Search the Site with

General Characteristics

Crew List

Memorabilia

Cruise Books

About the Ship's Name

History

Homeports of USS Gravely

About the Ship's Coat of Arms

Image Gallery

to end of page

USS Gravely (DDG 107)

USS GRAVELY is one of the Flight IIA ARLEIGH BURKE - class of Aegis guided missile destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Vice Admiral Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr.

back to top

go to the end of the page

back to top

go to the end of the page

Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS GRAVELY. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

back to top

go to the end of the page

• Click here to see which USS GRAVELY memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS GRAVELY Cruise Books:

• Mediterranean and Arabian Sea Cruise Book 2015-16

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Name:

Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., first enlisted in the Naval Reserves on September 15, 1942 and was trained as a Fireman Apprentice. In 1943, he was selected for the V-12 program, to train as a Naval officer. On December 14, 1944 Gravely successfully completed midshipman training, becoming the first African American commissioned from the Navy Reserve Officer Training Course. His first assignment was to Camp Robert Smalls, as the Assistant Battalion Commander for new recruits. Afterwards, he began his seagoing career as a sailor aboard the USS PC-1264, a submarine chaser that was one of only two World War II ships with a largely African-American crew. In April 1946, he was released from active duty, remaining in the Naval Reserve. He returned to his hometown of Richmond to complete his bachelor's degree in History. Gravely was recalled to active duty in 1949 as part of the Navy's response to President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order to desegregate the Armed Services, his initial assignment was as a Navy Recruiter, recruiting African-Americans in the Washington, D.C. area.

Gravely went from recruiting to building a Navy career that lasted 38 years and included many distinguished accomplishments. He became the first African American to command a US Navy warship (THEODORE E. CHANDLER DD 717), the first African American to command an American warship under combat conditions (TAUSSIG DD 746), the first African American to command a major naval warship (JOUETT CG 29), the first African American admiral, the first African American to rise to the rank of Vice Admiral, and the first African-American to command a U.S. Fleet (Commander, US 3rd Fleet).

Admiral Gravely was assigned tours of duty aboard the following: PC-1264, IOWA (BB 61) , TOLEDO (CA 133) and SEMINOLE (AKA 104). He served as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the THEODORE E. CHANDLER (DD 717). Additionally, he was the Commanding Officer of the FALGOUT (DE 324), TAUSSIG (DD 746), and JOUETT (CG 29). His last tour of duty before his retirement in August 1980, was as Director of the Defense Communications Agency in Washington , overseeing the communications network linking Washington with American and allied bases worldwide. Admiral Gravely was also highly decorated, with decorations including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Commendation Medal.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS GRAVELY History:

The contract for USS GRAVELY was authorized on September 13, 2002. Construction took place at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the keel was laid down on November 26, 2007. The ship was launched on March 30, 2009, and christened at Pascagoula on May 16, 2009. Alma Bernice Clark Gravely, the widow of Vice Admiral Gravely, served as sponsor, while retired Admiral J. Paul Reason, himself another major African American naval leader, was the principal speaker.

Sea trials followed in June 2010, and the ship completed acceptance trials on June 28, 2010. The Navy formally accepted delivery from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding at Pascagoula on July 26, 2010. The acceptance process had to be adjusted because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which required a modified trial profile. Instead of a completely routine acceptance sequence, the ship underwent pierside inspections and tests by the Board of Inspection and Survey, followed by a 36-hour underway period to evaluate propulsion, steering, damage-control systems, navigation equipment, deck machinery, and overall readiness. Commissioning took place at Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 20, 2010, with Commander Douglas W. Kunzman as the first commanding officer. Four days later, USS GRAVELY reached Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, her home port.

The first year in commission was devoted to shakedown, inspections, corrective work, and the transition from new-construction status to deployable Atlantic Fleet service. While conducting routine operations off the northern coast of Florida on February 13, 2011, USS GRAVELY suffered structural damage to a mast-mounted antenna. No personnel were injured, and the ship entered Naval Station Mayport, Florida, the following day for assessment. A major post-shakedown availability then followed. BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair received a contract modification for the work on March 8, 2011, with completion expected later that year. This availability was the normal but important process by which a newly delivered ship corrected deficiencies found during trials, refined systems, and prepared for operational tasking. Final contract trials were completed off the U.S. East Coast on May 19, 2011. The ship's first command tour ended later that year, when Commander David W. Dry relieved Commander Kunzman as commanding officer during a change-of-command ceremony at Norfolk on December 15, 2011.

