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Hull Number: DD-992

Launch Date: 06/16/1979

Commissioned Date: 07/12/1980

Decommissioned Date: 10/01/2004

Call Sign: NJCN


Class: SPRUANCE

SPRUANCE Class


Length Overall: 563’ 3"

Beam: 55’

Draft: 29'

Full Load Displacement: 8,040 tons

Armament:

Two 5″/54 caliber guns
Two 20mm Close-In Weapons Systems
One ASROC Launcher
Two 12.75″ triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes

Complement:

19 Officers
315 Enlisted

Propulsion:

4 General Electric LM2500 Gas Turbines: 80,000 horsepower

Highest speed on trials: 32.5 knots

Namesake: FRANK JACK FLETCHER

FRANK JACK FLETCHER

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

Frank Jack Fletcher (April 29, 1885 – April 25, 1973) was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher commanded five different task forces through the war; he was the operational task force commander at the pivotal battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, which collectively resulted in the sinking of five Japanese aircraft carriers.

In 1914, then Lieutenant Fletcher was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle at Veracruz. He was the nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, who was also awarded the Medal of Honor for actions at Veracruz.

Fletcher was born in MarshalltownIowa, on April 29, 1885.

Appointed to the US Naval Academy in 1902, he graduated on February 12, 1906, served two years at sea as required by law at the time, and was commissioned as an ensign on February 13, 1908.[1] His classmates included Arthur L. BristolWilliam L. CalhounWilliam A. GlassfordCharles C. HartiganAubrey W. FitchRobert L. GhormleyIsaac C. KiddJohn S. McCain Sr.Leigh NoyesFerdinand L. ReichmuthRaymond A. SpruanceJohn H. TowersRussell Willson, and Thomas Withers.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy, he served on the battleships Rhode Island and Ohio, operating in the Atlantic. After a year in the yacht-turned-gunboat Eagle on special service, he reported to the battleship Maine, of the Atlantic Fleet, in December 1908. In August 1909, he was assigned to the screw frigate Franklin, his duty drafting men for the Pacific Fleet and transporting them on board the armored cruiser Tennessee to Cavite in the Philippines.[1]

In November 1909, he was assigned to the destroyer Chauncey, operating as part of the Asiatic Torpedo Flotilla. Fletcher assumed command of the destroyer Dale in April 1910, and in March 1912, he returned to Chauncey as her commanding officer. In December 1912, he was transferred to the battleship Florida. In April 1914, he was aboard Florida, the flagship of his uncle Frank Friday Fletcher, during the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for the rescue of refugees on the transport Esperanza.[1]

Detached from Florida in July 1914, he served briefly in Tennessee before reporting as aide and flag lieutenant on the staff of the Commander in Chief, US Atlantic Fleet in July 1914. After a year at this post, he returned to the Naval Academy for duty in the Executive Department.[1]

Following the outbreak of World War I, he served as gunnery officer of the battleship Kearsarge until September 1917, after which he assumed command of yacht-turned-patrol vessel Margaret. He was assigned to the destroyer Allen in February 1918. He took command of the destroyer Benham in May 1918, receiving the Navy Cross for leading her through “important, exacting and hazardous duty”.[1]

From October 1918 to February 1919, he assisted in fitting out the destroyer Crane, but was detached before her commissioning. He then had similar duty with the destroyer Gridley, and upon her commissioning on March 8, 1919, assumed command. He was relieved of that command in April 1919.

Returning to Washington, he was head of the Detail Section, Enlisted Personnel Division in the Bureau of Navigation until September 1922.[1]

He returned to the Asiatic Station, having consecutive command of the destroyer Whipple, the gunboat Sacramento, the submarine tender Rainbow, and the submarine base at Cavite. Returning to the United States, he served at the Washington Navy Yards from March 1925 to 1927; became executive officer of the battleship Colorado; and completed the Senior Course at the Naval War CollegeNewport in 1929–30, followed immediately by the Army War College in Washington, D.C., 1930–31, in preparation for strategic leadership responsibilities.[1]

