USS Shiloh (CG-67)

USS Shiloh (CG-67) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy, named in remembrance of the Battle of Shiloh in the American Civil War. She was built at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The vessel is commanded by Captain Kurush F Morris.

With her guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, she is capable of facing and defeating threats in the air, on the sea, or the ashore, and underneath the sea. She also carries two Seahawk LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters, mainly for anti-submarine warfare, (ASW).

History
On 3 September 1996, while in the Carl Vinson carrier battle group, the Shiloh launched 6 Tomahawk cruise missiles in Operation Desert Strike against Iraq. She deployed with the Battle Group again in July 2002, and was among the first cruisers to launch missiles in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In March 2003 Shiloh was assigned to Cruiser-Destroyer Group Three. The Shiloh returned to her homeport San Diego, California on 25 April 2003, ending an unusually long nine-month deployment.

In January 2005, she participated in Operation Unified Assistance, rendering aid to those who suffered from the 26 December 2004 tsunami off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia. The Shiloh was one of the first American ships to arrive on scene.

On 22 June 2006, a Standard Missile Three (or SM-3) launched from Shiloh intercepted a multi-stage ballistic missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Hawaii.

In August 2006, she arrived on station at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, replacing the USS Chancellorsville (CG-62), as part of a joint U.S.-Japanese ballistic missile defense program.

On 8 July 2009, Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Geathers fell from the ship's fantail into Tokyo Bay while rigging shore power cables. A two-and-a-half-day search failed to locate Geathers and he was declared missing and later was declared dead. A Navy investigation, led by Rear Admiral Kevin Donegan, commander of Task Force 70, found that the accident was preventable, in part because Shiloh personnel had observed Geathers working without proper safety equipment, but had failed to intervene. Nevertheless, the report did not recommend disciplinary action against any of the ship's crewmembers.