SAN DIEGO, Calif. – In a historic three-hour battle off Flamborough Head in the North Sea on Sept. 23, 1779, John Paul Jones, in command of the converted French merchant ship “Bonhomme Richard,” as it battled the British frigate HMS Serapis, exclaimed the now famous phrase, “I have not yet begun to fight.”

The words still hold true today for the crew of the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53). Auburn’s Seth F. Frenchdubois is one of the ship’s many sailors preparing to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Frenchdubois and the crew of John Paul Jones are heading out as part of the latest sea swap program, a two-phased initiative involving three same-class guided missile destroyers – Higgins, Benford and John Paul Jones. The program allows the Navy to keep ships on station longer by replacing their crews every six months.

In the summer of 2002, the Navy began testing the effectiveness of deploying a single ship for 18 months while swapping out crews at six-month intervals. Vice Adm. Timothy LaFleur, commander, Naval Surface Force, Pacific, and his staff came up with the idea of the Sea Swap Program.

Frenchdubois, the 20-year-old son of Terese Landean of Auburn, will perform his normal duties as a fire control technician when he arrives on board USS Higgins, which will relieve the crew of USS Benfold.

“I fix and maintain the equipment necessary to keep the ship in combat readiness for air defense,” Frenchdubois said.

Higgins and the crew deployed with their battle group in November of 2002, but after six months, only the crew returned to the United States. The ship remained on station and was subsequently manned by the crew from Benfold on April 24. Now Frenchdubois and the crew of John Paul Jones are ready to replace the Benfold’s crew. They will spend four months on station, then bring the ship back to the United States.

Because the weapon systems run the same on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the transition for Frenchdubois will be smooth.

The initiative is designed to save the Navy time and money. With one ship permanently on station and forward deployed to an area like the Arabian Gulf, the Navy can save on fuel expenses, transit time and other logistical costs.

According to officials, by using the Sea Swap Program, the Navy can gain as many as three additional months of on-station time. The additional time on-station equates to two regular six-month deployments over the course of the program.

John Paul Jones is homeported in San Diego, as is the Benfold. The crew of Benfold, following turnover with the sailors of John Paul Jones, will fly to San Diego and take up residence on the Jones.

With 12 months of the program down and six to go, Frenchdubois and his shipmates are ready to pick up where the crew of Higgins left off. It’s similar to how one crew from long ago left a badly damaged Bonhomme Richard in 1779 to board the captured HMS Serapis and continued the fight. Those immortal words of John Paul Jones echo through today’s crew with the same meaning they did more than 200 years ago.