USS Sterett, Named for Pirate Fighter, Lead Rescue Attempt

 The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Sterett, which took the lead in the failed U.S. attempt to rescue Americans from Somali pirates, is on its first active-duty cruise. But it has pirate-hunting in its legacy. The ship is named for one of the Navy's heroes in the long-ago fight with Barbary Coast pirates. As the U.S. Central Command sought to rescue four Americans held by Somali pirates this week, the Sterett was the closest of four Navy ships trailing the pirates.