USS Hewitt

{{short description|Spruance-class destroyer}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image = File:USS Hewitt (DD-966) fires Sea Sparrow.jpg |image_caption = USS ''Hewitt'' fires a Sea Sparrow on 23 March 2000 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header = |country = United States |flag = {{USN flag|2001}} |name = ''Hewitt'' |namesake = H. Kent Hewitt |ordered = 1 January 1971<ref name=":0">[https://archive.today/20161016092645/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_DD_966.HTML U.S. Navy Face File] - ''Naval Vessel Register''</ref> |builder = Ingalls Shipbuilding |laid_down = 23 July 1973<ref name=":0"/> |launched = 24 August 1974<ref name=":0"/> |acquired = 1 September 1976<ref name=":0"/> |commissioned = 25 September 1976<ref name=":0"/> |decommissioned = 19 July 2001<ref name=":0"/> |in_service = |out_of_service = |struck = 5 June 2002<ref name=":0"/> |reinstated = |identification = *Callsign: NDDW *{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Whiskey}} *Hull number: DDG-966 |fate = *Scrapped, 9 August 2001 |notes = |badge = 150px|Ship's crest |motto = ''Be Just and Fear Not'' }}

|section3={{Spruance-class destroyer infobox ship characteristics}} }}

'''USS ''Hewitt'' (DD-966)''', named for Admiral H. Kent Hewitt USN (1887–1972), was a {{sclass|Spruance|destroyer}} built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi and launched on 14 September 1974 by Mrs. Leroy Hewitt Taylor and Mrs. Gerald Hewitt Norton, daughters of Admiral Hewitt.

==History== ''Hewitt'' was the fourth of the ''Spruance''-class destroyers. Known as the "Greyhounds of the fleet" for their speed, versatility and reliability, they were the largest general purpose destroyers ever to fly the flag of the United States.

thumb|left|''Hewitt'', 1986. ''Hewitt'' was commissioned on 25 September 1976. After an intensive period of initial training, ''Hewitt'' deployed to the Western Pacific in September 1978 and was assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet. In addition to serving as a front line unit, ''Hewitt'' also acted as a good will ambassador with port visits to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Hong Kong. ''Hewitt'' returned to San Diego in April 1979. In preparation for her next deployment, ''Hewitt'' participated in a multinational Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) battle group exercise in February and March 1980.

She departed on her second overseas deployment on 15 May 1980. During that deployment, ''Hewitt'' and other members of Battle Group Charlie operated in the Indian Ocean to show U.S. resolve to protect free world access to Middle East petroleum resources, and to help obtain the release of 52 Americans held hostage in Iran. ''Hewitt'' earned the Navy Expeditionary Medal for her contributions. During the latter part of the deployment, ''Hewitt'' also earned the Humanitarian Service Medal for rescuing a group of Vietnamese boat refugees adrift in the South China Sea. For her superior performance, ''Hewitt'' was awarded the Battle "E" as the most outstanding ship in Destroyer Squadron 21 (DesRon 21) from 1979 to 1980.

''Hewitt'' entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 19 May 1981 for its first regular overhaul. Extensive modifications were performed to improve survivability, and new combat systems capabilities were added to improve quick reaction to missile attacks. After a rigorous re-qualification and retraining period, ''Hewitt'' departed on 21 March 1983 for its third deployment. Highlights included a three aircraft carrier fleet exercise with {{USS|Midway|CV-41|2}}, {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|2}} and {{USS|Carl Vinson|CVN-70|2}}, and independent operations in the South China Sea. {{stack|thumb|upright|''Hewitt'' c.1986.}} ''Hewitt'' departed on her fourth deployment on 18 October 1984. Once again a member of Battle Group Charlie, she spent seven highly successful months in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. In January 1985, ''Hewitt'' set a record at the Tabones Firing Range in the Philippines by earning the highest score ever recorded at the range for Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) exercise. From February to April 1985, ''Hewitt'' operated in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. For its achievements during the deployment, ''Hewitt'' received the Meritorious Unit Commendation. ''Hewitt'' returned home to San Diego on 24 May 1985.

On 1 September 1985, ''Hewitt'' and other members of Destroyer Squadron 31 became the first Pacific Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron. The squadron's basic mission was to locate and track submarines in the Eastern Pacific, to develop USW tactics and training, and to serve as a ready response force under Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet. From September 1985 to April 1987, ''Hewitt'' and the other ships in DesRon 31 set new standards of excellence{{clarify|date=September 2023}} in USW.

