USS Jason Dunham returns to homeport after 91-day deployment to Caribbean

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham arrives at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on Nov. 12, 2025, after completing a 91-day surge deployment. (Brandon J. Vinson/U.S. Navy)

The USS Jason Dunham returned to Naval Station Mayport in Florida on Wednesday after 91 days at sea as part of the U.S. mission in the Caribbean.

During the deployment, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer stopped in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Ponce, Puerto Rico; and Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a service news release.

The crew qualified for both the U.S. Coast Guard Special Operations Ribbon and the Sea Service Ribbon for its support of interagency operations.

“I am incredibly proud of my entire crew aboard Jason Dunham,” said Cmdr. Aaron Jefferson III, USS Jason Dunham’s commanding officer. “Successfully completing our surge deployment to Fourth Fleet is yet another example of their unmatched resilience and professionalism.”

The USS Jason Dunham was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 40. The ship’s embarked helicopter detachment, HSM-48 Detachment 7, flew 121 sorties.

“Over the course of their deployment to the USSOUTHCOM AOR, Jason Dunham and her exceptional crew exemplified the strength of American naval sea power and international cooperation,” said Capt. Anthony James, commander of Naval Surface Group Southeast. “Their efforts reflect the strength of our commitment to maritime security and cooperation with allies and partners in the region.”

The Jason Dunham was part of a large concentration of naval firepower to the region to disrupt drug trafficking and degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

Besides the Jason Dunham, the U.S. buildup had included the three ships that make up the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, the destroyers USS Gravely and USS Stockdale, the cruiser Lake Erie, the littoral combat ship USS Wichita, Navy P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, an F-35 fighter squadron and more than 6,000 sailors and Marines.

The Southern Command’s area of responsibility includes waters adjacent to Central and South America, and the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico.

On Tuesday, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group arrived in the region, bringing 4,500 more sailors and nine aircraft squadrons.

The surge of naval forces puts nearly 20% of the service’s deployed warships in the region, according to Stars and Stripes’ analysis of data from the USNI News fleet tracker.

The U.S. military has conducted at least 20 strikes on alleged drug traffickers at sea, which have killed at least 79 people.

Navy