2000 documentary short film showing daily life as a sailor aboard USS Higgins.
Higgins was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The ship was christened on 1 October 1997 by the wife of Colonel Higgins, Lieutenant Colonel Robin L. Higgins, USMC (retired), who is also the ship's sponsor. "In the name of all that is good and right in the world - Semper Fi - Always Faithful - I christen thee HIGGINS".
On 16 August 1999, Higgins conducted Spotter Services off San Clemente Island. The following day, Higgins shot her first FIREX and earned an amazing 105.92, the highest score on the range that year and the highest in DDG history. Higgins score later proved enough to win the Chezek Award for Excellence in Naval Gunnery (the "Top Gun" award), which Vice Admiral Edward Moore Jr. presented to the crew in October. [4]
After a port visit in Hong Kong during her maiden deployment, Higgins was the first ship off the coast for the Hainan Island incident that occurred on 1 April 2001, when a United States Navy EP-3E ARIES IIsignals intelligence aircraft and a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-8II interceptor fighter jet collided in mid-air, resulting in an international dispute between the United States and the People's Republic of China on her maiden deployment.
Upon returning to San Diego in April 2004, Higgins completed a safe and efficient ordnance offload and fuel transfer and headed into a nine week Selected Restricted Availability. This time in the shipyard enhanced Higgins' capabilities including the installation of the Tactical Tomahawk weapons system, the refurbishment of the Mk 45/5-inch Lightweight Gun Mount and Mk 41 Vertical Launch systems, and an enhanced Combat Systems suite.[5] December 2004 marked the beginning of a busy upcoming year for Higgins. She became a member of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, in the company of Nimitz, the cruiser Princeton, the destroyer Chafee, and the submarine Louisville. In the three-week Composite Unit Exercise that followed, Higgins stood out in all mission areas and, along with the other ships in the Nimitz Strike Group, was now certified "surge ready" to deploy.[5]
In February 2005, the ship conducted the Congressionally-mandated inspection by the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). This complete material assessment of the ship was successfully completed and was highlighted by a one-day underway demonstration which showcased Higgins' high levels of combat readiness with near-perfect grades in nearly every category.[5] The next pre-deployment milestone consisted of Higgins' ordnance onload at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Once the ship was outfitted with her deployment load of ammunition, Higgins was once again underway with the Nimitz Strike Group in March for a Joint Task Force Exercise. Coincident with that two-week exercise, Higgins sent three teams to the recently instituted Non-Compliant Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure school and, as a result, became one of the first ships to deploy to the Fifth Fleet AOR with an organic non-compliant boarding capability, greatly enhancing her effectiveness in waging the Global War on Terrorism.[5]
With only thirteen months since the previous deployment, Higgins commenced a second deployment on 6 May 2005 in company with the Nimitz Strike Group. A brief stop at the North Island Naval Weapons Station provided Higgins with several new combat capabilities, particularly the new Tactical Tomahawk Cruise Missiles and the High Explosive Electronically Timed (HE-ET) and Kinetic Energy Electronically Timed (KE-ET) 5-inch projectiles. While the TACTOM missiles significantly enhance Higgins' Strike warfare capabilities, the HE-ET and KE-ET rounds provide the ship more capable defense against an asymmetric surface threat.[5]
In the second half of January 2006, Higgins conducted Mobility-Navigation and Seamanship (MOB-N and MOB-S) training while transiting to Puerto Vallarta for a three-day port visit. February and March saw various phases of the pre-deployment training cycle, including exercises or assessments in Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection, Engineering, Combat Systems Training Team capabilities, Supply and Medical Readiness, Damage Control, and Search and Rescue.[5] In April 2006, Higgins offloaded ammo in Seal Beach and completed a Mobility-Engineering (MOB-E) assessment in preparation for the ensuing Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) period, which brought with it many equipment upgrades that enhanced Higgins' warfare capabilities.[5] In August 2006, Higgins returned to Naval Station San Diego from the shipyard and kicked off the pre-deployment "workups", which included various inport scenarios involving Damage Control, Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS), Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), Undersea Warfare (USW), and Strike Warfare (STW). Later in the month, Higgins returned to Seal Beach to take on weapons required for the following year's deployment.[5]
James F. Chezek Memorial Gunnery Award (1999, 2001)
Coat of arms
Shield
The shield has background of blue with a "V" cutting through the center. The griffin is shown in the "V" wielding an axe and a trident.
The traditional Navy colors were chosen for the shield because dark blue, white and gold respectively represent the sea, integrity and excellence. The griffin, holding an axe and a trident, denotes valor and intelligence. The axe indicates her ability and readiness for engaging land based hostilities, while the trident symbolizes her modern weapon systems, giving her air combat and undersea engagement versatility. The "V" of the shield represents victory and the clover leaf is for good fortune.
Crest
The crest consists of an anchor with swords crossing in the middle, both surrounded by wreaths.
The anchor is representative of the U.S. Navy. Two wreaths, one behind and one surrounding the anchor, symbolize the military and civilian honors awarded to Colonel Higgins for some unusual achievements. Crossed swords, a Naval officer's sword and a Marine Corps Mameluke, represent the long-standing tradition of Navy and Marine Corps cooperation in times of peace and war.
Motto
The motto is written on a scroll of gold that has a blue reverse side.
The ships motto is "First to Fight". The motto is a reference to the honorable feats of Colonel Higgins and is part of The "Marines" Hymn.
Seal
The coat of arms in full color as in the blazon, upon a white background enclosed within a dark blue oval border edged on the outside with a gold rope and bearing the inscription "USS HIGGINS" at the top and "DDG 76" in the base all gold.
^ abcdefgh"USS Higgins". public.navy.mil. US Navy. Retrieved 14 March 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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