During 2012, USS GRAVELY entered a fuller pattern of exercises, public-presence events, and strike-group workups. From June 21 to June 28, she participated in a multinational fleet exercise connected with the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. At the end of that exercise period, she moored at the Black Falcon Cruise Ship Terminal in South Boston, Massachusetts, on June 29 for a seven-day port visit connected with Independence Day celebrations. Later that summer, the ship shifted south. She arrived at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, on September 16 for a four-day port call before taking part in UNITAS Atlantic 2012 in the western Caribbean through September 28. At Key West, she operated in company with an unusually varied group of ships, including USS ANZIO (CG 68), USS UNDERWOOD (FFG 36), HMS DAUNTLESS, BNS GREENHALGH, ARC ANTIOQUIA, ARM INDEPENDENCIA, and HMCS PRESERVER. UNITAS, the long-running multinational exercise series with Latin American and partner navies, gave USS GRAVELY early experience in combined operations beyond the immediate U.S. strike-group environment. Her integration into carrier-strike-group training began soon afterward, when she got underway on October 7 for Group Sail operations as part of the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group.

The opening months of 2013 brought the final workup for her maiden deployment. USS GRAVELY left Norfolk on January 14 for a Composite Training Unit Exercise, returned on January 24 for emergent repairs to her number 3 gas turbine generator, and resumed the exercise from January 26 to February 3. After a three-day weather delay, she departed Norfolk on February 11, 2013, for her first overseas deployment, bound for the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility. The deployment unfolded while the eastern Mediterranean was increasingly affected by the Syrian civil war, instability following the Arab uprisings, continuing U.S. commitments to regional partners, and NATO's broader interest in maritime stability from the western Mediterranean to the Levant.

A brief refueling stop at Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, on February 23 marked the ship's passage across the Atlantic. By March 4, USS GRAVELY had entered the Mediterranean and pulled into Naples, Italy. From March 7 to March 21, she participated in Noble Dina in the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean. This annual joint exercise involved U.S., Israeli, and Greek forces and focused on maritime security, undersea warfare, search-and-rescue coordination, and regional interoperability. After a liberty visit to Larnaca, Cyprus, she left port on May 15 and, five days later, conducted a passing exercise with the Egyptian Navy frigate ENS TOUSHKA in the eastern Mediterranean. A two-day port call at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete, began on June 11. During another Souda Bay period, Commander Kevin M. Kennedy relieved Commander Dry as commanding officer on July 7, 2013.

The maiden deployment continued through the summer and autumn. Early August found USS GRAVELY at the Finger Berth in Haifa, Israel, where she arrived on August 8 for a four-day visit before participating in the at-sea phase of Reliant Mermaid. Later that month, on August 26, USS GRAVELY and USS BARRY (DDG 52) conducted a passing exercise with the French frigate FS ACONIT in the eastern Mediterranean. A second Haifa visit followed from September 29 to October 1. By late October, the ship had returned to Naples for a routine port call, and she reached Naval Station Rota, Spain, in early November. Another brief stop at Funchal, Portugal, on November 9 preceded the final Atlantic crossing. USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on November 18, 2013, after an extended nine-month maiden deployment that had taken her across the Atlantic and into a dense sequence of allied, partner, and bilateral operations in a Mediterranean theater shaped by regional instability and renewed great-power naval interest.

After post-deployment stand-down and maintenance, the destroyer resumed workups in 2014. Her first significant underway period of the year began on February 14, when she departed Norfolk to support an Independent Deployer Certification Exercise off Florida for USS COLE (DDG 67), USS JAMES E. WILLIAMS (DDG 95), USS LEYTE GULF (CG 55), and USS VELLA GULF (CG 72). From that operational setting, she shifted to a public port visit, mooring at Pier 7, Alabama State Docks, in Mobile, Alabama, on February 28 for a five-day Mardi Gras visit. A bilateral exercise with the Royal Canadian Navy followed later in the spring, after which USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on April 8. From April 29 to May 2, she conducted an ammunition offload at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The ship then entered a Selected Restricted Availability at Marine Hydraulics Industries in Norfolk on May 30, conducted sea trials in mid-September, and closed the year with another change of command when Commander Alysa L. Ambrose relieved Commander Kennedy at Naval Station Norfolk on December 19, 2014.