Fletcher became chief of staff to the Commander in Chief, US Asiatic Fleet in August 1931. In the summer of 1933, he was transferred to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Following this assignment, he served from November 1933 to May 1936, as aide to the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Claude A. Swanson.[1]

He assumed command of the battleship USS New Mexicoflagship of Battleship Division Three, in June 1936. In December 1937, he became a member of the Naval Examining Board, and became Assistant Chief of Bureau of Navigation in June 1938. In November 1939, Fletcher was promoted to Flag Rank, Rear Admiral, and Commander Cruiser Division Three (Light Cruisers). In June 1940, Rear Admiral Fletcher was placed in command of Cruiser Division Six (Heavy Cruisers), the position he held on December 7, 1941. Fletcher was scheduled to become Commander, Cruisers, Scouting Force, in administrative charge of all heavy cruisers, but the events of December 7 changed those plans.[2]

RAdm Fletcher was serving as Commander Cruiser Division Six and at sea when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Kimmel, Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CinC PAC), thought enough of Fletcher to put his name third on a short list of potential successors, if necessary. According to Rear Admiral Thomas Kincaid, although Fletcher was scheduled to become Commander, of Cruisers, Scouting Force, Admiral Kimmel postponed this change in order to place Fletcher in command of the Wake Island relief task force.[3]

Prior to December 7, Wake Island had received reinforcements, including aircraft for defense. At the time of Pearl Harbor, it was under the command of Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham and included a Marine Corps Defense Battalion, commanded by Major James Devereux. A day after Pearl Harbor, reports were received from Wake Island of a Japanese bombardment and subsequent invasion attempt. Kimmel expected Wake Island to hold out in the short run and on December 10, drafted an Operations Order for the relief of Wake. On December 15, Kimmel placed Fletcher in command of Task Force (TF) 14 for the relief of Wake, which consisted of the fleet carrier Saratoga, the fleet oiler Neches, the seaplane tender Tangier, three heavy cruisers (AstoriaMinneapolisSan Francisco), and eight destroyers: (SelfridgeMugfordJarvisPattersonRalph TalbotHenleyBlueHelm).[4] Fletcher commanded the task force from the cruiser Astoria, while Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch sailed aboard Saratoga. Events caused a delay in the departure of TF 14, as well as a delay in D-Day, the date of the actual relief effort. TF 14 sailed west towards Wake Island at less than 13 knots, as fast as the slowest ship could travel, with plans to arrive at Wake Island on December 24 (D-Day). Fletcher had been instructed to fuel prior to arriving at Wake Island. Underway refueling was still a work in progress which took time and required calm sea conditions.

However, certain events took place that had a drastic impact on the relief effort. The primary event was the relief of Kimmel as CinC PAC by Admiral Chester Nimitz. Since Nimitz was in Washington, D.C., Vice Admiral William Pye assumed the duties of CinC PAC on December 17, until Nimitz’s arrival. Pye brought in personnel from his staff (he commanded the Pacific Fleet battleships), and debates began regarding the intelligence information being provided, primarily whether the Japanese Navy had moved aircraft carriers to Wake in support of their invasion. On December 22, the Japanese began another invasion attempt of Wake. Given the new assault and a lack of understanding regarding the disposition of Japanese naval forces in the area, Pye ordered TF 14 to return to Pearl Harbor on December 22, abandoning the relief effort. On the return trip, the equipment loaded on Tangier was delivered to Midway Island.

On January 1, 1942, Fletcher took command of Task Force 17, built around the carrier Yorktown. Although a surface fleet admiral, he was chosen over more senior officers to lead the carrier task force. He learned air operations on the job while escorting troops to the South Pacific. He was the junior TF commander under the tutelage of the experts: Vice Admiral William Halsey during the Marshalls-Gilberts raids in February; Vice Admiral Wilson Brown attacking the enemy landings on New Guinea in March; and he had aviation expert Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch with him during the first Battle of the Coral Sea.

