Forward-deployed, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) conducted engineering casualty drills, March 8.

Sailors obtained and refined skills through drills such as combating high inlet temperature on a gas turbine generator and cooling a hot bearing -- a situation in which the generator must be shut down.

"We train how we fight," said Engineman 3rd Class Adam Powell. "These are real casualties that we have seen before. These drills are very important for the experience of new engineering watchstanders, who will now be able to recognize and combat these casualties when they happen."

The crew of Michael Murphy regularly conducts drills to improve damage control and intership communications to maintain themselves as a ready maritime force while supporting routine patrols in the South China Sea.

"These multi-session training evolutions will ensure we are prepared to operate in support of Carrier Strike Group 1 and 3rd Fleet forces forward," said Cmdr. Robert A. Heely Jr., commanding officer of Michael Murphy.

Prior to operations in the South China Sea, Michael Murphy conducted training as part of Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group off the coast of Hawaii to improve readiness and cohesion as a strike group. Michael Murphy also conducted an 18-day joint mission with the U.S. Coast Guard in the central and south Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws, and enhance regional security.

U.S. Navy carrier strike groups have regularly patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific for more than 70 years and will continue to do so. Carl Vinson has deployed to the region several times, starting with a deployment to the western Pacific in 1983, one year after commissioning. Most recently in 2015, Carl Vinson conducted port visits and exercises with regional navies in the South China Sea.

Commissioned Oct. 6, 2012, Michael Murphy is named after former U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy. Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan, June 28, 2005. Murphy was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan and was the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War.

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