The year 2015 was dominated by workups and deployment preparation. USS GRAVELY departed Norfolk for Group Sail operations around March 31, went underway again for Group Sail in early June, and conducted a Board of Inspection and Survey assessment in mid-August. Major pre-deployment certification began when she left Norfolk on September 2 for Composite Training Unit Exercise and Joint Task Force Exercise work. In October, she conducted an ammunition onload, and on November 16, 2015, she departed Norfolk for a scheduled deployment as part of the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group. The deployment would carry her through the Mediterranean and into the U.S. Fifth Fleet area at a time when the United States and coalition partners were conducting Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State, Yemen was descending into a Saudi-led coalition war against Houthi forces, and maritime-security operations in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and Persian Gulf remained a persistent naval requirement.

The transit eastward brought early partner interaction. USS GRAVELY conducted a passing exercise with the Royal Moroccan Navy frigate RMNS SULTAN MOULAY ISMAIL on November 28, 2015, and transited the Strait of Gibraltar the following day. A three-day port visit at Palma de Mallorca, Spain, began on November 30, followed by a three-day liberty visit to Bar, Montenegro, beginning on December 6. That call carried partnership significance because Montenegro was moving toward NATO membership. The ship transited the Suez Canal on December 14 and reached Port Victoria, Seychelles, on December 23 for a four-day liberty visit. After operations in the western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea region, she transited the Strait of Hormuz northbound on January 22, 2016.

USS GRAVELY's 2015-2016 deployment continued across the Middle East and adjacent waters. A three-day port call at the General Cargo Terminal in Duqm, Oman, began on February 3, 2016. One of the deployment's most notable events occurred on March 28, when USS GRAVELY supported USS SIROCCO (PC 6) after the patrol craft intercepted a stateless dhow in the Arabian Sea. The boarding team from USS SIROCCO discovered a large illicit arms shipment, and the weapons were transferred to USS GRAVELY. The seized cargo included approximately 1,500 AK-47 rifles, 200 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and 21 .50-caliber machine guns. The interdiction took place within the wider context of the Yemen conflict and repeated maritime arms movements believed to be linked to Houthi forces. By May 1, USS GRAVELY had transited Bab el-Mandeb northbound after operating in the Gulf of Aden for three weeks. She then visited Eilat, Israel, from May 5 to May 9. During a complex sequence of Suez operations later that month, she transited the canal northbound on May 11, southbound on May 13, and northbound again on May 21 while escorting USS NEWPORT NEWS (SSN 750). A Souda Bay period began on May 23, with a berth shift on May 29 and departure the next day. On June 17, 2016, while escorting HARRY S. TRUMAN, GRAVELY had a close encounter with the Russian frigate YAROSLAV MUDRY in the eastern Mediterranean - an incident both sides later characterized as unsafe maneuvering by the other. The ship later moored at Lora Naval Base in Split, Croatia, on June 23 for a four-day port visit, transited the Strait of Gibraltar westbound on July 2, and returned to Norfolk on July 13, 2016, after an eight-month deployment to the U.S. Fifth and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibility. Two days after her return, Commander Ted W. Carlson relieved Commander Ambrose as commanding officer. A new maintenance phase followed when Marine Hydraulics International received a contract on July 28 for a Selected Restricted Availability expected to continue into 2017.

Much of 2017 was spent in the post-deployment maintenance-and-training cycle. USS GRAVELY left the Marine Hydraulics Industries shipyard for sea trials on May 23 and returned to Naval Station Norfolk on May 25. The ship got underway again in June and conducted a Friends and Family Day Cruise on July 10. After routine training ended on July 26, she continued a series of shorter underway periods in August, September, and October. A more substantial two-week underway period concluded on November 3, when she returned to Norfolk after supporting the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group's Group Sail as part of the opposition forces in the Jacksonville operating area. Additional brief underway periods followed in November and December as the ship remained in the training and readiness cycle that followed her 2016 deployment and availability.

The 2018 operating year began with short local operations. USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on January 19 after two days underway off Virginia, and Commander Justin R. Hodges relieved Commander Carlson as commanding officer on January 29. Four days later, the ship departed home port in support of the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group's Composite Training Unit Exercise, again serving as part of the opposition forces. She visited Naval Station Mayport from February 8 to February 11 and returned to Norfolk on February 28. A separate Atlantic and European training period began on April 9. The destroyer refueled at Funchal, Madeira, on April 16, transited St. George's Channel northbound near midnight on April 21, and reached the waters off Scotland on April 22 for Joint Warrior 18-1. Joint Warrior, conducted in the United Kingdom maritime training environment, emphasized allied integration in complex air, surface, and subsurface scenarios. USS GRAVELY transited St. George's Channel southbound on May 4, stopped at Ponta Delgada in the Azores from May 7 to May 12, conducted operations east of Andros Island, Bahamas, on May 20, and returned to Norfolk on May 23.