On April 19, 1942, Fletcher was designated Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet, with additional duty as Commander Cruiser Division Four.[1]

In May 1942, Fletcher commanded the task forces during the Battle of the Coral Sea. This was the first carrier-on-carrier battle fought between fleets that never came within sight of each other. Fletcher with the aircraft carrier Yorktown, Task Force 17, had been patrolling the Coral Sea and rendezvoused with Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch with the aricraft carrier Lexington, Task Force 11, and a tanker group. Fletcher finished refueling first and headed west. On hearing the enemy was occupying Tulagi, Task Force 17 attacked the landing beaches, sinking several small ships before rejoining Lexington and an Australian cruiser force under Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace on May 5.

The next day, intelligence reported a Japanese invasion task force headed for Port Moresby, New Guinea, and a carrier strike force was in the area. The morning of May 7, Fletcher sent the Australian cruisers to stop the transports while he sought the carriers. His combat pilots sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō, escorting the enemy troop ships—”Scratch one flat top.” radioed Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Dixon flying back to Lexington. That same day, Japanese carrier planes of Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara found the American tanker Neosho. Believing they had found a carrier, they severely damaged her after several all-out attacks, and sank her escorting destroyer, Sims; on May 11, the destroyer Henley located her, rescued the surviving crew, and sank her with naval gunfire.

On May 8, at first light, “round three opened.” Fletcher launched 75 aircraft, Hara 69. Fitch had greater experience in handling air operations, and Fletcher delegated him that function, as he was to do again later with Noyes at Guadalcanal. The aircraft carrier Shōkaku was hit, but not damaged below the waterline; it sailed away. Another carrier, Zuikaku, had earlier dodged under a squall. The Japanese attack put two torpedoes into Lexington, which was abandoned that evening. Yorktown was hit near her island, but survived. Hara failed to use Zuikaku to achieve victory and withdrew. Now without air cover, the invasion fleet also withdrew, aborting the Port Moresby invasion.

Fletcher had achieved the objective of the mission at the cost of a carrier, a tanker, and a destroyer. In addition, his Grumman F4F Wildcats had beaten Japanese air groups 52 to 35, and had damaged Shōkaku; neither Japanese carrier would be able to join the fight at Midway the following month. This was the first World War II battle in which the Imperial Japanese Navy had been stopped. In battles at Pearl Harbor, the East Indies, Australia, and Ceylon, they had defeated the British, Dutch, and Asiatic Fleets, and had not lost a fleet ship larger than a minesweeper or submarine.

In June 1942, Fletcher was the officer in tactical command at the Battle of Midway with two task forces, his usual Task Force 17—with a quickly repaired Yorktown—plus Task Force 16, with Enterprise and Hornet. Vice Admiral William Halsey normally commanded this task force, but had become ill and was replaced by Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. When aircraft from four Japanese carriers attacked Midway Island, the three American carriers—warned by cracked Japanese codes and waiting in ambush—attacked and sank three enemy carriers: AkagiKaga, and Sōryū.

Enterprise and Hornet lost 70 aircraft. Japanese attacks on June 4 severely damaged Yorktown; repairs returned her to the battle until she was hopelessly disabled by a new round of attacks two hours later. Fletcher’s scouts found the fourth enemy carrier, Hiryū, and Enterprise, with Yorktown planes, then sank it. At dusk, Fletcher released Spruance to continue fighting with Task Force 16 the next day. During the next two days, Spruance found two damaged cruisers and sank one. The enemy transport and battle fleets retreated.

A Japanese submarine, I-168, found the crippled Yorktown, under tow, on June 5 and sank her along with an escorting destroyer, Hammann. Japan had had seven large carriers—six at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack and one new construction. Four were sunk at Midway. This did not win the war, but evened the odds between Japanese and American fleet carriers. Following the battle, Fletcher was promoted to vice admiral and continued to command a carrier group at sea, after shifting his flag to the carrier Saratoga.

