Anchors Aweigh

Cmdr. Matthew Hays, a Celina native and decorated officer, has ascended through the ranks of the U.S. Navy, assuming command of
the USS Milius on Sept. 17 in Yokosuka, Japan.

Hays, as commanding officer, serves as both captain and senior officer of the warship and its roughly 330 sailors, he said in an email. He is ultimately responsible for personnel, training, material condition and operational performance at sea.

"I owe it to every citizen of the United States to keep my ship in fighting condition and, if called upon, to act as directed by the U.S. government in line with my oath of office," Hays, a 1999 graduate of Celina High School, said.

USS Milius departed Yokosuka on Oct. 4 for deployment and is currently conducting operations in the western Pacific Ocean, said Hays, who has more than 18 years of active duty service in the U.S. Navy, including more than 11 years of sea duty stationed overseas.

"I should be in command of Milius until at least the spring of 2023," he said. "After that, it's up to the Navy where we go next - each duty station is always a new adventure."

USS Milius is among a class of guided missile destroyers that are some of the most lethal ships in the nation's inventory, Hays said. The warship measures 505 feet long and 60 feet wide, displaces over 8,000 tons and can travel in excess of 30 knots, Hays said.

It has 90 vertical missile cells that can carry a combination of different types of missiles and is equipped with torpedoes and a 5-inch large caliber gun.

USS Milius has multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities and can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups and expeditionary strike groups, according to Navy information provided by Hays.

It also is capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare.

"We do training and conduct (anti-submarine warfare) at sea for U.S. exercise and exercises with allied navies," he said.

USS Milius is part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces - Japan, specifically assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15, the Navy's largest forward-deployed destroyer squadron and the U.S. 7th Fleet's principal surface force, Hays noted.

"The Navy is the away team of the U.S. Armed Forces and ships like Milius operate forward to maintain freedom of the seas and stand ready to defend U.S. interests abroad," Hays said.   

The Navy, Hays added, operates forward in international waters in vicinity of other nations' ships every day.

"Our sheer presence is a deterrent and symbol of United States' presence and power," he said.

Yokosuka is a harbor inside of Tokyo Bay, situated about 35 miles south of Tokyo Metropolis, Hays said. It's home to the U.S. Navy's largest overseas naval base - and the only place overseas where the Navy has a forward deployed aircraft carrier.

"The Navy has 11 aircraft carriers but only one is based overseas," he followed up. "The rest are on either the East or West coast of the United Staes. Currently, the USS Ronald Reagan is stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, to fill this requirement."

Hays said all of his sea time has been based out of Yokosuka.

"I enjoy the fast pace and high operational tempo of forward deployed operations compared to tours stateside in San Diego or Norfolk, so I've requested each time to go back overseas," he said.

Asked what the future holds for him, Hays sees a continued career in the U.S. Navy.

"I feel like I'm at the pinnacle of my career as the captain of a guided missile destroyer," he said. "I love my job and plan to continue to serve as long as I can."

The son of Gary and Karen Hays, retired Celina City School teachers, Matthew Hays is proudly carrying on his family's military tradition. His father joined the U.S. Navy in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War and served until 1972 on USS Forrestal, an aircraft carrier based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Also, his grandfather, Forrest Hays, joined the Merchant Marines after WWII and served at sea from about 1946 to 1950 before moving back to St. Marys.

"My interest stemmed from my father's naval service and my grandfather's Merchant Marine service," Hays related. "I saw it as an option and was interested in the Navy, but really didn't know what to expect. When looking at colleges, I was interested in attending Miami University and they are one of two schools in Ohio that have Naval ROTC."

Hays was accepted into Miami University and joined its Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. He graduated in May 2003 with a bachelor's degree in business and was commissioned as an officer into the Navy.

His senior year he was given the opportunity to submit preferences for ships and ports.

"I did not know much about serving overseas but figured this was a great opportunity at that point in my life at 22 years old, to go overseas and see what it was all about, so I picked Yokosuka, Japan," he said. "Ironically, my ship was deployed at the time from Japan to the Middle East in the spring of 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. I met my first ship by flying to Djibouti, Africa, and then being picked up by the ship's helicopter."

His first assignment was that of surface warfare officer on USS Gary, home-ported out of Yokosuka.

"I enjoyed the excitement, travel and naval operations that serving overseas brought and also met my wife," he said.

He and his wife, Yuka, have been married for nearly 16 years and have four children. His son Andy is a surface warfare officer and lieutenant junior grade on USS Benfold, also in Yokosuka. Before moving up to commander, Hays held numerous positions, among them combat information center officer and assistant operations officer on the USS Gary; navigator and surface operations officer on USS Blue Ridge; and weapons officer and combat systems officer on the USS Fitzgerald.

He and his family at one point moved to Millington, Tennessee, to the Naval Personnel Command, where they lived for about two years.

"This command does personnel management for the Navy and issues all the orders for every service member in the Navy," he said. "I managed all the officer assignments on all cruisers, destroyers, and destroyer squadrons in the Pacific."

Upon completion of that tour, Hays and his family then made their way to Newport, Rhode Island, where he attended the U.S. Naval War College, earned a master's degree in national security and strategic studies and participated in a war gaming research group.

"After that I went through 10 months of training to be the executive officer and ultimately the commanding officer of a guided missile destroyer," he said. "I reported to USS Milius in May 2020 in Yokosuka, Japan, where I served as the executive officer."

Additionally, Hays holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Rochester, where he was an assistant professor of naval science, and attended the U.S. Naval War College senior officer course.

He has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (six awards); Army Commendation Medal; Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit and service awards, according to his official Navy biography.

A life in the military, is all about selfless service, Hay said.

"I would highly recommend military service for any young men and women that are interested and patriotic," he said. "Selfless service for a cause greater than yourself is inspiring, and the opportunity to lead the young men and women of your country is humbling."