The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) returned to Naval Station Norfolk Aug. 28, following a seven-month deployment in the U.S. 4th Fleet and U.S. 6th Fleet areas of operations.
Jason Dunham deployed to the Caribbean on Jan. 27. With an embarked U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, Jason Dunham conducted operations in support of Operation Martillo, a U.S., European and Western Hemisphere effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in waters along the Central American isthmus.
After transiting the Atlantic Ocean and entering U.S. 6th Fleet, Jason Dunham conducted maritime security operations and theater security cooperation missions in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea; which demonstrated U.S. commitment toward strengthening the partnerships and joint operational capabilities among U.S., NATO and regional partners.
Under the leadership of Cmdr. Darren T. Dugan, the Jason Dunham officers and crew conducted a variety of operations and exercises with multinational allies and partners, including Exercise Shark Hunt 2015, in the North Sea; and conducted operations in the Black Sea in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. While in theater, Jason Dunham also participated in multiple passing exercises with Montenegrin, Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish, Finnish, Latvian, and Polish maritime forces, which provided individual training opportunities and increased interoperability across the maritime domain.
With visits to 16 different countries across Europe, Jason Dunham served a critical role in U.S. partnership building missions ashore.
[mappress mapid=”16792″]
Image: US Navy