Last April 7, 2008, USS Farragut DDG-99 and its sailors deployed for the first time since its commissioning on May 4, 2006 as part of the George Washington Strike Group in support of the Americas (POA). The USS Farragut was commanded by Cmdr. Scott E. Dugan. Dugan said:

“Deploying is an important event in any service member’s career, but there is a significant amount of pride associated with being the first crew to deploy a ship. A successful deployment will be an excellent opportunity for Farragut to improve interoperability and readiness with our South American partners, essential elements of the Navy’s new Maritime Strategy.”

Farragut, as part of the strike group, will escort USS George Washington CVN-73 during the first portion of its journey to Yokosuka, Japan wherein it will replace the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 as the Navy’s only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier. The deployment includes bilateral and multinational sea-based exercises and training opportunities, such as UNITAS, having two geographically-focused maritime exercises to improve interoperability between participating navies. Farragut conducted multiple air defense exercises in preparation of becoming the Air Defense Coordinator for the entire strike group.

After escorting USS George Washington, the crews of the Farragut will engage in counter-narcotic and theater security cooperation exercises. Maritime interdiction operations scenarios were conducted during the recent group sail exercise in preparation for Farragut’s deployment.