DDG 140 Thomas G. Kelley
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced 12 January 2023 during the Surface Navy Association Symposium that future Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer DDG-140 will be named USS Thomas G. Kelley (DDG 140).
The U.S. Navy celebrated the keel plate signing for one of the Navy’s future Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers at an event hosted at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) on 30 August 2024. The ceremony was held in honor of Capt. Thomas G. Kelley, a Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism during the Vietnam War and the namesake of the future USS Thomas G. Kelley (DDG 140). During the ceremony, Marc Cote, a senior welder from General Dynamics BIW, welded Capt. Kelley’s signature onto the keel plate which will be used in the future during the keel laying ceremony. “What an honor! I am truly grateful and humbled that Secretary Del Toro chose me to be the namesake of DDG 140. To have the ship built in my backyard makes it more special and is a testament to the work skills of New England men and women. I am so proud of the capability this destroyer will eventually bring to the fleet”.
President Richard Nixon presented Kelley the Medal of Honor for his actions as commander of River Assault Division 152 in June 1969. Kelley directed his boats to form a protective area around one of his disabled boats. He maneuvered a boat, in which he was embarked on, to the protective side of the cordon, exposing him and his boat directly to enemy fire and began to fire on Viet Cong forces. During the battle, an enemy rocket hit the boat, penetrating the thick armored plate, spraying shrapnel in all direction. Kelley suffered severe head wounds and was knocked to the deck as a result of the blast. With disregard for his own injuries, he relayed his commands through another member on the boat, which resulted in successfully moving his boats to a safe area and silencing the enemy’s attack.
Kelley, a Boston native, retired from the Navy in 1990. Upon retirement from 30 years of active service, he worked as a Department of Defense civilian employee and was then appointed as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services. He was selected by the governor to serve as the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and retired from public service in January 2011.
In 2003, he returned to his hometown where he worked in the Massachusetts Department of Veteran’s Services and retired as secretary of the same department in 2010. Medal of Honor Recipients commemorated National Medal of Honor Day. "This is a big day for Medal of Honor recipients," said Thomas G. Kelley, president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, March 30, 2017. "It's a great day where we can recognize the achievements of ordinary Americans who faced extraordinary circumstances with unwavering courage, service and in some cases, risked their own lives to save others."
Flight III destroyers feature the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and incorporate upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity plus additional associated changes to provide greatly enhanced warfighting capability to the fleet. PEO Ships, one of the Department of Defense’s largest acquisition organizations, is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships and craft, auxiliary ships, special mission ships, sealift ships and support ships.
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers conduct a variety of operations from peacetime presence and crisis response to sea control and power projection. DDG 140 will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously, and will contain a combination of offensive and defensive weapon systems designed to support maritime warfare including integrated air and missile defense and vertical launch capabilities.
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