The remainder of 2018 kept the ship in the Atlantic Fleet training pipeline. A CORTRAMID summer cruise took place on June 5-6, followed by brief underway operations later in June. In July, USS GRAVELY supported an Independent Deployer Certification Exercise and the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) Carrier Strike Group's Group Sail as opposition forces. She stopped briefly at Naval Station Mayport on July 13 and July 17 and returned to Norfolk on August 12. Hurricane Florence forced an emergency sortie from Norfolk on September 10; the ship operated in the Port Everglades area from September 13 before returning home on September 17. Training in the Virginia Capes operating area resumed on September 25, followed by an ammunition load at Yorktown from October 1 to October 5. In mid-October, USS GRAVELY supported the USS KEARSARGE (LHD 3) Amphibious Ready Group's Composite Training Unit Exercise in the Cherry Point and Jacksonville operating areas. She stopped at Mayport on November 5 before participating in the Submarine Commander's Course at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center range with USS GONZALEZ (DDG 66) and HMCS ST. JOHNS. The ship then operated near Andros Island, transited north of Great Abaco Island, stopped again at Mayport on November 12, and returned north for a missile exercise off Virginia on November 17. She reached Norfolk on November 19 and began a Continuous Maintenance Availability later that month.

One of the more important deployments of USS GRAVELY's career began on December 28, 2018, when she departed Norfolk in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group One. The strategic setting was shaped by Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine, heightened NATO concern over Russian naval and air activity, and renewed emphasis on the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Norwegian Sea, and European reinforcement routes. The reestablishment of U.S. Second Fleet in 2018 and intensified NATO attention to northern European waters framed the deployment. USS GRAVELY served as the Standing NATO Maritime Group One flagship, with NATO staff embarked, and operated from the North Atlantic to the Baltic while conducting exercises, port visits, presence operations, replenishments, and allied integration.

The destroyer crossed into northern European waters in early January 2019, transiting the Dover Strait northbound on January 8. From January 10 to January 18, she lay at Ocean Quay in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she relieved HDMS ESBERN SNARE as flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group One. After leaving Denmark, she passed southbound through the Great Belt. A brief refueling stop followed on January 26 at the Naval Base at Kiel, Germany. She then operated in the Baltic, passing near Bornholm before heading back north through the Great Belt. By January 30, she had arrived at Haakonsvern Naval Base, Norway, for the in-port phase of NATO exercise Dynamic Guard. The at-sea phase began on February 4, and the ship returned to Haakonsvern from February 9 to February 11 and again from February 15 to February 18. Dynamic Guard focused on electronic warfare, anti-ship-missile-defense procedures, and NATO integration in the northern maritime theater.

Operations continued across the North Sea, Baltic, and British approaches through the spring. USS GRAVELY replenished at sea with FGS SPESSART off the north coast of the Netherlands on February 24, transited the Skagerrak eastbound the next day, and passed southbound through the Great Belt on February 26. A four-day visit to Rostock, Germany, began on March 1. After leaving the Baltic, she transited northbound through the Great Belt on March 10 and southbound through the Dover Strait on March 12. The ship operated southeast of Exmouth, England, on March 13 and then moored at Devonport, Plymouth, from March 14 to March 19. Replenishment with USNS MEDGAR EVERS (T-AKE 13) south of Plymouth followed on March 25, and two days later USS GRAVELY transited St. George's Channel northbound. She reached Faslane, Scotland, on March 28 for the in-port phase of Joint Warrior 19-1, got underway for the at-sea phase on March 31, and later moored outboard of USS CARNEY (DDG 64) at Faslane from April 12 to April 14. By April 17, after transiting the North Channel and the Great Belt, she was again moving into the Baltic.

The Baltic portion of the 2019 deployment was especially active. USS GRAVELY moored at Gdynia, Poland, on April 19 for a four-day visit. A photo exercise off Gdynia on April 24 brought her together with SPS ALMIRANTE JUAN DE BORBON, HMS WESTMINSTER, ORP GENERAL KAZIMIERZ PULASKI, and TCG GOKOVA. She replenished with FGS RHOEN in the Baltic Sea on May 2, arrived at Riga, Latvia, on May 3 for an extended four-day visit, and then visited Tallinn, Estonia, from May 10 to May 13. A four-day liberty visit to Stockholm, Sweden, began on May 23. Near the end of the month, on May 30, she took part in another photo exercise off the west coast of Latvia. BALTOPS 2019 then brought the ship to Kiel on June 7 for a scheduled pre-exercise port visit. The at-sea phase began when she left Kiel on June 9. During BALTOPS, USS GRAVELY formed part of the renewed U.S. and NATO maritime focus in the Baltic region. The exercise involved allied and partner ships and focused on interoperability, maritime security, amphibious operations, air defense, mine countermeasures, and regional stability. After the exercise, from June 21 to June 24, she moored outboard of USS ROSS (DDG 71) at the Scheer-Mole in Kiel, then transited the Skagerrak westbound on June 25.

