The guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) returned May 2 to Naval Station Norfolk, marking the end of a seven-month independent deployment to the U.S. Navy's 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. 

“I could not be more proud of Mitscher’s Sailors, chiefs, and officers during this deployment,” Commanding officer of the Mitscher Cmdr. Ian Scaliatine said. “The Mitscher team responded well in every situation and overcame every challenge with the utmost professionalism and absolute dedication.”

Mitscher’s crew successfully completed all of their assigned missions across a wide spectrum; most notably in layered defense of U.S. assets operating in U.S. 5th Fleet, ballistic missile defense, maritime security operations, and theater security cooperation events. Mitscher also conducted fleet integrated operations with the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group and the Essex and Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Groups.

While deployed, Mitscher’s crew conducted multiple exercises with multinational allies including training with Italian and French counterparts in the Mediterranean Sea during Italian-led Exercise Mare Aperto and performing a passing exercise with the Egyptian Navy in the Red Sea.    

"The team consistently performed at a high level throughout deployment,” Cmdr. Matt Cox, executive officer of the Mitscher, said. “Mitschermen represented our Navy, and our nation well, by providing a visible presence throughout the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Gulf.”  

Safely navigating more than 45,000 nautical miles, Mitscher conducted 29 choke point transits to include two Strait of Gibraltar transits, two Suez Canal transits, 10 Bab-Al-Mandeb transits, 14 Strait of Hormuz transits, and one Strait of Messina transit.  

In addition to operations, Mitscher’s crew was able to experience European and Middle Eastern history and culture during several port visits. The deployment was marked by two trips to Rota, Spain; a visit to Civitavecchia (the port of Rome), Italy; Safaga, Egypt; Salalah, Oman; two port visits to Bahrain, and one to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates for a mid-deployment voyage repair period. Mitscher also visited Haifa, Israel and Piraeus, Greece where Sailors were afforded a rare opportunity to see and experience culturally significant sites, such as the Parthenon in Athens, The Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem.  

"Our port visits provided a wonderful opportunity for our Sailors to visit places and experience cultures that most will never see,” Command Master Chief Lee Thomason said. “They were able to make lasting memories by sharing these experiences with their shipmates.”

The deployment’s highlights also include 31 Sailors being promoted and 109 qualifying as Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialists. Mitscher also hosted the Under Secretary of the Navy for a day at-sea, as well as a contingent of Greek press for a media day during a port visit to Piraeus, Greece.

“What we were able to accomplish for our nation on deployment is very humbling and we are honored to have been able to do our duty,” Scaliatine said. “The unwavering positive support from our families, friends, and loved ones was so vitally important to each and every one of us — it truly made a difference.”

USS Mitscher is the Navy’s seventh Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer and is named after Adm. Marc A. Mitscher. A pioneer Naval aviator, Mitscher was captain of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet during the Doolittle raids against Tokyo, and he was the overall commander, Fleet Air, Solomon Islands, who led the operations that resulted in shooting-down the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Yamamoto. He rose to become commander of Fast Carrier Task Force 58, which he shaped into a fighting team that fought the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. Following World War II, he was promoted to Admiral and served as the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet.

For more information about Mitscher, see the ship’s social media sights:

https://www.public.navy.mil/surflant/ddg57/Pages/default.aspx 

https://www.facebook.com/USSMITSCHER/

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