The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) on 21 September.

Commanded by Cmdr. Shea Thompson, the ship and crew of more than 300 Sailors are currently assigned to Destroyer Squadron 23 and will be conducting Maritime Theater Security Cooperation operations and engagements to enhance regional unity, security, and stability within the 4th fleet AOR.

Chafee will be participating in exercises SOUTHERN SEAS and UNITAS 2015, to be conducted with the Chilean, Brazilian, Columbian, Dominican, Ecuadorean, El Salvadorian, Mexican, Guatemalan and New Zealand navies.

Additionally, the ship is scheduled to have port visits in Peru, Brazil, and Chile that will allow sailors to experience South American culture, tour historical sites and even take part in community relations opportunities at local schools.

"Chafee's crew and I are thrilled to participate in these exercises," says Cmdr. Thompson, "this is a rich opportunity to engage regional partners and strengthen our bilateral ties."

USS Chafee is named for Gov. John L. H. Chafee, who served in both the enlisted and officer ranks in the United States Marine Corps during WWII and Korea before serving as Secretary of the Navy, Senator and two-term Governor of the state of Rhode Island.

Homeported at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Chafee is a multi-mission ship with strike warfare, anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare capabilities designed to operate independently or with an associated strike group. This is the ship's first operational deployment since 2012.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. 4th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/.