Wayne E. Meyer, crew set to arrive at new home - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Wayne E. Meyer, crew set to arrive at new home

SAN DIEGO — The crew of one of the Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyers will arrive at their new West Coast homeport this week, Navy officials said.

The guided missile destroyer Wayne E. Meyer and its crew of 280 will pull into San Diego Naval Base on Friday, 3rd Fleet officials said in a statement. The arrival will wrap up an almost six-week transit from Bath Iron Works Shipyard in Bath, Maine, that took the ship through the Panama Canal.

The ship, assigned hull number DDG 108, is named for the retired rear admiral and electrical engineer who pioneered the Aegis air defense system and is considered the “Father of Aegis.” Meyer died at age 83 on Sept. 1, six weeks before the Navy commissioned the ship bearing his name.

The Meyer is the Navy’s 58th Arleigh Burke destroyer and the 100th ship equipped with the advanced Aegis combat system, which is designed to defend naval strike groups at sea and, more recently, track and hit ballistic missile targets.