The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer led a surface action group near the Strait of Hormuz and enforced a maritime blockade, disabling the cargo vessel Touska and securing compliance from 15 vessels, the Navy said. The ship also destroyed 12 drones and four anti-ship cruise missiles.
Spruance deployed with the carrier strike group led by USS Abraham Lincoln, alongside the destroyers USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and Carrier Air Wing 9. During the deployment, it managed tactical data links that let several strike groups and amphibious ready groups share information in real time.
The destroyer sailed more than 88,000 nautical miles and transferred 8.6 million gallons of fuel during 43 underway replenishments. Its helicopter detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 71 flew more than 190 sorties and logged 1,150 flight hours.
The Navy said Spruance and units of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group received the Presidential Unit Citation and Combat Action Ribbon for their actions during Operation Epic Fury and months in a combat zone. The destroyer also operated in the U.S. 7th Fleet area, where it passed through the San Bernardino, Singapore, Malacca, Balabac and Surigao straits.
“Leading the ship and crew has been the honor of a lifetime,” said Cmdr. Leigh R. Tate, the destroyer’s commanding officer. “Behind every Sailor is a someone back home standing their own watch.”
