After a successful seven-month deployment, the guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) returned May 21 to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).
With the conclusion of this journey the vessel finished the last leg of its maiden deployment.
While deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), Michael Murphy promoted security and stability throughout the western Pacific region. In total, the ship spent nearly 200 days underway and conducted more than 800 flight hours with the ship’s attached helicopter squadron, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 37, Detachment 4.
Michael Murphy began deployment by patroling the western Pacific Ocean for illegal fishing and other crimes during a joint operation with the U.S. Coast Guard known as the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative (OMSI).
From there, the ship continued operations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, conducting security patrols and normalizing U.S. presence in the region.
Focusing on building relations and strengthening alliances with foreign navies, Michael Murphy conducted several military exchanges with ships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy and the French navy.
While operating in waters near the Korean Peninsula, Michael Murphy participated in Foal Eagle 2015, an annual defense-oriented training exercise with the ROK navy designed to increase readiness and maintain stability in the Korean Peninsula as well as promote ROK-U.S. interoperability.
In addition to underway operations, Michael Murphy made many port calls to foreign countries and cities, including Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Homeported at JBPHH, Hawaii, Michael Murphy is a multi-mission ship with anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare surface combatants capabilities; designed to operate independently or with an associated strike group.
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Image: US Navy