Crew members of the guided-missile destroyer USS Shiloh man the rails as the ship departs Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sept. 5, 2023. (Askia Collins/U.S. Navy)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh steamed out of Tokyo Bay on Tuesday bound for Hawaii, concluding a 17-year stint with the U.S. 7th Fleet.
The Shiloh is headed to its new homeport at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to a news release Thursday from 7th Fleet. The ship is relocating to Hawaii as part of a “planned rotation of forces in the Pacific.”
“It’s sad to be leaving this place that means so much to us, but we believe USS Shiloh made a difference during her time forward-deployed to Yokosuka, and we are proud of that,” the ship’s skipper, Capt. Adam Cheatham, said in the release. “On behalf of the crew, I want to offer my deep gratitude to the people of Japan and this community for their friendship over the years. It will never be forgotten.”
The guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn, which left Naval Base San Diego and arrived in Yokosuka on March 4, is the Shiloh’s replacement, Task Force 70 spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Seth Koenig told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. He declined to comment on any additional ship exchanges for the planned rotation.
“As a matter of operational security, it is U.S. Navy policy not to discuss specific dates regarding future ship movements,” he said.
The Shiloh first arrived in Yokosuka in 2006, when it left San Diego and joined the assembly of warships under Task Force 70. The ship arrived to “fulfill the obligations of the U.S.-Japanese ballistic missile defense program” and support the 7th Fleet in the region, according to the news release.
Since then, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser has patrolled the Indo-Pacific independently and as part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. It has also deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet — responsible for the western Indian Ocean and Mediterranean — in support of operations such as Allies Refuge and Freedom Sentinel in 2021, 7th Fleet said.
“For nearly two decades, USS Shiloh provided our Forward-Deployed Naval Forces the agility and firepower to support our carrier operations, protect sea lanes, deter aggression and reassure allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific,” Cheatham said in the release.
In June 2018, a sailor assigned to the Shiloh, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims, was presumed to be lost at sea for nearly a week. U.S. and Japanese ships and aircraft spent more than 50 hours searching for him.
Mims in fact had been hiding in the ship’s engine room and was found “covered in urine and feces, and had a camelback, a multi-tool, Peeps candy and an empty peanut butter jar with him,” according to a December 2017 Navy Times report that drew on Freedom of Information Act requests.
Mims was subjected to non-judicial punishment and scheduled for an administrative discharge, according to the Navy Times.
