Military

DDG 56 John S. McCain

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on August 21, 2017. The collision was reported at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time, while the ship was transiting to a routine port visit in Singapore.

Ten sailors were killed and five others injured after the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel in waters east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, with the ship's port side aft sustaining. However, the damaged destroyer sailed to the port under its own power. Search and rescue efforts were underway in coordination with local authorities.

According to Navy officials, the destroyer may have suffered loss of steering control, which sailors are trained to handle. However, it is yet unclear what caused the collision with the merchant vessel. The McCain collision occurred shortly after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine cargo ship off the coast of Japan in June, and prompting Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations, to order a comprehensive review of Navy ship operations.

The USS John S. McCain’s top two officers were relieved by the US Navy after a “loss of confidence” in light of the deadly collision on August 21 in which the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer collided with the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Alnic MC tanker in a busy shipping lane east of Singapore, killing 10 US soldiers and injuring five more.

After to a Navy statement released 10 October 2017, Commander Alfredo J. Sanchez, the ship's captain, and Commander Jessie L. Sanchez, the ship's executive officer, were relieved of their duties by Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer "due to a loss of confidence." according to the statement "While the investigation is ongoing, it is evident the collision was preventable, the commanding officer exercised poor judgement and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship's training program" Alfredo Sanchez was reassigned to Commander, Naval Forces Japan (CNFG), while Jessie Sanchez was reassigned to Ship Repair Facility (SRF) Yokosuka.

USS John S. McCain is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet

USS John S. McCain participated in CSOFEX, in July 2001, with the South Korean military and United States Army and Naval forces. Several members from the Korean Navy and the United States Sixth Cavalry were brought aboard JOHN S. MCCAIN to simultaneously execute a joint exercise while conducting training.

The John S. McCain took part in Excercise Tandem Thrust in May 2001. Tandem Thrust is a combined military training exercise involving more than 18,000 U.S., Australian, and Canadian personnel who are training in crisis action planning and execution of contingency response operations.

USS John S. McCain became the first U.S. Navy ship to do community relations work ashore in war-torn Dili, the capital city of newly independent East Timor. It visited East Timor in 2000.

In September 1999 the John S. McCain took part in a Y2K operational testing excercise along with other vessels.

DDG 56 was in the Persian Gulf in early 1998 in support of Operation Southern Watch, where it took part in maritime inderdiction operations as part of a force augmentation in the region.

DDG 56 was in the Persian Gulf in late 1996 in support of Operation Southern Watch, where it took part in maritime inderdiction operations as part of a force augmentation in the region. Criminal charges were filed 16 January 2018 against the commanding officers of two U.S. Navy warships that collided with commercial vessels in the Pacific last year, killing a total of 17 sailors. Commander Bryce Benson of the USS Fitzgerald and Commander Alfredo Sanchez of the USS John S. McCain will be charged with negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and endangering a ship, according to a statement issued by the Navy.

Seven sailors aboard the USS Fitzgerald were killed when the destroyer slammed into a Philippine container ship off the Japanese coast in June 2017. Two months later, ten sailors were killed when the USS John S. McCain — named after the father and grandfather of U.S. Senator John McCain, both of them prominent admirals — collided with an oil tanker near Singapore. Benson and Sanchez had both been relieved of their duties. Three other officers on the USS Fitzgerald — two lieutenants and a lieutenant junior grade — faced the same charges as Benson. A chief petty officer aboard the USS John S. McCain was charged with dereliction of duty.

Insignia

The shild of the crest is dark blue and gold, the colors traditionally associated with the Navy and represent the sea and excellence; red is emblematic of courage and sacrifice. The three sections of the shield honor the famous navy family, the McCains. The crossed sabers symbolize strength, unity and cooperation, while honoring the naval heritage of the McCain family.

The oriental deagon is symbolic of "good fortune", is known for its bravery, resourcfulness and dedication. It is also dangerously armed and able to strike quickly with deadly accurace, recalling the family's participation in support of the Pacific theater in World War II.

The trident symbolizes sea prowess while alluding to the modern weapons of USS John S. McCain: the Verticle Launch and AEGIS systems; while the three tines represent anti-submarine, -surface, and -air warfare. The eagle denotes strength, vigilance and the principles of freedom. The broken chain highlghts breaking the grip of tyranny in World War II by US forces. The palm, indigenous to the Pacific, is expressive of victory.

John S. McCain, Sr. & Jr.

The namesakes of DDG-56 are two McCains, John Sidney Sr., and John Sydney Jr., both served in World War II and both were Navy Admirals.

John Sidney Sr. graduated from Annapolis in 1906 and was sent to the Asiatic where he served on the battleship Ohio, the cruiser Baltimore, the destroyer Chauncey, and the gunboat Panay. He was on the Connecticut, one of Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. McCain escorted convoys during World War I. In 1936, McCain, as a Captain, became a naval aviator.

John Sidney Sr., went on to command two naval air stations and the carrier USS Ranger, and was promoted to Rear Admiral in Feb. 1941. In May 1942 he became the commander of all land-based naval aircraft in the South Pacific. After a stint in Washington as Chief of Naval Aeronautics, where he was promoted to Vice Admiral, McCain Sr. was sent back to the Pacific in the Summer of 1944, as Commander of the Second Fast Carrier Force in the Pacific and Task Force 38.1. Three months later he took over Task Force 38. He was awarded the Navy Cross for defending the crippled cruisers Houston and Canberra. McCain was present on the USS Missouri as the instruments of surrender were signed in August 1945. At the end of his career he was an Admiral.

John S. Jr., enterred Annapolis at the age of 16, in 1927. He graduated in 1931 and was sent to the battleship Oklahoma. After being turned down for flight school due to a heart murmur, McCain applied to submarine school where he later graduated. McCain went on to teach at Annapolis.

After the start of World War II McCain went on to command three different submarines in the Pacific, where he won the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his achievements. Following the war, McCain went on to command a submarine division and other various duties. He ultimately reached the rank of Admiral, and went on to command Amphibiou Forces Atlantic, was Military Representative to the United Nations, was Commander Naval Forces Europe, and from 1968 to 1972 was CINCPAC.

DDG 36 / ex-DD 928 / ex-DL 3

This John S. McCain was a Forrest Sherman class destroyer commissioned in 1953 and was decommissioned in April 1978. The ship was sold for scrap in 1979.