USS ''Paul Ignatius'' (DDG-117) is an of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She is named for

Paul Ignatius Paul Robert Ignatius (born November 11, 1920) is an American government official who served as Secretary of the Navy between 1967 and 1969 and was the Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon Johnson Administration. Life and career Ignat ...

who served as United States

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

under President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

from 1967 to 1969. Ignatius had previously served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Navy during World War II. ''Paul Ignatius'' is the second of eight planned Flight IIA "technology insertion" ships, which contains elements of the Flight III ships. ''Paul Ignatius'' was launched on 12 November 2016, and was christened on 8 April 2017. She was commissioned on 27 July 2019

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. The ship was sponsored by Ignatius' wife Nancy before her passing and that role has since been taken over by their grand-daughter, Dr. Elisa Ignatuis. ''Paul Ignatius'' is homeported in Rota, Spain.

Operational history

On 28 April 2022, ''Paul Ignatius'' departed Mayport, Florida, for a patrol in the US Sixth Fleet area of operations and a homeport shift to Naval Station Rota. On 17 June 2022, ''Paul Ignatius'' arrived at her new homeport of in Rota, Spain. Her

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...

was moved to the forward mount and she received the

SeaRAM The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and U.S. Navies. It was originally ...

close-in weapon system on her aft mount. In the autumn of 2022, ''Paul Ignatius'' conducted a routine patrol in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, where she was accompanied by the support ship . The ship also passed the area in the Baltic Sea where

Nord Stream Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a network of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe which run under the Baltic Sea f ...

gas pipelines have been sabotaged. According to Danish media, the destroyer assisted in "guarding the crime scene of the gas leaks".

External links

USS ''Paul Ignatius'' official website

References

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 2016 ships {{US-mil-stub