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USS Higgins to Return from Sea Swap Deployment

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS040401-14

Release Date: 4/1/2004 2:50:00 PM

From Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- USS Higgins (DDG 76) will return to its homeport in San Diego April 4--after more than 16 months at sea--with the last of three rotating crews that served aboard in six-month deployments in the Navy's Sea Swap program.

Sea Swap is an experimental initiative that increases forward naval presence by utilizing both Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and Spruance-class destroyers.

Higgins and USS Fletcher (DD 992) have provided continuous presence in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), while swapping crews at six-month intervals aboard the two ships, involving approximately 2,000 Sailors.

The Sea Swap initiative demonstrated efficiency by deploying a single ship to a theater of operations for 18 months, reducing the transit time and increasing Sailor time on station conducting real-world operations.

As part of the Sea Trial process, the Navy is conducting a detailed analysis of the Sea Swap experiment to determine the viability of the Sea Swap option for potential future forward presence requirements.

Sea Swap for Higgins began in November 2002, when the initial crew departed San Diego. That crew was part of the coalition force that launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles against military targets in Iraq during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The crew of USS Benfold (DDG 65) replaced the original Higgins crew in April 2003, and the Higgins crew flew back to San Diego to become the new Benfold crew.

The third Higgins crew came from USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) in October 2003, and this crew will remain as the crew of Higgins. The three Higgins crews accounted for 116 additional days of presence in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR, which would normally take more than four standard DDG deployments.

"I am very pleased with the results of Sea Swap," said Vice Adm. Tim LaFleur, commander, Naval Surface Forces. "Sea Swap improves our culture of readiness by providing increased operational availability and provides continuous forward presence without extending deployments for our Sailors. The ship is in good shape, and the crews have done a remarkable job. With a fleet of less than 300 ships, we need to look continually at new ways to deliver the Navy's combat capability."

The Spruance-class destroyer (DD) Sea Swap program is continuing, with a fourth crew now aboard Fletcher. She is scheduled to return to San Diego in June. The four DD crews consisted of Sailors from Fletcher, USS Kincaid (DD 965), USS Oldendorf (DD 972) and USS Elliot (DD 967).

Crews aboard both Higgins and Fletcher participated in a wide array of multi-ship operations in the 5th Fleet AOR, including operating with multi-national forces supporting coalition efforts in Iraq, and including escort duties, intelligence gathering and maritime interdiction operations.