After Swift Turnaround for New Deployment, USS Truxton Returns to the Pier

On February 3, the destroyer USS Truxton conducted a fast turnaround from Naval Station Norfolk in order to redeploy to an unknown destination. The next day, she returned to the pier because of an equipment issue, delaying her departure.

Last year, Truxton spent seven months on deployment in the Middle East. She returned to Norfolk in October for maintenance, training and shore leave. On February 3, after about three months in port, she departed again, with speculation pointing to the Caribbean or the Mideast, where a military buildup is under way amidst tensions with Iran.

Three months is a comparatively short time for a destroyer to spend in port between deployments: For repairs and upkeep, U.S. Navy destroyers typically get months of pierside maintenance or a drydocking, followed by six months or more in homeport for training and certification.

“The Navy’s kind of asked more for us and our families,” Truxton CO Cmdr. James Koffi told local WHRO about the swift deployment. “My crew has done impeccably well during the short turnaround. So I really don’t focus on the number of days. . . . I’m very confident of our abilities to execute.”

Truxton sailed from Norfolk at about 1000 hours on Tuesday, headed for the York River naval weapons station to take on stores. A harbor webcam spotted her returning to Norfolk on February 4, and USNI confirmed her return to the pier for maintenance purposes on February 5.

A spokesperson for U.S. Second Fleet told USNI that Truxton had to address an “emergent equipment repair,” and the extra time at Norfolk would allow the crew to ensure “maximum operational readiness.”

Rapid deployment turnarounds are not unheard-of, but when done, they are often a cause for complaint among the crew – especially if the previous deployment was a long one. Destroyer USS The Sullivans deployed five times in the three years ending 2024, though some of her voyages were comparatively brief.