As the United States took the offensive in August 1942, Vice Admiral Fletcher commanded Task Force 61 during the invasion of Tulagi and Guadalcanal by the 1st Marine Division. Carrier close air support was provided at Tulagi. The invasion of Guadalcanal was uncontested on the beach. Fletcher requested permission from Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, the overall commander, to withdraw his carriers from the dangerous waters when they were no longer needed, claiming that his aircraft losses and fuel state due to maneuvering required him to leave.[5] Fletcher thought that the few American carriers should not be risked against multi-engine, land-based, torpedo bombers, when they were needed for combat against enemy carriers.[citation needed] Fletcher chose to withdraw on the evening of August 8, leaving light forces and many transport ships unprotected from the inevitable Japanese counterattack.

The Battle of Savo Island occurred in early morning of August 9, 1942. Allied warships screening the transports were surprised at midnight and defeated in 32 minutes by a Japanese force of seven cruisers and one destroyer, commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa. One Australian and three American heavy cruisers were sunk, and another American cruiser and two destroyers were damaged in this lopsided Japanese victory. As Crutchley notes, the transports were not touched. Fletcher is sometimes criticized[by whom?] because his carriers were at the far end of their nightly withdrawal, steaming back for the morning, yet too far away to seek revenge.

Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner‘s offloading of supplies did not go as well as expected because of Japanese air raids. He had to withdraw the transports on the evening of August 9, after Fletcher left and most of his cruisers were sunk,[6] over the strenuous objections of the ground commander, Marine General Alexander Vandegrift. The Marines refer to this as the “Navy Bugout”, because the reserve Marine regiment and the division’s 155 mm (6.1 in) heavy artillery, much of its ammunition and also most of its medical supplies and rations had yet to be unloaded. The Navy’s withdrawal left the Marines ashore initially completely unprotected against Japanese land-based air raids from Rabaul and from nightly shelling by Imperial Japanese Navy cruisers and battleships that came down the “Slot” from their large naval and air base at Rabaul.

Fletcher fought a superior Japanese fleet intent on counter-invasion in the aircraft carrier Battle of the Eastern Solomons. He initiated the engagement, and the force under his command sank the carrier Ryūjō. The ensuing battle was essentially a giant aerial dogfight interspersed with shipborne anti-aircraft fire. The United States lost 20 aircraft; the Japanese lost 70. Enterprise was hit by three bombs; the Japanese seaplane tender Chitose was nearly sunk, but survived. The enemy withdrew without landing troops on Guadalcanal and had to resort to the Tokyo Express: the overnight delivery of a few hundred troops and supplies by destroyers.

Fletcher was criticized by the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest King, for not pursuing the Combined Fleet as it withdrew.[citation needed] This criticism may have affected the decision to not return Fletcher to his command after his flagship carrier, Saratoga, was torpedoed and damaged by a Japanese submarine on August 31, 1942. Fletcher himself suffered a gash to his head in the attack, for which he received the Purple Heart. He was relieved of command, sent on leave (his first leave after eight months of continuous combat), and subsequently sent to Alaska.

From November 1942 – 1945, Fletcher commanded naval forces in the North Pacific from the Alaskan island of Adak.[7] In November 1942, he became commandant of Thirteenth Naval District and commander of Northwestern Sea Frontier. He was relieved as commandant in October 1943, but continued to serve as commander Northwestern Sea Frontier until April 15, 1944, when the Northwestern Sea Frontier was abolished and the Alaskan Sea Frontier established. He then became Commander of the latter, with additional duty as Commander North Pacific Force and North Pacific Ocean Area. It was revealed in July 1945 that Task Force 90, under his overall command, had made the first penetration through the Kurile Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk on March 3 and 4, 1945, and the same task force on February 4, 1945, bombarded Paramushir in the first sea bombardment of the Kurile.[1]

In September 1945, following the cessation of hostilities in the Far East, he proceeded to Ōminato, Japan, with the North Pacific Force (consisting of about sixty vessels) for the emergency naval occupation of Northern Japan. He remained there until ordered to return to the United States, and on December 17, 1945, was appointed to the Navy’s General Board. On May 1, 1946, as Senior Member of that Board he became Chairman, and continued to serve in that capacity until relieved of all active duty for his retirement on May 1, 1947,[1] with the rank of full admiral. He retired to his country estate, Araby, in Maryland. Many of Fletcher’s papers were lost in combat. He declined to reconstruct them from Pentagon archives or to be interviewed by Samuel Eliot Morison, who was writing the History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. In return, he received no consideration by Morison, an attitude picked up by later authors. At least one author felt Fletcher did not get enough credit for forces under his command sinking six Japanese carriers.[8]

