All 16 crew survived.
On 6 March 1978 at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi the keel was laid for USS Fife, the 29th Spruance-class destroyer. Launched on 21 July 1979 and sponsored by Mrs. Nancy Fife Prior, daughter of the ship's namesake Admiral James Fife Jr., the ship was commissioned on 31 May 1980 and placed under the command of Commander John Y. Schrader, Jr.
Designed for modern antisubmarine warfare and to replace the many retiring World War II-era ships, the Spruance-class destroyer was intended to operate as a multi-mission warship either independently or in company with amphibious or carrier task groups. Powered by gas turbine engines and armed with antisubmarine rockets (ASROC), Harpoon and Sea Sparrow missiles and two 5-inch (127 mm) guns, Fife possessed a technical superiority with her advanced SQS-53 sonar and third generation naval tactical data system (NTDS).
1980sEdit Fife was fitted out at Pascagoula, getting underway on 6 June 1980 heading for the west coast and her assignment to the Pacific Fleet. She arrived in San Diego, California, on 18 June following stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Rodman, Panama. Shakedown system trials and crew training proceeded through the summer when the destroyer's first tasking came suddenly at the end of August. Departing San Diego on 29 August, she quickly steamed north to Alaska to conduct two weeks of surveillance on a Soviet Task Force operating in American waters. Returning to San Diego on 22 September, Fife conducted final weapon system tests and exercises in preparation for her first overseas deployment.
Heading west from San Diego on 5 January 1982, Fife joined several other ships and sailed from Pearl Harbor via Guam to Subic Bay, Philippines. She conducted numerous ASW exercises with the 7th Fleet in the South China Sea before a liberty port in Manila. Exercise "Team Spirit" in South Korea preceded war-at-sea evolutions with three American aircraft carriers as part of "READIEX 82" in April. Another brief stop in Subic Bay in May for upkeep was followed by liberty visits to Hong Kong and Japan before returning to San Diego on 30 June.
1983 deploymentEdit On 20 July 1983 The New York Times reported that the Fife along with seven other vessels in the USS Ranger Battle Group left San Diego on Friday 15 July 1983 and were headed for the western Pacific when they were rerouted and ordered to steam for Central America to conduct training and flight operations in areas off the coasts of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras as part of major military exercises planned for that summer.
Besides the Ranger, the battle group is composed of the cruiser Horne, the guided missile destroyer Lynde McCormick, the destroyers Fletcher and Fife, the frigate Marvin Shields, the oiler Wichita and the support ship Camden.
Fife's second overseas deployment began with "READIEX 83-4." Departing with the USS Ranger battlegroup on 15 July for the Persian Gulf, she alternated carrier escort duties with surveillance operations in the Gulf of Aden. While operating with the Ranger on 17 November, a Soviet guided missile frigate closed the warships in violation of international agreements for preventing collisions at sea. Fortunately, Fife suffered only minor damage from the resulting collision with the Razyashchiy. In December, Fife sailed south for a port visit in Mombassa, Kenya. While there, a cyclone passing over Agalega in the Mauritius Islands caused massive destruction. Fife, along with her SH-2F Seasprite helicopter, provided aid transferring food and water ashore. The Fife crew and the Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron, Light 37, Detachment 3 were awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal for their service in aid to the Agalaga inhabitants. During the return trip north, Fife intercepted the Soviet aircraft carrier Novorossiysk and performed a brief period of surveillance before rendezvousing again with the Ranger battlegroup. Relieved by the USS Midway battlegroup in January, the warships turned for home, arriving in San Diego on 29 February 1984.
The following sixteen months were spent preparing for her next overseas deployment, with the warship's time split between local training operations, a series of overhaul periods at Long Beach (where she received new propeller blades, weapons, and electronics), and various propulsion plant inspections and pre-deployment refresher exercises. Following a Harpoon firing exercise in June 1985, the destroyer sailed for the Far East on 24 July. Following a brief stop in Subic Bay, the destroyer continued west through the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean and an exercise with the Republic of Singapore Navy.
The warship suffered its first mishap on 1 September when a CH-46D Sea Knight helicopter (BuNo 151918) lost power on take-off, struck the NATO Sea Sparrow missile mount, leaving the stricken helicopter hanging over the ship's starboard side.
Fortunately, Fife's damage control teams quickly lashed the CH-46 in place and all 16 personnel were rescued without serious injury. The Sea Knight was assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 11 (HC-11) Det. 6 aboard the combat stores ship USS Mars (AFS-1).