was designated Navy Air Pilot No. 3 and later Naval Aviator No. 11. Two U.S. Navy destroyers have borne the name Mustin in honor of members of the family, U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin (DD-413) and the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG-89).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry C. Mustin (1933–2016)</span> U.S. Navy vice admiral

Henry "Hank" Croskey Mustin was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and among the namesakes of USS Mustin (DDG-89). He distinguished himself during both the Vietnam and Cold Wars. As a flag officer he commanded Cruiser Destroyer Group 2, US Second Fleet, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, and Joint Task Force 120, where he was responsible for 225 ships and 2,100 aircraft spanning over 45 million square miles from the Arctic Circle to the Equator. Vice Admiral Mustin directed US Navy arms control planning, including the START negotiations with the Soviet Union. He led high-level US interagency delegations to Moscow, London, Paris, Lisbon, Oslo and Seoul. As Commander, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, he instituted major strategic changes to the defense of NATO that shaped the nation's maritime strategy. He also served as the senior US military representative to the United Nations. He retired from the navy on January 1, 1989, after nearly 34 years of active duty service.

References

PD-icon.svg This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register , which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.