The deployment continued into the high north. USS GRAVELY moored at Harstad, Norway, on June 28 for the in-port phase of the NATO anti-submarine-warfare exercise Dynamic Mongoose 19. After shifting to a fuel depot on June 30, she got underway for the at-sea phase on July 1. A visit to Tromso, Norway, followed from July 12 to July 15. The ship then moved south through the North Minch on July 18 and the Straits of Moyle shortly after midnight on July 19. Off Portugal, on July 21, she conducted a passing exercise with TCG GOKOVA. The Standing NATO Maritime Group One portion of the deployment ended at Naval Station Rota, Spain, where USS GRAVELY arrived on July 23 for a week-long port call and turnover with USS GRIDLEY (DDG 101), which relieved her in the group flagship role. The return crossing took her through northern Atlantic waters. She visited Canadian Forces Base Halifax from August 7 to August 13, conducted a passing exercise with HDMS ABSALON in the Labrador Sea on August 16, and arrived in the vicinity of Nuuk, Greenland, on August 18 under the command of Commander Michael T. O'Reilly. After transiting the Labrador Sea southbound on August 21 and making a brief refueling stop at Halifax on August 24, USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on August 27, 2019, after an eight-month deployment in the U.S. Second and Sixth Fleet areas of responsibility.

Only days after her return, Hurricane Dorian forced another emergency sortie from Norfolk. USS GRAVELY left port on September 4, 2019, and returned on September 8. Local underway operations followed from September 30 to October 8 and again on October 28. Ammunition offload at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown occupied the period from October 28 to November 1, and on November 26 the ship entered SPEEDE Dry Dock at the NASSCO shipyard in Norfolk for a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability. That yard period carried the destroyer through most of 2020. Sea trials concluded with her return to Naval Station Norfolk on November 10, 2020. Three days later, Commander Corey D. Odom relieved Commander O'Reilly as commanding officer. USS GRAVELY's return to the operating cycle began with routine training underway from Norfolk on December 15.

The year 2021 was a rebuilding year that moved USS GRAVELY back toward deployable status. A 15-day routine training period ended on February 19, followed by ammunition loading at Yorktown from February 22 to February 25. Late March and early April brought another routine training period in the Virginia Capes area after a stop at Explosives Anchorage G2 on March 29. The ship got underway again on April 23, stopped at Mayport from May 2 to May 3, and returned to Norfolk on May 8. After a one-day underway period ending on May 22 and another short underway from June 3 to June 4, she began Group Sail operations with the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group on June 7 and returned on June 29. Several short underway periods followed in July. A 13-day underway period for the anti-submarine-warfare exercise Black Widow and in support of Large Scale Exercise 2021 ended on August 14. Large Scale Exercise 2021 was designed to test distributed maritime operations and fleet-wide command relationships. Another brief underway period followed from August 23 to August 24. The ship entered Composite Training Unit Exercise in the Cherry Point, Charleston, and Jacksonville operating areas on September 30, then loaded ammunition at Yorktown from October 29 to November 5.

A new overseas deployment began on December 1, 2021, when USS GRAVELY departed Norfolk with the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group. She transited the Strait of Gibraltar eastbound on December 15 and visited Aksaz Naval Base, Turkey, from December 23 to December 27 for liberty in Marmaris. Although the deployment began as a routine Sixth Fleet movement, it soon unfolded against the background of intensifying Russian pressure on Ukraine. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, changed the strategic meaning of the carrier strike group's presence in European waters. USS GRAVELY and the other ships in the group became part of the broader U.S. and NATO maritime posture intended to reassure allies, maintain presence, and avoid escalation while Russia's war expanded on NATO's eastern flank.

