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The following was released by the Office of the Assistant to the
Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs):

                                        No. 593-93
                                        (703) 697-5342 (Media)
                                        (703) 697-3189 (Copies)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE   December 16, 1993   (703) 697-5737 (Public/
                                                      Industry)

           NAVY TO COMMISSION GUIDED MISSILE DESTROYER
                    JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53)

     The U.S. Navy will commission the guided missile destroyer
John Paul Jones (DDG 53) at 10 a.m., Saturday, December 18, 1993,
at Broadway Pier, in San Diego, California.

     Senator Dianne Feinstein will be the ceremony's principal
speaker.  Mrs. Connie Jeremiah, wife of Admiral David E. Jeremiah,
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the ship's sponsor.

     This ship honors the great naval war hero Commodore John Paul
Jones, U.S. Navy (1747-1792).  Jones was born in Scotland and
settled in America in 1770.  He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in
the Continental Navy when the War of Independence broke out and
quickly rose through the ranks to command his own ship. While
engaged in a fierce battle with the British ship Serapis in
September of 1779, Jones' ship, the Bon Homme Richard, an old
converted merchantman, overcame tremendous odds and defeated the
newer, larger British warship.  Jones' immortal words in the heat
of battle and in the face of near certain defeat, "Surrender? I
have not yet begun to fight," rallied his crew to victory, and has
long been a symbol of naval excellence and spirit.  John Paul Jones
is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

     John Paul Jones is the third Arleigh Burke class destroyer to
be commissioned into the fleet.  Overall, 29 are authorized for
construction by Congress. These multi-mission ships are equipped
with the Navy's modern Aegis combat weapons system, which combines
space-age communications, radar and weapons technologies in a
single platform for unlimited flexibility. As "force multipliers,"
these new destroyers will replace older, less capable ships that
are being taken out of service as the Navy reduces spending but
maintains quality. These versatile ships are designed to operate
independently or in support of aircraft carrier and amphibious
operations.

     The ship is equipped to carry Standard surface-to-air
missiles, and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from forward and
aft vertical launching systems; two fully automated, radar
controlled Phalanx close-in weapons systems; Harpoon anti-ship
missiles; one five-inch gun and electronic warfare systems.

     John Paul Jones is 505 feet in length, has a waterline beam of
66 feet and displaces approximately 8,422 tons fully loaded. The
ship will have a crew of 26 officers, 24 chief petty officers, and
291 enlisted men.  Captain John Kelly, U.S. Navy, is the ship's
prospective commanding officer.
                               -USN-