The destroyer USS Spruance broke the record for the longest-deployed destroyer since World War II, after its deployment was extended by nearly double the intended tour due to the war with Iran.
The Spruance left Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, as an escort for the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. What was supposed to be a routine seven-month deployment turned into the longest post-World War II voyage after the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, when the vessel helped form the vanguard of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets, then defended against retaliatory attacks. It even fired some of the first shots of the war against Iran, firing Tomahawk missiles as part of the opening salvo.
In this image provided by U.S. Central Command, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26059762628051.jpg?w=1024" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26059762628051.jpg?w=1024" alt="The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. " class="wp-image-4782723" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26059762628051.jpg 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26059762628051.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26059762628051.jpg?resize=768,512 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
In this image provided by U.S. Central Command, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)
After large-scale combat operations ended, it formed part of the blockade to strangle Iran’s economy.
As of Wednesday, the Spruance has been at sea for 342 days. Its last position recorded by maritime trackers 11 days prior showed it passing through the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Singapore, sailing east.
Though the Navy hasn’t revealed a return date, the San Diego Union-Tribune said it’s expected to return to port sometime in November. If it arrives late enough in the month, it could set the new record away for over one year.
The record deployment has triggered many of the same problems seen during the extended deployment of the much larger aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which the Spruance was deployed to support. The Lincoln’s own long deployment became national news after sailors and their families began complaining of the deteriorating conditions on board. It was finally sent home for rest in August.
The Lincoln was complemented by three destroyers, one of which accompanied her back to port. But the remaining two members of the group, the Spruance and USS Michael Murphy, were left to maintain the blockade.
In early August, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other senior naval leaders held a town hall with around 200 family members of sailors aboard the ships in the strike group, during which he reportedly said the group was a composite unit and should return home as one. The return of the Lincoln while the rest of the force remained behind was viewed as an insult by many family members.
“They experienced the same mental health strain, the same horrid conditions and the constant day and night working hours,” a family member told MS Now in late August. “It’s so disrespectful that they are being forced to continue to stay out for months on end after the Lincoln had begun its return home.”
A friend of someone on board the Spruance or Murphy said they communicated that the crew was “pissed off” and unsure why the Lincoln was the “priority,” when they arrived in the region at the same time. Three people in touch with sailors on the Spruance and Murphy said they faced food and supply shortages, plumbing failures, and low morale.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Naval Surface Force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet for comment and clarification.
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The crew of the 510-foot Spruance is estimated to be around 33 sailors.
The Spruance’s eventful deployment earned the attention and praise of Trump after it fired its 5-inch deck gun into the engine room of the Iran-flagged cargo ship Touska on April 19, disabling it. The action, the first deck-gun strike on another vessel since Operation Praying Mantis in 1988, was described in detail by the president several times in bombastic speeches, though without disclosing the name of the destroyer.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
