About

USS HOPPER ( DDG 70) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer named after the computer scientist Rear Admiral Grace Hopper.  Construction began on 23 February 1995 in Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, launched and christened on 6 January 1996 and commissioned in San Francisco on 6 September 1997.

Rear Admiral Grace Hopper:
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper lived 1906 to 1992. Grace Hopper was a Computer Scientist and Mathematician, with a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale University. Prior to her military life, Rear Admiral worked as a mathematics Professor at Vassar College where she was awarded 40 honorary degrees from universities around the world. Posthumously Read Admiral will also be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016.  
In 1947 while working on the Mark II Computer a moth was discovered to be stuck in a relay which faulted the program. The moth was extracted from the relay and affixed to the log sheet for that day. This event was considered the first example of “debugging” a computer program. The relay the moth was extracted from was the 70th relay in the system, which event played a significant role in the numbering of the USS HOPPER’s hull. The moth’s remains are still on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History

View ship specifications and other ships in the class.

Hopper's keel was laid on 23 February 1995, she was christened 6 January 1996, and in June 1997 she sailed from her construction yard at Bath Iron Works in Maine, to San Francisco, California. There, she was commissioned on 6 September 1997 as the 20th Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer.

Hopper has participated in numerous fleet and allied exercises and has completed seven deployments to the Fifth and Seventh Fleet areas of operation. In July 2000 USS Hopper (DDG 70) was on deployment to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch.

In 2002 Hopper was deployed with the Kennedy Battle Group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In August 2002 Gen. Tommy Franks visited the guided missile destroyer USS hopper to personally thank the crew for the outstanding performance in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In October 2003 USS Hopper participated in San Francisco Navy Fleet Week 2003. Hopper participated again in 2005.

In May 2006 Hopper participated in Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism. SEACAT was a scenario-based exercise where the navies of various Southeast Asian Nations operated with the U.S. Navy in tracking and boarding simulated rogue merchant ships. Following SEACAT Hopper took part in the three-month Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series with six Southeast Asia nations.

In November 2007 Hopper departed with the USS Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group for a six month deployment to the Fifth Fleet and Seventh Fleet areas of responsibility (AOR).

In July 2008 Hopper departed to participate in Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) 2008.

In January 2009 guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) participated during the Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific (MIDPAC) Surface Combatant Group Sail.

USS Hopper (DDG-70) departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in July 2010 to support Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2010 exercises.

In April 2011 the guided missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled independent deployment.

In July 2012 USS Hopper (DDG 70) entered dry dock at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. The Docking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) encompasses more than $25 million of work, making it one of largest work packages conducted on an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

Hopper is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 31 and routinely deploys to the 5th and 7th Fleet area of responsibility.