USS McFaul (DDG-74)

USS McFaul (DDG-74) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for Chief Petty Officer Donald L. McFaul, a Navy SEAL who was killed in action on 20 December 1989, while serving in Panama. McFaul was awarded a posthumous Navy Cross for attempting to rescue a platoon mate at the cost of his life.

Recent events
On 22 August 2005, McFaul was involved in a minor collision with USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. Both ships suffered minor damage, and no injuries were reported. Both ships returned to their homeport at Naval Station Norfolk under their own power.

On 16 February 2007, McFaul was awarded the 2006 Battle "E" award. On 24 August 2008, McFaul arrived in Batumi, Georgia, as part of Operation Assured Delivery to "deliver humanitarian relief supplies...as part of the larger United States response to the government of Georgia request for humanitarian assistance" in the wake of the 2008 South Ossetia war. McFaul offloaded nearly 155,000 pounds of supplies—including hygiene items, baby food and care supplies, bottled water, and milk—donated by the United States Agency for International Development.

On 5 April 2010, McFaul responded to a distress call from the MV Rising Sun after she was attacked by pirates. McFaul was able to neutralize the threat, and captured ten suspected pirates and successfully rescued eight crewmembers from on board a dhow near Salalah, Oman. The pirates were then transferred to the USS Carney (DDG-64) for a week before they were transferred back to McFaul where 30 days later they were turned over to the Somalian Transitional Federal Government for subsequent prosecution.

On 12 September 2012, McFaul was ordered to the coast of Libya in what the Pentagon called a "contingency" in case a strike was ordered. This was in response to the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks.

Upgrade
On 12 November 2009, the Missile Defense Agency announced that McFaul would be upgraded during fiscal 2013 to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.