During ''Hewitt''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s second overhaul (May 1987 to November 1988) at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company Shipyard in San Diego, California, she underwent a modernization which included installation of the Vertical Launch System, the Tomahawk Missile System, the Close-In Weapons System (CIWS), LAMPS MK III, and the SQQ-89 Sonar System. After a brief but extensive training and inspection cycle, ''Hewitt'' joined DesRon 21 and once again deployed to the Persian Gulf on 18 September 1989. ''Hewitt'''s fifth Western Pacific deployment ended on 16 March 1990. Five months later, ''Hewitt'' was underway to her new homeport at Yokosuka, Japan. thumb|left|''Hewitt'' during FLEETEX '89. ''Hewitt'' joined Destroyer Squadron 15 on 25 August 1990. In Yokosuka, she operated with numerous multi-national forces, including the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the South Korean, Bruneian, Greek, French, Spanish, Australian, Saudi Arabian, Russian, British, and Singaporean navies. ''Hewitt'' participated as flagship for Maritime Interception Force (MIF) Commander Red Sea for Boarding Operations in support of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 as part of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. ''Hewitt'' concluded an intensive six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in April 1993. Her seventh deployment was highlighted by a Tomahawk strike against Iraq and combined operations with numerous navies, the Russian destroyer {{Ship|Russian destroyer|Admiral Tributs||2}}. ''Hewitt'' also served as Maritime Action Group (MAG) Commander in October 1993, helping to develop the new MAG warfare concept. ''Hewitt'' was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the 1992–1993 Persian Gulf deployment and the U.S. 7th Fleet's USW Excellence Award for 1993.

Following a brief maintenance availability in early 1994. ''Hewitt'' participated in RIMPAC '94. Directly following the exercise, ''Hewitt'' conducted live missile firings near Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii which included a successful NATO Sea Sparrow engagement and the first fleet firing of the Penguin anti-ship missile with HSL 51 Detachment 6 on 25 June 1994. ''Hewitt'' again deployed to the Persian Gulf on 5 September 1994 as a primary component of the multinational Middle East peacekeeping unit, enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq. ''Hewitt'' returned to Yokosuka, Japan 10 January 1995 and received U.S. 7th Fleet's Surface Warfare Award for 1994. {{stack|thumb|''Hewitt'' waits in the background while a boarding team member stands on the bridge of the merchant ship ''Ibn Abdoon''.}}

On 17 March 1995, ''Hewitt'' entered the yards for an extended availability period which ended 5 September 1995. Afterwards, ''Hewitt'' participated in several multinational USW exercises and was awarded the Battle "E" for her performance in 1995. On 3 June 1996, ''Hewitt'' deployed to the Persian Gulf for Middle East Force deployment (MEF) 96–2. While supporting U.S. 5th Fleet operations, ''Hewitt'' participated in Operation Desert Strike and launched two Tomahawk missiles on 4 September 1996 against Iraq. ''Hewitt'' received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her actions during the deployment and returned home to Yokosuka, Japan on 30 October 1996.

In March 1997, ''Hewitt'' conducted battle group exercises with {{USS|Independence|CV-62|2}} and in April Destroyer Squadron 15 for the Sharem 120B exercise in the Yellow Sea conducted with the Republic of Korea Navy. In May ''Hewitt'' entered an availability and received the women at-sea modification to berth the first females permanently assigned to the ship. The first female Sailors reported on board in July. On 24 August 1997, ''Hewitt'' departed Yokosuka, Japan for a homeport change to NS San Diego, California. ''Hewitt'' joined Destroyer Squadron 23 on 29 August 1997 during her transit to San Diego.

On 27 January 1999, ''Hewitt'' deployed to the Persian Gulf for Middle East Force Deployment (MEF) 99–1. In support of U.N. Sanctions against Iraq. ''Hewitt'' conducted visit, board, search and seizure of merchants in the area. ''Hewitt'' returned to San Diego on 26 July 1999 followed by a two-month Selected Restricted Availability which ended 7 November 1999.

''Hewitt'' was decommissioned 19 July 2001; she was sold for scrap to International Shipbreaking, Incorporated, of Brownsville, Texas on 9 August 2001. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 5 June 2002.

==Awards== * Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation – (Nov 1984-May 1985, Sep 1985-Dec 1986, Aug-Dec 1994, Dec 2000-Mar 2001) * Battle "E" – (1979, 1987, 1995) * Navy Expeditionary Medal – (Jun-Aug 1980) * National Defense Service Medal (1990) * Southwest Asia Service Medal – (In support of Desert Storm and MIF Red Sea Ops Jun-Sep 1991 with bronze star; and Persian Gulf Sep -Dec 1994) * Humanitarian Service Medal – (3 September 1980) * Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (multiple) * Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) (1991) * Communications Green C/E Command and Control Excellence Award [Signalman and Communications Departments] (Consecutive: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995).

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:USS Hewitt (DD-966) at Ingalls Shipbuilding in September 1974.jpg|USS ''Hewitt'' under construction in September 1974 File:USS Hewitt (DD-966) underway at sea in 1980.jpg|USS ''Hewitt'' in 1980 File:USS Hewitt (DD-966) underway off San Diego 1981.jpg|USS ''Hewitt'' off San Diego 1981 File:USS Hewitt (DD-966) and USS Sides (FFG-14) underway, circa in 1984.jpg|USS ''Hewitt'' alongside USS Sides in 1984 </gallery>

==Citations== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|editor1-last=Chumbley|editor1-first=Stephen |title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland | isbn=1-55750-132-7|chapter=United Kingdom |pages=544–634|author-link=Norman Friedman}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=DD966|title=nvr.navy.mil: USS ''Hewitt''}} * {{navsource|05/966}} * [https://www.navysite.de/dd/dd966.htm navysite.de: USS ''Hewitt'']

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt (DD-966)}} Category:Spruance-class destroyers Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States Category:1974 ships Category:Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi