USS Halsey (DDG-97) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. Halsey is named in honor of Fleet Admiral William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. Halsey was commissioned 30 July 2005 at Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, California, under commanding officer Commander James L. Autrey.
Built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the ship and crew were completely certified and "surge ready" 17 January 2006, nearly a year faster than previous DDGs.
Halsey departed for her maiden deployment 6 August 2006 under her second commanding officer, Commander Pinckney. 2 November 2006 Halsey visited Kagoshima, Japan. That night, after a party for visiting local Japanese dignitaries, during which on-duty crew were drinking, there was a fire which damaged one of the main reduction gears. An incomplete report was filed and months later another fire and explosion brought to light the extent of the first fire. The ship's commander was relieved and the damage to the ship was $8.5 million. Halsey returned 24 December 2006, having worked with the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group and taking part in ANNUALEX.
Commander Paul Schlise took command of Halsey March 2007.
Commander Robert Beauchamp took command of Halsey on 17 August 2008.
Halsey departed Naval Base San Diego for her second deployment on 4 May 2008 for a deployment to the Persian Gulf. After six months and numerous port visits Halsey returned home to San Diego on 3 November 2008.
Halsey, homeported in San Diego, was part of USS Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group assigned to deploy to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to conduct maritime security operations (MSO). MSO help develop security in the maritime environment, which promotes stability and global prosperity. These operations complement the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations and seek to disrupt violent extremists' use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.
"A sailor who died from a gunshot wound aboard the guided-missile destroyer Halsey is thought to have committed suicide, a navy spokesman said. Sonar Technician (Surface) 3rd Class Gregory Egan, 32, of Ridgefield, Conn., was shot on March 22 aboard the ship, which is undergoing maintenance at a San Diego shipyard. “It appears from a preliminary examination that (Egan) was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Lieutenant Commander Bradley Fagan, a Naval Surface Forces spokesman in Coronado, Calif., said Monday. “There is no one else involved.” Fagan said it may take a month for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to finish looking into Egan’s death. Egan’s mother had told the Danbury News-Times that he was shot in the head when another sailor’s weapon misfired. But navy officials sought to correct the impression that the sailor might have been shot by someone else."
On 18 January 2011 crewmember Petty Officer Dominique McNair Cruz was lost overboard from the ship in the Gulf of Oman and died. Her body was recovered the next day.