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The eighteenth ARLEIGH BURKE class destroyer is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert, who enlisted together after a buddy was killed in USS ARIZONA at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It was the second enlistment for George and Francis, the first for the three younger boys. Adamant about sticking together, as they had ever since they were children, they won approval to serve aboard the same ship. After completing training at Great Lakes, they were assigned to USS JUNEAU. Less than a year later, they were lost at sea when JUNEAU was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The Navy honored their courage and commitment by naming a new destroyer for them, USS THE SULLIVANS (DD 537). Christened by the boys' mother in April 1943, the destroyer went on to earn nine battle stars in the Pacific campaign. Though decommissioned in 1946, she was recalled to duty for the Korean War, during which she earned two more battle stars. After the war she served as a training ship until she was decommissioned for the last time in January 1965. Moored pierside at the Naval and Servicemen's Park in Buffalo, New York, she continues to serve her country by reminding visitors of the commitment of common citizens to the defense of their country and of the arduous conditions of war at sea.

THE SULLIVANS is an AEGIS destroyer, outfitted with the AN/SPY-1D radar and armed with a 90-cell Vertical Launching System capable of storing and rapidly firing a mix of Standard, Tomahawk, and Vertically Launched ASROC (VLA) missiles for either Air Defense, Strike Warfare, or Anti-Submarine Warfare missions. Her other armament includes the Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile, the 5"/54 gun with improvements that integrate it with the AEGIS weapon system, and the Phalanx Close-in Weapon System for self-defense. For Antisubmarine Warfare THE SULLIVANS is equipped with the powerful AN/SQQ-89 system, which includes the AN/SQR-19 towed array sonar and the new AN/SQS-53C digital hull-mounted sonar. THE SULLIVANS is the first ship of the class to be outfitted with the AN/SLQ-32V(3) Electronic Warfare system. Improvements in computer processors and displays will enable THE SULLIVANS to operate more effectively than any previous AEGIS ship in the complex, high-tempo littoral environment.

THE SULLIVANS is a steel ship outfitted with advanced damage control systems and a Collective Protection System that can keep the crew safe in event of chemical, biological, or nuclear attack. Electrical power is provided by three gas turbine generators. Four LM2500 gas turbine main engines will propel THE SULLIVANS at speeds in excess of 30 knots. The crew of this warship will consist of 22 officers and 314 enlisted sailors.

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