KOTA KINABALU: USS Milius (DDG-69) has arrived at Sabah capital here as part of the 65th US-Malaysia 65th diplomatic relations celebration.
After steaming through the sea for over a month from its homeport in Yokosuka naval base, Japan, the US Navy's 19th Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer commanding officer Matthew Hays said they were happy to be in Kota Kinabalu.
"We will be here for a four-day visit and to be with the Malaysian people. We are extremely excited to be here.
"There are approximately 300 people onboard the ship, (we have) a very diverse crew, male and female, and people from all over the United States," he said during a media tour onboard the multi-mission capable ship here.
He added that the visit in Kota Kinabalu over the weekend, was Milius's first stopover in Malaysia in recent years.
Hays, who had only been to Port Klang in Selangor, said that it would be a great opportunity for himself and most crew to experience Malaysian culture through the visit in Kota Kinabalu.
Tomorrow, there would be a community programme between the crew and children at a local school in Kinarut, Papar.
USS Milius is named in honour of Navy Captain Paul Lloyd Milius whose selfless actions over Laos saved the lives of seven Americans during the Vietnam war.
In April 1978, he was declared 'presumed killed in action' and posthumously promoted to captain and was awarded the Navy Cross.
One of Milius's children, Annette, became the official sponsor to USS Milius and christened the ship on Oct 28, 1995.
The ship is built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multifunction phased array radar.
It is designed to perform anti-air, anti-submarine, surface and strike warfare simultaneously.
The ship is also a ballistic missile defence platform, capable of providing theatre and homeland protection through her ability to detect, track and engage ballistic missiles.