For those of us who like to look with wonder and awe at machines of war--be it the supersonic F-18 Super Hornet or the massive 18-inch guns of a battleship, today's navy ships can appear less than impressive. The guns with barrels wide enough to swallow a person are a relic of times gone by. That is, of course, only in appearances. Consider the US Navy's precedent setting guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, which is offering a rare opportunity for public tours this weekend in Seal Beach.

Just for the sake of creating a real world picture, imagine a US Navy destroyer on patrol somewhere in the far Western Pacific Ocean. To illustrate the geography, think of this as somewhere off the coast between South Korea and North Korea. Then, an unnamed hostile nation, perhaps one North of our friend South Korea, decides to cause some serious trouble for the 28,000 American soldiers stationed in South Korea. This hostile nation launches a short range ballistic missile towards our troops. Our destroyer, with its sophisticated ballistic missile defense systems detects the launch and immediately starts tracking the missile.

As the missile leaves earth's atmosphere on its arc, with the ship's radar eyes looking skyward, our defensive systems begin plotting its re-entry trajectory and the intended target. The hostel nation, of course, knows our ship will do this, so at the same time, they launch a wave-skimming cruise missile directly at our destroyer. Their thought is that our ship cannot handle a ballistic missile threat from above the atmosphere and a low altitude anti-ship threat at the same time--after all, it has never been done before.

To the surprise of the hostile nation, the destroyer's anti missile defensive systems engage, and track both enemy threats. As the ballistic missile reenters earth atmosphere and is headed down on US troops, and the cruise missile is bearing down on the destroyer, the ship launches two anti-missile missiles and both of the threats are destroyed.

The ship is the USS Benfold, the date was March 26, 2009, the place was the Pacific Ocean--not off the coast of either of the Koreas, and the attacking missiles, while real missiles, were not armed. This was the US Navy's exercise Stellar Dagger and it was the first time the fleet has successfully tested the Aegis shipboard system's ability to intercept both a short range ballistic missile in reentry phase and a low-altitude cruise missile target at the same time.

The Benfold will be open for weekend public visitation, with Saturday (8/1/09) tours given from 10:00 am to 2:30 p.m., and Sunday (8/2/09) tours provided from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. Displays of other Navy, Marine Corps and Army equipment will also be available.

The tour is free of charge and no reservations are required. Cameras are permitted, and walking shoes are highly recommended. No backpacks or handbags will be allowed onboard the ship, and the vessel is not accessible to the handicapped. Public entry will only be available via the station’s Liberty Gate, located on Seal Beach Boulevard 1/8 mile south of the Pacific Coast Highway intersection. No access will be available from the station's Main Gate.

According to Gregg Smith, spokesman for Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, "These types of tours are pretty rare these days, due to both security concerns and the very high operational tempo of the Fleet. At the same time, we want to do whatever we can to connect the public with their Navy. USS Benfold was already scheduled to be at our wharf for routine operations, and luckily her schedule allowed her to stay over the weekend and be available for public visiting."