New Guided-Missile Destroyer at Pearl Harbor-Hickam

USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108). PC: Wikipedia

The guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) arrived in its new homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in a homeport shift with USS O’Kane (DDG 77).

O’Kane departed for San Diego this week after nearly 19 years of service in the middle Pacific.

O’Kane was commissioned in Pearl Harbor Oct. 23, 1999.

O’Kane’s namesake is World War II Prisoner of War and Medal of Honor Recipient Rear Adm. Richard O’Kane. During WWII, O’Kane, aboard submarines USS Wahoo (SS 238) and USS Tang (SS 306), earned an unprecedented and unrivaled record of victories against the enemy, destroying warships and supply lines.

The guided-missile destroyer Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) arrived Sept. 13, just after Tropical Storm Olivia passed through the O‘ahu.

The ship’s namesake, Rear Adm. Wayne E. Meyer, is considered the father of Aegis, the Navy’s computerized weapons system able to detect and counter threats from nearly 300 miles away. Aegis aboard ships and Aegis ashore help the Navy execute multi-mission tasking.

Both USS O’Kane and USS Wayne E. Meyer, along with other DDGs, support forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence. DDGs coordinate with units of a task group to conduct naval operations and execute the Maritime Strategy under a naval component commander.

Maintaining the most technologically advanced ships is vital to support the United States’ commitment to the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.