Jason Dunham News

More than 2,500 AK-47 automatic rifles were seized from a stateless skiff in the international waters of the Gulf of Aden at the end of August.U.S. Navy sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) discovered the illicit weapons shipment during counter-trafficking mission on August 28.The Navy said 2,521 guns were confiscated from the skiff, which was determined to be stateless following a flag verification boarding conducted in accordance with international law.

A U.S. Navy Sailor assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) died from injuries sustained while conducting small boat training July 8.Ensign Sarah Mitchell, 23, of Feasterville, Penn., was medically evacuated to a hospital in Aqaba, Jordan, and was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m., local time.No other Sailors were injured and an investigation is ongoing.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and the Egyptian Navy frigate El Zafer (F951) conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX), July 1. PASSEX is an exercise in which multiple ships, operating in close vicinity, practice evolutions together to improve crews' knowledge, navigation and familiarity with operability. "This was another great opportunity to work with the Egyptian Navy and continue to build, foster and solidify rapport with a maritime-military nation who shares a lot of the same interests in this area of operations," said Cmdr. John Hamilton, Dunham's commanding officer. The PASSEX commenced with Dunham and El Zafer performing divisional tactics and maneuvers. "It's good to see how they operate, and it's good for them to see how we operate," said Hamilton.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations April 18, 2018 as part of a routine deployment in support of NATO allies, European and African partner nations, coalition partners, and U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. The presence of the HSTCSG demonstrates the multi-mission capability of the U.S. Navy’s globally deployed force and is part of an ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

A Russian military surveillance aircraft skimmed above four North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) warships in the Baltic Sea earlier this week, CNN is reporting. According to the television channel, the incident involving four NATO warships, including US destroyer Jason Dunham, occurred on Thursday. One British, one French and one German vessel were also part of the group. According to reports, the Russian military plane flew above the decks of one of the four NATO vessels at an altitude of just 500 feet. "We are not calling this safe and professional. We are calling it routine, but we are on the edge of being very uncomfortable," an unnamed US Defense Department official was quoted as saying.

On a chilly April 4, day, Sailors from USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) boarded a bus to Princess Nadejda Orphanage in Varna, Bulgaria, paint brushes in hand, for an afternoon with local children excited to spend time with their new American friends. The children could barely contain their curious excitement as Sailors filed inside the facility with paining supplies in hand. Sure they were happy their home was about to receive a fresh coat of paint, but what they were really buzzing about was the exclusive tour of the American warship that awaited them later that day. Princess Nadejda Orphanage is home to 31 children and was opened more than 100 years ago for orphans of the First World War.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) entered U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe March 3, 2015. While on deployment, Jason Dunham will interact with allied and partner nations, highlighting the U.S. commitment and emphasis of building strong partnerships and improving warfighting capability. It will also conduct several port visits and participate in a number of exercises while in U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operation. The U.S. remains committed to maintaining a persistent presence in Europe. It looks forward to further commitments with its allies to ensure a coordinated and continuous land, air and sea presence in the region as part of the commitments made at the NATO Summit.

The 21st edition of the International Seapower Symposium (ISS) began Sept. 16 at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, R.I., with more than 170 representatives from 113 nations attending. Throughout the three-day symposium, naval leaders from around the world will attend presentations and take part in panel discussions relating to current, vital maritime topics such as enhancing coalition operations, future trends in maritime security, and implications of climate change on maritime security. There are also sessions scheduled to address specific geographic challenges navies face. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus addressed the group with opening remarks and stressed the importance of the conference's theme: Global Solutions to Common Maritime Challenges.

The Surface Navy Association (SNA) has presented its Literary Award for articles that address areas within Surface Navy or Surface Warfare and in 2013 it came to Capt. John Cordle, USN (Ret) and co-author Dr. Nita Shattuck for their article on watchkeeping and circadian-based alternatives. 'A Sea Change in Standing Watch,' published in the January 2013 issue of Proceedings, addresses the challenges and benefits of implementing a circadian-based watch schedule to improve the work-to-rest ratios of Sailors onboard Navy ships through two lenses…

US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) completes study of sleep patterns aboard 'USS Jason Dunham' (DDG 109). The study was conducted by personnel from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) who came aboard Jason Dunham to interview crewmembers about their watch rotations and monitor their sleep patterns, activity periods and reaction times. Dr. Nita Shattuck, an associate professor with the NPS Operations Research Department, said Jason Dunham's crew were the perfect candidates for the study.

The future USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), the 58th ship of the Arleigh Burke-class, successfully completed a combined builder's and acceptance "super trial" May 20, after spending four days at sea operating in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the maturity of the class, the Navy holds only one round of trials on each ship prior to delivery, instead of separate builder's and acceptance trials. This "super trial" requires less time, fuel and manpower than the typical method. During the trial, Bath Iron Works and the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) tested the ship's weapons, communications, and propulsion systems as well as conducting several other inspections including habitability, water purification and food preparation.

Image submitted on occasion of the Department of Navy announcement that the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer will be named USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), honoring the late Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C. Winter, made the announcement in Dunham’s hometown of Scio, N.Y. U.S. Special release from the U.S. The Department of Navy announced March 23 that the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), honoring the late Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C.