Fletcher died on April 25, 1973, four days before his 88th birthday, at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[9] His widow, Martha Richards Fletcher (born 29 March 1895, at Kansas City, Missouri), whom Fletcher married in February, 1917, died seventeen months later, on 14 September 1974. She was buried next to her husband.

Medal of Honor Citation

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Under fire, Lt. Fletcher was eminent and conspicuous in performance of his duties. He was in charge of the Esperanze and succeeded in getting on board over 350 refugees, many of them after the conflict had commenced. Although the ship was under fire, being struck more than 30 times, he succeeded in getting all the refugees placed in safety. Lt. Fletcher was later placed in charge of the train conveying refugees under a flag of truce. This was hazardous duty, as it was believed that the track was mined, and a small error in dealing with the Mexican guard of soldiers might readily have caused a conflict, such a conflict at one time being narrowly averted. It was greatly due to his efforts in establishing friendly relations with the Mexican soldiers that so many refugees succeeded in reaching Vera Cruz from the interior.

Navy Cross Citation

For distinguished service [in WWI] as Commanding Officer of the USS Benham engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity.[1]


Disposition:

Not yet available


USS FLETCHER DD-992 Ship History

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

USS Fletcher (DD-992), the thirtieth Spruance-class destroyer, was part of the first major class of United States Navy surface ships to be powered by gas turbines. She was commissioned in July 1980 and was deployed mainly in the western and southern Pacific, but also voyaged to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. She was the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear this name but the first to be named after Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. After her decommissioning in 2004, she was sunk in a torpedo test exercise in 2008.

Designed and built by Ingalls Shipyards of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, MississippiFletcher was a member of the first major class of surface ships in the United States Navy to be powered by gas turbine engines. Four General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines, marine versions of those used in DC-10 aircraft, drove the ship at speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h). Twin controllable reversible pitch propellers provided Fletcher with a degree of maneuverability unique among warships of her size.

Commissioned in July 1980, Fletcher was immediately sent to join the Pacific Fleet. Starting in 1982, Fletcher made regular deployments to the western and southern Pacific, with some of those extending into the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf areas. During 1994 and 1995, she was modernized with the vertical launch system, giving her a much broader range of capabilities.

A highly versatile multi-mission destroyerFletcher was capable of operating independently or in company with Amphibious or Carrier Task Forces. Her main mission was to operate offensively in a Strike Warfare or Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. The Tomahawk Weapons Systems provided Fletcher with long range cruise missile capability for use in tactical strike operations. The ship’s primary passive ASW sensor was the AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar (TACTAS). Its active sonar together with the Mk 116 Underwater Fire Control System combined as one of the most advanced underwater detection and fire control systems ever developed. The Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) provided the ship with faster and more accurate processing of target information. Integration of the ship’s digital gun fire control system in the NTDS provided quick reaction in the mission areas of shore bombardment, Anti-Surface, and Anti-Aircraft Warfare.

Fletcher was originally armed with an 8-tube ASROC launcher, but was later upgraded with a sixty-one cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System for firing Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) and Anti-Submarine Rockets (ASROCs). Other weapons included two Mk 45 light weight 5 inch guns, two triple Mk 32 torpedo tubes, and facilities for operating LAMPS helicopters. The ship was also armed with the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System, a short range, surface-to-air defensive weapon; and the Harpoon Weapon System, a medium range, surface-to-surface, anti-ship cruise missile. For defense against anti-ship missile, Fletcher employed two Mk 15 (PHALANX) 20 mm Close-In Weapons System, SRBOC chaff, and topside armor in addition to the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System. The AN/SLQ-32 countermeasures set provided Fletcher with additional defense against anti-ship missiles through the use of active electronic countermeasures.

