Yepper, the 54 cal was a good 13 nm. I dunno about the ERGM stuff (different compartmental access).

33 knots was about flank 2 in most Spruance. Battle Override on ours put us at about 56 knots. Since the Spruance class had variable pitch props, we never reversed shaft, just threw the pitch out and kept the coals to it. If we idled the blades, we would coast another 2 miles or so, but from 56 knots ahead, we could stop that boat in just over one ship length (600 feet at battle override). We called that "emergency crash back", and the fantail would submerge (normal draft was 15 feet at the stern).

I believe the USS O'Brian actually went a little faster than we did, but then again we were slightly bigger so our displacement probably held us back.

They decommission perfectly good surface warships in order to justify budgets increases. Otherwise they might not get their fair share of the annual federal budget. Same as the rest. It's all about how much you can spend, not how well you can use what you have.