At the beginning of 2022, USS GRAVELY operated in the eastern Mediterranean. A photo exercise on January 2 brought together USS GRAVELY, USS COLE, USS ROSS, USS ROOSEVELT (DDG 80), USS JASON DUNHAM (DDG 109), TCG GOKSU, and ITS CARLO MARGOTTINI. Replenishment with USNS SUPPLY (T-AOE 6) followed in the southern Adriatic on January 8, and the ship transited the Strait of Otranto southbound on January 16. Another photo exercise, this time in the Strait of Otranto on February 2, placed the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group in company with USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20) and the ITS CAVOUR carrier strike group. USS GRAVELY then moored at Souda Bay from February 5 to February 10 and briefly stopped at the East Refueling Wharf there on February 14. She transited the Strait of Gibraltar westbound shortly before midnight on March 11, moored at Naval Station Rota from March 12 to March 17, and passed northbound through the Dover Strait on March 21 before shifting into northern waters.

The northern and Baltic phases of the deployment gained special significance after the invasion of Ukraine. USS GRAVELY moored at Tromso, Norway, from April 13 to April 16, 2022, and entered the Baltic after transiting the Danish Straits southbound on April 19. She reached Klaipeda, Lithuania, on April 24 for a six-day visit. That call, coming only two months after Russia's full-scale invasion, carried clear alliance-signaling value: the United States was demonstrating naval presence in a Baltic ally's port while Lithuania and other eastern-flank NATO states were directly concerned by Russian aggression. The ship then visited Gdynia, Poland, from May 5 to May 6 and again from May 9 to May 11. Off the south coast of Finland on May 16, while commanded by Commander Hunter D. Washburn, USS GRAVELY participated in a photo exercise with USS KEARSARGE, USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD 44), and five Finnish Navy ships. The exercise was especially notable because Finland, not yet a NATO member, was moving rapidly toward accession after the invasion had reshaped Nordic security policy. USS GRAVELY visited Helsinki, Finland, together with USS GUNSTON HALL from May 27 to May 30, returned to Gdynia from June 5 to June 8, transited the Great Belt northbound on June 9, and passed southbound through the Dover Strait shortly after midnight on June 11. A brief refueling stop at Portsmouth, England, followed later that day. After offloading ammunition at Yorktown from June 20 to June 24, the ship returned to Norfolk on June 24, 2022, ending a nearly seven-month deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area. In recognition of sustained combat readiness across 2021-2022, the Navy named USS GRAVELY the biennial USS Arizona Memorial Trophy recipient.

Maintenance followed immediately. USS GRAVELY shifted dead-stick from Naval Station Norfolk to the Marine Hydraulics Industries shipyard on July 5, 2022, for a Selected Restricted Availability. Sea trials took place in early October, and the ship returned to Norfolk on October 6. A 10-day routine training period ended on October 27, with additional short underway periods in November and early December. Ammunition loading at Yorktown from December 12 to December 14 prepared the ship for the next phase of operations. The early months of 2023 took her into the western Atlantic and Caribbean. She got underway on January 16, stopped at Mayport on January 17, visited Bridgetown, Barbados, in late January into February 2, called at Nassau, Bahamas, from February 7 to February 9, and then moored outboard of USS CARNEY at Mayport from February 10 to February 15. She returned to Norfolk on February 24.

Aboard USS GRAVELY on March 3, Captain David P. Wroe relieved Captain Milciades A. Then as Commander, Destroyer Squadron 22. The ship then completed a 13-day Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training exercise in the Virginia Capes and Cherry Point operating areas, returning to Norfolk on April 7. Commander Brian C. Sanchez relieved Commander Washburn as commanding officer on June 15. A 40-day Composite Training Unit Exercise with the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group followed in the Cherry Point, Charleston, Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, and Virginia Capes operating areas, ending with USS GRAVELY's return to Norfolk on July 25. She loaded ammunition at Yorktown from August 7 to August 9.

USS GRAVELY departed Norfolk again on October 13, 2023, this time for a scheduled deployment with the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Carrier Strike Group. The eastbound transit included a refueling stop at Ponta Delgada in the Azores on October 24 and passage through the Strait of Gibraltar on October 28. A photo exercise in the eastern Mediterranean followed on November 3. Two days later, USS GRAVELY transited the Suez Canal southbound while escorting USS FLORIDA (SSGN 728). Her arrival in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea region coincided with the rapid expansion of regional tensions after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel's subsequent war in Gaza, and Houthi attacks from Yemen against commercial shipping and naval forces in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, and surrounding waters. The deployment became the most combat-intensive period of USS GRAVELY's career to date.

