After 40 days of combat, Navy destroyer returns home

The Frank E. Petersen Jr. returns to its homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on Sept. 28, 2026 after a 10-month deployment. Jennifer Hlad / Defense One

During its 10-month deployment, USS Frank Petersen Jr. warded off scores of Iranian missiles and drones.

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii —Some 300 days after leaving Hawaii, the guided-missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. was welcomed home Monday with delighted cheers, jangling cowbells, handmade posters, and fresh flower leis.

The ship—part of the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group—did 40 days of combat operations and spent six months in an active combat zone. It started its deployment in December with operations in the South China Sea, but in late January was redirected to the Middle East, shortly before President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury .

The Petersen took part in the war’s initial strikes on Iran, firing Tomahawk missiles at land targets on Feb. 28. Then, as the strike group’s air and missile defense commander, the destroyer warded off more than 100 Iranian missiles and drones launched against its group and other ships in the region.

We made sure that we kept dozens of ships safe against a variety of different attacks—missile attacks, drone attacks,” said Capt. Casey Mahon, the ship’s commander.

The destroyer, commissioned in 2022, sailed more than 85,000 nautical miles during the deployment and conducted 45 replenishments at sea. At one point, the ship spent 106 days at sea between port calls, Mahon said.

It also was the first ship to enter the Strait of Hormuz after the end of major combat operations, he said, which was “quite a voyage.”

“Obviously there was stress we had to face when we did that…on the sea, under the sea, and in the air.”

Though some of the adversary technology the crew faced was new, he said, “air defense really hasn’t changed a lot of ways since World War II: You have a radar, you find the thing, you’ve got to track it.” Still, “how these things fly, how they do their missions are very different, and so the crew showed a lot of adaptability to that,” and the ship’s systems were also “very effective in that adaptability.”

The Petersen learned lessons both in “how to stay at sea for a long time” and in how to defend against new tactics, Mahon said, and has passed on those lessons to other ships that are in the region now.

“Like any good Navy ship, you know, you’re ready for that next mission,” Mahon said. “It wasn’t what we expected to happen on deployment, but for the crew, you know, whether you’re in the north Arabian Sea or the South China Sea, you’re at sea, and so we do the operations that we’re directed to do.”

Clutching ti leaf lei as she waited on the pier with her two children, Alysha Nishikawa said she was worried at times during the deployment, but she tried to “throw out positive energy” to her husband and reassure him that they were OK so he could continue to do his job.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ryhean Tucker, who was one of the first sailors to reunite with his family as the recipient of the “first kiss,” said the deployment was “stressful” and challenging. His wife, Taylor Tucker, said it was also challenging for her, taking care of their two children and moving from Virginia to Hawaii.

“It was a big job, but we did it,” she said.

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2026年9月28日，弗兰克·E·彼得森二世号驱逐舰结束了为期10个月的部署，返回其位于夏威夷珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地的母港。图片来源：Jennifer Hlad / Defense One

在为期 10 个月的部署期间，“弗兰克·彼得森”号驱逐舰击退了数十枚伊朗导弹和无人机。

夏威夷珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地——在离开夏威夷约 300 天后，导弹驱逐舰“弗兰克·E·彼得森”号于周一返回家园，受到了热烈的欢呼、叮当作响的牛铃、手工海报和鲜花花环的欢迎。

这艘军舰是“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母打击群的一部分，执行了40天的作战任务，并在战区停留了六个月。它于去年12月开始部署，最初在南海执行任务，但在1月下旬被调往中东，就在唐纳德·特朗普总统发起“史诗狂怒行动”前不久。

“彼得森”号驱逐舰参与了战争初期对伊朗的打击，于 2 月 28 日向陆地目标发射了“战斧”导弹。随后，作为打击群的防空和导弹防御指挥官，该驱逐舰击退了 100 多枚伊朗向其所在打击群和该地区其他舰艇发射的导弹和无人机。

“我们确保数十艘舰船免受各种不同攻击——导弹攻击、无人机攻击，”该舰舰长凯西·马洪上校说。

这艘于2022年服役的驱逐舰在部署期间航行超过85000海里，并进行了45次海上补给。马洪表示，该舰曾一度在两次靠港之间连续航行106天。

他还说，这艘船也是重大战斗行动结束后第一艘进入霍尔木兹海峡的船只，这是一次“相当漫长的航行”。

“显然，我们在执行这些任务时都面临着压力……无论是在海上、水下还是空中。”

虽然舰员们面对的一些敌方技术是全新的，但他表示，“自二战以来，防空技术其实并没有发生太大变化：你用雷达找到目标，然后跟踪它。” 不过，“这些飞机的飞行方式和执行任务的方式截然不同，因此舰员们展现出了很强的适应能力”，而且舰艇的系统也“在适应性方面非常有效”。

马洪表示，“彼得森”号在“如何长时间在海上航行”和“如何防御新的战术”方面都吸取了教训，并将这些经验传授给了目前在该地区的其他船只。

“就像任何一艘优秀的军舰一样，你知道，我们随时准备执行下一个任务，”马洪说。“这并非我们部署期间所预期的情况，但对船员来说，你知道，无论你身处阿拉伯海北部还是南海，你都在海上，所以我们会执行被指示执行的任务。”

艾莉莎·西川（Alysha Nishikawa）和她的两个孩子在码头上等候时，手里紧紧抓着蒂叶花环。她说，在部署期间，她有时会感到担心，但她努力向丈夫“传递正能量”，让他放心，他们一切都好，这样他才能继续工作。

一级士官瑞安·塔克是首批与家人团聚的水兵之一，也是“初吻”的接受者。他表示，这次部署“压力巨大”，充满挑战。他的妻子泰勒·塔克也表示，照顾两个孩子并从弗吉尼亚州搬到夏威夷对她来说同样充满挑战。

“这是一项艰巨的任务，但我们做到了，”她说。

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