The guided-missile destroyer Mustin is in San Diego, California, to join the 3rd Fleet after departing Yokosuka, Japan, last month.
The Mustin, originally commissioned in San Diego in 2003, has spent 15 years assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 in Yokosuka as part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces, where the destroyer was involved in several humanitarian efforts while based in Japan.
Those efforts included assisting Myanmar following Cyclone Nargis in 2008 with the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, along with responding to the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan in 2011.
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More recently, the ship has continued to complete training exercises and operations, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those exercises include Integrated Ship and Air Team Training and Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training. The ship has also participated in dual carrier operations as part of the Reagan’s carrier strike group, and completed freedom of navigation operations.
Now, the ship is poised to undergo a planned depot modernization period.
“Planned maintenance availabilities like these are critical to ensuring ships are maintained and equipped to perform combat-ready tasking when called upon and achieve their expected service life,” Cmdr. Robert Briggs, the Mustin’s commanding officer, said in a news release.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Mustin’s accomplishments,” Briggs said. “As we transition into the maintenance phase over the following months, the crew is focused on upgrading the combat systems and engineering plant, and eventually returning this warship back to sea.”
A spokesperson for Pacific Fleet did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Navy Times regarding how long the maintenance availability was scheduled for, or when the maintenance period would commence.
Stars & Stripes reported last month the maintenance availability would start in early 2022 and was slated to last two years.
The Mustin arrived in San Diego on July 22. The guided-missile destroyer Ralph Johnson, currently based in Everett, Washington, will replace the Mustin in Japan, the Navy said.
