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USS Donald Cook Nets Second Consecutive CIWS Excellence Award

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050523-04
Release Date: 5/23/2005 2:53:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Stephanie Bissell, Naval Surface Force, U. S. Atlantic Fleet

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) received the 2004 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Excellence Award May 12, making this their second successive win.

Donald Cook is the first ship to collect the prestigious award twice, and more notably, the first to earn the honor two years in a row.

Rear Adm. Michael P. Nowakowski, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, presented the award to the Donald Cook crew in a ceremony aboard the guided-missile destroyer.

“I’m proud of this ship,” Nowakowski declared. “This is a real feather in your cap and it’s a remarkable achievement,” he added, before shaking the hands of the honorees and presenting them with an engraved plaque.

The award is given based on operational efficiency of the CIWS. The Phalanx CIWS is a 20mm, rapid-fire, Gatling gun, capable of accurately firing more than 3,000 rounds per minute as the final line of defense against anti-ship missiles or aircraft. The gun is mounted in a self-contained turret along with an automatic fire control system. It routinely searches, detects, tracks and engages targets using its computer-controlled radar system.

Ships were evaluated based on the rounds fired, number of hours the systems were operational, operational hours between failures and number of technical assists from outside sources. Donald Cook fired more than 7,200 rounds of ammunition and required no outside technical assistance last year.

Donald Cook Commanding Officer Cmdr. Dan Ramirez proudly addressed the crew during the ceremony.

“Before this ship was commissioned, Adm. Arleigh Burke said, ‘This ship is built to fight; you better know how.’ Well, we know how,” Ramirez said.

“We have a higher quality staff,” Chief Fire Controlman (SW) Link Hardy said of his CIWS technicians. “I am in awe of them. Their attention to detail, the effort they put into their work - their hearts are in this. They even go so far as to affectionately ‘name’ their mounts,” Hardy explained.

The CIWS technicians attribute their success to a culmination of regular maintenance, constant training and plenty of pride in their work.

“We do a lot of cross-training with the other gun and weapons systems crew members,” said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Micah Martin, a CIWS technician. “Being a tight-knit group also helps us accomplish more,” he added.

In addition to receiving the plaque from Nowakowski, Raytheon Systems Company presented the crew of Donald Cook with a check for $1,000. Raytheon sponsors the excellence award and donates money each year to the winning ship’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund.