USS Spruance Completes US Navy’s Longest Ship Deployment Since World War II

USS Spruance returned to Naval Base San Diego on November 13, 2026, after a 357-day combat deployment that took the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer across the U.S. 3rd, 7th and 5th Fleet areas.

The deployment is the U.S. Navy’s longest ship deployment since World War II, according to reports. It beat the 333-day destroyer record which USS McFaul had set a month earlier.

More than 300 sailors were on board the destroyer, which left San Diego on November 21, 2025, with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The deployment was first planned for seven months and was extended to support operations against Iran.

USS Spruance covered more than 88,000 nautical miles during the deployment, the U.S. Navy said in a release.

The warship fired some of the first Tomahawk missiles into Iran on February 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury. It went on to fire dozens of Tomahawk Land-Attack Missiles at Iranian military targets till August 2026.

The destroyer shot down 12 drones and 4 anti-ship cruise missiles while operating under constant threat from Iranian attacks.

The ship later served as the Surface Action Group Commander near the Strait of Hormuz and joined the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. It disabled the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska in April 2026 and enforced blockade compliance on 15 vessels.

The cargo ship had ignored U.S. warnings for six hours before USS Spruance ordered its engine room to be evacuated and fired several rounds into the vessel, U.S. Central Command said at the time.

The destroyer carried out 43 underway replenishments during the deployment, which involved the transfer of 8.6 million gallons of fuel.

A detachment of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 sailed with the warship throughout the deployment. Its helicopters flew more than 190 sorties and 1,150 flight hours.

The ship and its crew received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Combat Action Ribbon for their actions against Iran.

The commanding officer of USS Spruance called leading the ship and its crew the ‘honor of a lifetime’ and said that the families of the sailors deserved recognition too.

USS Michael Murphy, another destroyer from the strike group, returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on November 12 after 11 months at sea.

References: U.S. Navy (Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet), Stars and Stripes, KPBS