USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) Earns Bloodhound Award

by Lt.j.g. Ronan Williams

11 April 2024

YOKOSUKA, Japan – Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 awarded the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) the 2024 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Bloodhound Award for the Pacific Fleet, April 11.

The ASW Bloodhound Award is awarded to one ship in the Atlantic Fleet and one in the Pacific Fleet each year for exceptional performance in the ASW mission area. Rafael Peralta was selected for consistently demonstrating technical prowess, high levels of equipment readiness, and the overall level of skill and training of her operators.

“We have the best sonar technicians in the fleet, and their dedication, along with the support of the entire crew, was instrumental in helping us earn this award,” said Lt. Alexis Anthony, Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer (ASWO) aboard Rafael Peralta. “We look to carry these lessons forward to our future patrols.”

“Rafael Peralta set the standard for the ASW mission across the Fleet,” said Capt. Justin Harts, commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15. “Their tenacity as bloodhounds on the hunt, is yet another example of how DESRON 15 supports a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Throughout the year, Rafael Peralta conducted numerous training events, bi-lateral and multi-national exercises, and operations throughout the Indo-Pacific that tested and highlighted the crew’s ability to conduct both strike group and theater ASW. Working alongside regional partners and allies, Peralta integrated proven tactics and techniques with emerging technologies to sharpen independent, joint, and multi-national ASW proficiency.

Rafael Peralta is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.