Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) and her crew departed their homeport of Naval Station Norfolk Nov. 19 for a scheduled deployment to conduct operations in the Navy's 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.

Mahan demonstrated overall personnel and equipment readiness for deployment after completing a rigorous training cycle.

"Mahan has excelled and raised the bar for all ships over the course of the last year," said Cmdr. Marc Davis, Mahan's commanding officer. "The crew has gone above and beyond in demonstrating to the surface Navy the readiness and ability of our ship. I have absolute confidence that Mahan will be ready to face any and all challenges throughout the entirety of deployment."

Mahan is deploying as part of the ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations and operate in international waters across the globe, along with other maritime forces.

Mahan is a ballistic missile defense-capable, Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with a crew of approximately 300 Sailors.

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