USS Bulkeley was the 15th ship of this class to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and construction began on 10 May 1999.

[5] In February 2011, Bulkeley was involved in a mission to rescue four American citizens from the yacht Quest which was attacked by Somali pirates.

[6] On 5 March 2011, Bulkeley was involved in rescuing a Japanese oil tanker, MV Guanabara, from Somali pirates while on duty with Combined Task Force 151 off the coast of Oman.

[8] On 16 May 2011, Bulkeley responded to a mayday call from the Panamanian flagged very large crude carrier Artemis Glory by dispatching a Seahawk helicopter (from HSL 48) to its position.

[13] On July 16, while operating at a position between Libya and Crete, a helicopter from USS Bulkeley spotted a vessel that appeared to be dead in the water, the destroyer asked a nearby oil tanker Seaways Sabine to intervene, after which it retrieved 31 people from the distressed craft.

The inverted star at the shield base refers to the Medal of Honor Admiral Bulkeley received for his forcefulness and daringness during the defense of the Philippines.

The Philippine sun surrounds a Patrol Torpedo boat parting waves of the sea.A PT boat from World War II is surrounded by the Philippine sun shows honor to Admiral Bulkeley's role in the Pacific.

This includes the daring rescue of General MacArthur and Philippine President Quezon from the Battle of Corregidor.