USS Kidd departs San Diego as deployment continues

10 June 2020

From U.S. 3rd Fleet Public Affairs

The guided-missile destroyer returns to sea after more than a month in San Diego aggressively responding to an earlier COVID-19 outbreak at sea.

SAN DIEGO - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100) departed San Diego to continue her scheduled deployment, June 10.

Kidd is scheduled to return to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to continue its mission in support of SOUTHCOM enhanced counter narcotics operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

“I am extremely proud of my crew and their coordination with Navy Region Southwest, U.S. Surface Forces Pacific and U.S. Third Fleet as we navigated through our COVID-19 outbreak on board,” said Cmdr. Nathan Wemett, Kidd’s commanding officer. “The strength of the bond throughout the Navy communities ensured we safely and effectively disembarked the crew, disinfected the ship, re-embarked the crew, and will be able to continue our mission out at sea.”

As part of the Navy’s aggressive response to the COVID-19 outbreak aboard Kidd, the ship arrived at Naval Base San Diego April 28 to provide medical care, quarantine, and monitoring for its Sailors, and to clean and disinfect the ship. The ship’s crew had begun a strategic deep-cleaning regimen while still underway that balanced decontamination with preventing damage to the ship’s critical systems.

Wemett released the following open letter to the San Diego region as the ship departed.

"Today, the men and women of USS Kidd (DDG 100) return to sea to resume our mission, and we do so because of the support of the San Diego region. On behalf of our crew and our families, thank you, San Diego.

On April 28, we arrived in San Diego following a coronavirus outbreak at sea. Our priority was—and remains—to take care of our Sailors. The San Diego region helped us do that by extending your collective arms and helping us respond to and recover from this insidious virus. Specifically, the support we received from USS Makin Island (LHD 8), Commander, Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 3, USS Shoup (DDG 86), USS Stockdale (DDG 106), USNS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), Naval Medical Center San Diego, and Naval Base San Diego was exemplary.

With the care of military and local health professionals, as well as support from military leadership, shipmates along the waterfront, and area businesses, we fought this invisible enemy and cleaned our ship. A ship, however, is nothing without its people. Thank you for supporting and caring for our people, and showing why San Diego is known as America’s Finest City.

Today, we return to sea stronger as a result of the combined efforts of the region and the Navy. Because of that partnership, USS Kidd sails away to continue its mission of providing security and stability to our nation and her allies, while operating forward, where and when it matters."

USS Kidd is assigned to U.S. 3rd Fleet, which leads naval forces in the Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet constantly coordinates with U.S. 7th Fleet to plan and execute missions based on their complementary strengths to promote ongoing peace, security, and stability throughout the entire Pacific theater of operations.