SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – USS Stethem (DDG63), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer on Tuesday docks in this Freeport for a brief port call, US Embassy said in a statement.
The visit highlights the strong community and military links between the Philippines and United States of America.
The ship’s crew will take advantage of the port call to initiate minor repairs of the vessel with the assistance of private firms from the Philippines.
“The United States and Philippines continue to build upon their 70-year history of partnership through defense cooperation, port visits, and military training activities,” US Embassy stated further.
The American and Philippine military have worked together on areas of mutual interest including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and maritime security.
USS Stethem is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
The ship was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, starting on 11 May 1993. The ship was commissioned on 21 October 1995 and is based out of Yokosuka, Japan. It was named for Steelworker 2nd Class Robert Stethem, who was a Navy sailor killed by terrorists in Lebanon in the 1980s.
Stethem is operating throughout the Asia-Pacific Region, as well as on deployments to the Persian Gulf. The ship remains on active duty, assigned to the Pacific Fleet, as of 2012.