Story by
Ensign Zachary Berglan
USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) Public Affairs

The Pearl Harbor-based, guided missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) is the recipient of the 2009 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Excellence Award for the Pacific.

The MK 15 Phalanx CIWS is a fast-reaction, rapid-fire 20-millimeter gun system that provides ships with a terminal defense against anti-ship missiles that may have penetrated other operational defenses.

Phalanx automatically performs functions usually performed by separate, independent systems such as search, detection, threat evaluation, acquisition, track, firing, target destruction, kill assessment and cease fire. It is also designed to engage anti-ship cruise missiles and fixed-wing aircraft at short range. Maintaining optimal performance for such a sophisticated piece of equipment takes a tremendous amount of time and energy by Paul Hamilton 's experienced technicians.

"This award is especially rewarding because it is a tribute to all the hard work our technicians put in. To me, it is more special than any award I have received individually and is very well deserved for the team effort our guys put in," said Fire Controlman 1st Class Ivan Pearson.

Paul Hamilton spent almost half of 2009 in the Arabian Gulf executing ballistic missile defense (BMD) and maritime security operations. Maintaining CIWS in such harsh conditions makes this achievement even more significant.

"This award is an incredible accomplishment for all of our Sailors because it shows that all of the work they put in really meant something," said Fire Controlman 1st Class Brandon Saul. "To win this award over some of the other great ships in the Pacific Fleet is a true reflection of the command and the crew that supports it," he continued.

The award is given based on a number of different elements of operational efficiency, such as number of hours the systems were operational, operational hours between failures, total rounds fired and the number of technical assists from outside sources.

Paul Hamilton is a key asset of Naval Surface Middle Pacific and Destroyer Squadron 31.