Families of sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason wave goodbye as the ship departs Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on March 24, 2026. Mason has a crew of about 300, according to Navy officials. (Daniel De Jesus)
A Navy destroyer assigned to the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group has left its homeport in Florida to begin operations in support of an upcoming deployment, the Navy announced this week.
USS Mason, which serves as the air and missile defense commander for the Bush group, departed Mayport, Fla., on Tuesday, the Navy said in a statement the same day.
The departure comes after months of training, maintenance and certification events as part of the strike group, according to the statement.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason departs Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on March 24, 2026. The ship departed in support of a scheduled deployment, though the Navy has not announced where Mason will go. (Daniel De Jesus/U.S. Navy)
It’s not clear when Mason will join the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush for the group’s scheduled deployment. The Navy has not officially announced where the Bush will go.
But with USS Gerald R. Ford at a Navy base in Greece for an assessment, repairs and replenishment following a March 12 fire aboard the ship during operations in the Red Sea, there now is only one Navy aircraft carrier in the Middle East.
USS Abraham Lincoln continues operations in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing joint American and Israeli military campaign against Iran.
On Tuesday, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet said the cause of the fire aboard the Ford, which started in the ship’s main laundry area, remained under investigation.
“Specific details and subsequent damage assessment are being evaluated as part of ongoing investigations and will be released at a later date,” NAVEUR-AF/6th Fleet said in a statement in response to Stars and Stripes’ questions about the impact of the fire on the ship and its personnel.
Mason has a crew of about 300 and is one of at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers assigned to the Bush carrier strike group; the other is USS Ross, homeported in Norfolk, Va.
Mason is among the first destroyers to take on the responsibility of air and surface command, a role traditionally filled by cruisers. With the Navy’s aging cruiser fleet nearing retirement, destroyers are bridging the gap.
Bush, which completed a pre-deployment certification exercise March 5, was last deployed to the Mediterranean in August 2022. The carrier returned to Norfolk in April 2023 after more than eight months on deployment.
