USS Hayler (DD-997)

Home	Up	Chief Petty Officers	USS Mullinnix (DD-944)
N&MCRC Encino, CA	USS Semmes (DDG-18)	USS Brumby (FF-1044)	USS Duncan (FFG-10)	NRC Lexington, KY

"Courageous in Conflict"

Entering Upper New York Harbor, July 1995

Somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean

I was stationed onboard the USS Hayler (DD-997) from 1 April 1994 until I retired on 31 March 1996. I reported and retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer (Surface Warfare).

The USS Hayler is the last of the Spruance class destroyers. It is also the last ship designated as a "Destroyer (DD)". The Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG's) are the Spruance's modern replacement.

The USS Hayler is also "In A Class by Itself and Second to None". Prior to the Iranian Crisis in 1978, The former Shah of Iran had ordered from us four Guided Missile Destroyers. These ships were of the Spruance design but equipped with surface-to-air (SAM) guided missiles. After the the Shah was over-thrown, the Ayatollah cancelled the order from the United States. We kept them, put them in our fleet in 1981 and sequenced them with our "DD" numbering but classified them as "DDG's" because of their SAM's. These ship's were designated the "Kidd Class" (affectionately know as the "Ayatollah Class") and are the USS Kidd (DDG-993), USS Callaghan (DDG-994), USS Scott (DDG-995) and USS Chandler (DDG-996).

From what I understand (in other words, this may not be fact), Congress wanted one more Spruance can built. The Navy didn't want it. The Navy lost and DD-997 was on it's way. Rumor also has it that it was to be named the USS John Wayne. I've heard this from more than one source but cannot confirm it.

Home	Up	Chief Petty Officers	USS Mullinnix (DD-944)
N&MCRC Encino, CA	USS Semmes (DDG-18)	USS Brumby (FF-1044)	USS Duncan (FFG-10)	NRC Lexington, KY