Porter is scheduled to participate in Flag Officer at Sea training with the British Royal Navy during her patrol. She is also scheduled to work alongside regional partners in various training exercises and conduct maritime security operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

“Porter is excited to continue her mission at sea throughout the Sixth Fleet Area of Operations,” said Cmdr. Thomas Ralston, commanding officer of Porter. “The crew has been working hard over the last four months and is ready to work alongside our partners and allies to demonstrate our commitment to regional stability and maritime security in this vital region of the world.”

Porter’s ninth patrol, which spanned from January to March of 2021, included participating in Atlas Handshake with the Royal Moroccan Navy that consisted of several maneuverability exercises and live-fire gunnery training utilizing the Aourioura Ordnance Range near Tan Tan, Morocco, taking command of Surface Action Group consisting of the Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler USNS Laramie (T-AO-203) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) while in the Black Sea, and participating in War at Sea exercises with the Turkish Armed Forces, Romanian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Additionally, Porter worked alongside the Hellenic Navy and Air Force off the coast of Greece. Porter visited Souda Bay, Greece for a scheduled port visit, during which her crew received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Before returning to homeport in Rota, Porter participated in Lightning Handshake with the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group, which was a bi-lateral maritime exercise with the U.S. and Royal Moroccan Navy and Royal Moroccan Air Force.

Porter is one of four U.S. Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and assigned to Commander, Task Force 65 in support of NATO’s Integrated Air Missile Defense architecture. These FDNF-E ships have the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, demonstrating their mastery of the maritime domain.

U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.