One of the US Navy's newest ships is currently patrolling in the Atlantic Ocean. The USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. The Paul Ignatius is operating as part of the U.S. Sixth Fleet with a focus on the European and African theaters. The guided-missile destroyer carries a crew complement of approximately 380 sailors, and the ship is under the leadership of Commander Lennard D. Cannon.

A Lubbock native is currently serving on the USS Paul Ignatius. Seaman JaJuan Austin is shown in the above photo standing watch on the destroyer's deck.

In addition to being able to launch missiles, the Paul Ignatius also features a five-inch gun on the forward deck. You can see a video of the five-inch gun firing in the first video below, plus a high-speed photo in the Facebook post embedded below.

The destroyer also carries two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters. The Seahawk is an extremely versatile helicopter able to conduct missions for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and medical evacuation.

You can see a partial photo of the Seahawk helicopter and footage of it in the video below.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan T. Beard/Released)
Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan T. Beard
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The Sixth Fleet's command ship is currently the USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), which is an amphibious command ship. Overall, the Sixth Fleet includes approximately 40 ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 people. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered in Naples, Italy.

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