USS Mitscher Completes Record‑Breaking 11‑Month Deployment

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) returned to Naval Station Norfolk following a historic 11-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Greggory Fisher)

On Tuesday, Naval Station Norfolk welcomed back the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG-57) after completing an 11‑month deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas. The Navy said the ship, part of Destroyer Squadron Two, had finished pre‑deployment certification with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group last summer before operating independently.

DDG-57 left Naval Station Norfolk on July 25, 2025, and remained underway for 327 days.

“Team Mitscher remains proud to serve our nation,” commented Cmdr. Stephen Prugh, commanding officer of DDG-57, in a Navy press release.

“This crew has worked nonstop for the past 11 months across the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet regions, operating as an independent deployer while coordinating with the Gerald R. Ford, Abraham Lincoln, and UK Prince of Wales strike groups,” Prugh added. “I am impressed by their resilience, perseverance, and grit. I could not be more proud of what they have achieved at sea. Seize the Day!”

DDG-57’s deployment exceeded that of the Navy’s newest and largest supercarrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), by one day; the carrier returned to Naval Station Norfolk last month after 326 days at sea, marking the longest deployment for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the longest for any carrier since the Vietnam War.

USS Mitscher also set a new benchmark for the longest deployment by a U.S. Navy destroyer, eclipsing the prior record held by USS Carney (DDG-64), which stayed at sea for 235 days from September 2023 to May 2024. Before that, USS Stout (DDG-55) made news with a 215‑day stretch without a port call during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Operations in the 5th and 6th Fleet Areas

During the 11‑month deployment, USS Mitscher operated within the 6th Fleet’s area of responsibility, including the Northern Atlantic Ocean, where it participated in NATO exercises alongside the UK Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales earlier this year.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer also contributed to the U.S. Navy’s force buildup in the 5th Fleet area of operations and took part in Operation Epic Fury, providing support to the Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Middle East.

A Veteran Workhorse

Commissioned on December 10, 1994, USS Mitscher ranks among the U.S. Navy’s oldest active destroyers. Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the ship belongs to the original “Flight I” batch of the Arleigh Burke-class.

“Equipped with the Aegis combat system, Mitscher delivers multi‑mission offensive and defensive capabilities for anti‑air, anti‑submarine, anti‑surface, and ballistic missile defense,” the Navy explained.

For its 2006 deployment, DDG-57 earned the U.S. Navy’s Battle Effectiveness “Battle E” award.

In August 2023, the Navy announced plans to extend the ship’s service life beyond the original 35 years, with USS Mitscher now slated to remain in the fleet through at least 2034.

DDG-57 is the second U.S. Navy warship named after Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, a pioneer of naval aviation who commanded the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during World War II.

The first ship to carry his name was the lead vessel of a series of experimental destroyers constructed shortly after World War II. Four such ships were built, and USS Mitscher (DL-2/DDG-35) served from 1953 to 1978 before being scrapped in 1980.

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