Crew comfort and habitability were an integral part of the design. Berthing compartments were spacious and the ship was equipped with amenities not usually found aboard other destroyers, including a crew’s gymnasium and an improvised library of sorts with several hundred fiction novels. Although Fletcher was as large as a World War II cruiser, a high degree of automation permitted a crew of 24 officers and 296 enlisted to operate the ship.

On 20 July 1983 the New York Times reported that the Fletcher, along with seven other vessels in the Carrier Ranger Battle Group, left San Diego on Friday 15 July 1983 and were headed for the western Pacific when they were rerouted and ordered to steam for Central America to conduct training and flight operations in areas off the coasts of NicaraguaEl Salvador and Honduras as part of major military exercises planned for that summer. The other ships in the battle group were the cruiser Horne, the guided missile destroyer Lynde McCormick, the destroyer Fife, the frigate Marvin Shields, the oiler Wichita, and the support ship Camden.

Following the diversion to Central America, Fletcher, along with Battle Group Echo, resumed the planned deployment to the Indian Ocean. Following the regular stops at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay, Philippines, Fletcher was tasked with steaming down the coast of Vietnam, just outside territorial waters, to affirm the right-of-way of maritime traffic in international waters. Following the transit of the Straits of Malacca, Fletcher spent virtually the entire period in the Indian Ocean on station in the North Arabian Sea, as previously planned port calls were cancelled due to the changing nature of political and operational matters in the Mid-East. The one exception was an unplanned port call in Port Victoria, Seychelles. Fletcher returned to San Diego on 29 February 1984.

On 2 August 2002 USS Fletcher departed Pearl Harbor to begin Sea Swap, an experimental program that calls for a Spruance-class destroyer to deploy and remain on station for more than 400 days. The original Sea Swap Fletcher crew, under the command of Cmdr. Thomas Neal, stopped in Yokosuka, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. While in port Singapore, numerous repairs were accomplished as part of an availability period. Fletcher then headed to the Persian Gulf. The original Fletcher team sailed the ship to the Persian Gulf and spent the next four months conducting Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of United Nations sanctions on Iraq. The Sea Swap initiative became a reality in January 2003, when the Fletcher crew pulled the ship into Fremantle, Australia, and made preparations to turn it over to the former crew of the USS Kinkaid (DD-965), under the command of CDR Mike Slotsky. After decommissioning Kinkaid, they had embarked a flight to Australia ready to turn over and assume command of Fletcher. Team Kinkaid then made preparations to take Fletcher back to the Persian Gulf for their six-month deployment. The original Fletcher crew then flew back to Pearl Harbor and disassembled to their new duty stations. Team Kinkaid completed a 4-month deployment in the Persian Gulf and participated in Escort Operations and Tomahawk Missile Strikes at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); at same time the USS Oldendorf (DD-972) was decommissioning in San Diego. Team Oldendorf, under the command of CDR Charles Gaouette, received the Fletcher in Singapore from team Kinkaid. Team Oldendorf then proceeded to the Persian Gulf and completed their deployment. They then proceeded to Fremantle, Australia for their relief from the crew of USS Elliot (DD-967). It was being prepared for decommissioning. The crew of the Elliot, under the command of CDR John Nolan, then embarked on a flight to Fremantle to receive the Fletcher from Team Oldendorf. Team Elliot was the last crew to embark onboard Fletcher. Team Elliot then completed a final 4-month deployment in the Persian Gulf in 2004, continuing Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Fletcher was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list 1 October 2004. In 2004 the President requested authority to sell Fletcher to Chile; in 2005 her transfer to Pakistan was authorized by the Senate.[1] On 16 July 2008, the U.S. Navy, working with the Royal Australian Navy, sank Fletcher as part of a new torpedo test exercise. The Australian submarine HMAS Waller test fired a modified live Mk48 Mod7 ADCAP torpedo specifically designed for shallow water operations.[2] The Fletcher suffered a direct hit, breaking in half and sinking within minutes. The Fletcher’s final resting place is located at 23°01′02″N 159°59′09″W.[citation needed]

Awards