Late November and December placed the ship across the North Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf approaches, and Bahrain operating environment. USS GRAVELY replenished with USNS KANAWHA (T-AO 196) in the North Arabian Sea on November 24, transited the Strait of Hormuz northbound on November 26, and visited Manama, Bahrain, at Mina Salman from early December. She replenished with USNS ALAN SHEPARD (T-AKE 3) on December 8, returned to a Bahrain berth from December 10 to December 13, and then left the Persian Gulf. By January 2024, she was operating in the southern Red Sea as part of the U.S. and coalition effort to protect maritime traffic and respond to Houthi missile, drone, and boat attacks. One of the earliest large-scale defensive actions of the crisis came on January 9, 2024, when U.S. and allied forces defeated a major Houthi attack in the Red Sea. Aircraft from USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, together with USS GRAVELY, USS LABOON (DDG 58), USS MASON (DDG 87), and HMS DIAMOND, shot down a combination of one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile. This engagement placed USS GRAVELY directly in the coalition air-defense effort before the first major U.S. strikes ashore in Yemen.

Shortly after midnight local time on January 12, 2024, USS GRAVELY launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles against targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on shipping. USS MASON and USS PHILIPPINE SEA (CG 58) also participated in those strikes, along with aircraft from Carrier Air Wing Three embarked aboard USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. USS GRAVELY then visited Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, in mid-January and replenished with USNS ALAN SHEPARD on January 18. Another major engagement followed on January 24 after the U.S.-flagged container ship M/V MAERSK DETROIT came under Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile attack in the Gulf of Aden. USS GRAVELY responded and shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles; a third missile fell into the sea. Replenishment with USNS SUPPLY in the southern Red Sea took place on January 28. Two nights later, at about 11:30 p.m. Sanaa time on January 30, Houthi forces fired an anti-ship cruise missile from Yemen toward the Red Sea. USS GRAVELY shot it down without injury or damage. The engagement was reported as a close-range defensive action using the ship's close-in weapon system, making it one of the most widely discussed ship-defense events of the Red Sea crisis.

Combat and support operations continued through the winter and spring. USS GRAVELY again launched Tomahawk missiles on February 4, 2024, and replenished with USNS KANAWHA on February 17. Early March brought a port visit to Duqm, Oman. Back in the Red Sea, the ship replenished with USNS SUPPLY on March 22 and March 28 and with USNS KANAWHA on April 2. A northbound Suez Canal transit on April 26 briefly carried her back into the Mediterranean, and she moored at Souda Bay on April 28 for a four-day liberty visit. The continuing Red Sea crisis, however, extended the deployment. USS GRAVELY transited the Suez Canal southbound again on May 5 and returned to the Red Sea. She replenished with USNS SUPPLY on May 18, participated in a photo exercise northwest of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 7, and replenished again with USNS SUPPLY northwest of Jeddah on June 20. After transiting the Suez Canal northbound on June 22, she visited Souda Bay from June 25 to June 29, joined a photo exercise in the Ionian Sea on June 30, and passed westbound through the Strait of Gibraltar shortly after midnight on July 4. USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on July 14, 2024, after an extended nine-month deployment to the U.S. Fifth and Sixth Fleet areas. The deployment had included strike operations, air and missile defense, escort and maritime-security tasks, replenishments under operational pressure, and sustained presence in one of the world's most contested maritime choke-point regions.

After the Red Sea deployment, the ship moved through ammunition offload and maintenance. USS GRAVELY offloaded ammunition at Yorktown from August 19 to August 23, 2024, and shifted to East Coast Repair and Fabrication at the Talton Marine Terminal in Newport News on October 7 for a Selected Restricted Availability. Sea trials after the four-month availability ended with her return to Norfolk on January 15, 2025. Commander Gregory J. Piorun Jr. relieved Commander Sanchez as commanding officer on January 30. The next assignment differed sharply from the preceding combat deployment. USS GRAVELY departed Norfolk on March 11, 2025, in support of emergent national tasking, loaded ammunition at Yorktown from March 11 to March 14, and stopped at Mayport from March 17 to March 19 to embark U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 401. U.S. Northern Command publicly announced on March 15 that the ship was deploying to its area of responsibility under maritime homeland-defense authorities. The mission was connected to U.S. border-security and maritime-interdiction tasking, with the Coast Guard detachment providing law-enforcement capability for interdiction missions involving illegal drugs, illegal migration, and other illicit activity.

During this three-month deployment, USS GRAVELY operated in the U.S. Second and Fourth Fleet areas, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. She stopped at Galveston, Texas, on March 24 to refuel before operations off the northeastern coast of Mexico, returned to Galveston from April 3 to April 4 and again from April 15 to April 16, and visited Veracruz, Mexico, from April 25 to April 28. Early May brought operations south of Key West, Florida, on May 2 and May 3, followed by a port period at Port Tampa Bay from May 6 to May 10. The ship then visited Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from May 21 to May 22. A concrete interdiction success came on May 25, 2025, when USS GRAVELY, with her embarked Coast Guard law-enforcement detachment, boarded a suspicious vessel in the Caribbean Sea and seized approximately 860 pounds of cocaine in 19 bales, with an estimated value of about $13.65 million. From May 28 to June 2, she moored in Nassau, Bahamas, and on June 3 she anchored near Nassau for a brief refueling stop. USS COLE departed Mayport on June 5 to relieve USS GRAVELY and assume the southern-border mission. USS GRAVELY returned to Norfolk on June 9, 2025, after the three-month deployment. The mission was unusual for a front-line Aegis destroyer because it placed a major surface combatant into a law-enforcement-support and maritime homeland-security role more commonly associated with Coast Guard cutters and patrol forces, but it reflected the use of additional naval assets for border and maritime-security missions.

Only two months later, USS GRAVELY began another operational cycle. She departed Norfolk on August 9, 2025, again in support of emergent national tasking, loaded ammunition at Yorktown from August 9 to August 12, and stopped at Mayport from August 13 to August 15, where she moored outboard of USS THOMAS HUDNER (DDG 116) and embarked another Coast Guard law-enforcement detachment. Refueling at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay followed from August 21 to August 22. On September 2, she replenished at sea with USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) south of Puerto Rico. Ponce, Puerto Rico, became a recurring support port, with visits from September 10 to September 12, September 21 to September 22, and October 5 to October 9. The ship replenished with USNS JOSHUA HUMPHREYS (T-AO 188) on October 21, then visited Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from October 26 to October 30. Another Ponce port period lasted from November 26 to December 1. After offloading ammunition at Yorktown from December 8 to December 13, USS GRAVELY returned to Naval Station Norfolk on December 13, 2025, after a four-month deployment supporting U.S. Southern Command missions. During that deployment she operated in coordination with the USS IWO JIMA Amphibious Ready Group and the USS GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78) Carrier Strike Group. The wider strategic and political context was a heightened U.S. maritime-security and counter-trafficking posture in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with naval forces used to support U.S. Southern Command missions in the Western Hemisphere.

On January 12, 2026, USS GRAVELY shifted dead-stick from Naval Station Norfolk to the Talton Marine Terminal at East Coast Repair and Fabrication in Newport News.

back to top

go to the end of the page

Homeports of USS GRAVELY:

back to top

go to the end of the page

About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

Dark blue is the color traditionally associated with the Navy, representing the sea. Gold denotes excellence, personifying Vice Admiral Gravely’s accomplishments and of being the ‘Man of Many Firsts’; the first African American commissioned as an officer from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, the first African American to command a United States Navy warship (USS THEODORE E. CHANDLER), the first African American to command an American warship under combat conditions (USS TAUSSIG), the first African American to command a major naval warship (USS JOUETT), the first African American admiral, the first African American to rise to the rank of Vice Admiral, and the first African-American to command a US Fleet (Commander, US 3rd Fleet), paving the way for others to follow. The Aegis shield indicates the modern weaponry of the USS GRAVELY. The chevron suggests the prow of a ship; divided into quarters alluding to the four ships – USS THEODORE E. CHANDLER, USS TAUSSIG, USS JOUETT and USS FALGOUT, commanded by Vice Admiral Gravely. The two red sections signify the ships he commanded during combat, one of which into direct fire (USS TAUSSIG). The blue lightning bolts emphasize the Vice Admiral’s expertise in naval communications. The trident represents seapower. Black denotes strength of character. The shield displays the Gravely family’s coat of arms.

The Crest:

The Gold heraldic seadog symbolizes an experienced sailor, highlighting Vice Admiral Gravely’s 38 years of naval service. The dark blue collar with the three stars displays his highest rank. Red signifies his courage and strength. The billet represents acceptance from his peers for his capabilities as an experienced naval officer. The representation of the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star honor his highest decorations awarded.

back to top

go to the end of the page

USS GRAVELY Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 8, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 23, 2014.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on April 29, 2015.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 6, 2015.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at the Marine Hydraulics Shipyard at Norfolk, Va., undergoing a Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) on October 12, 2016.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on September 21, 2018.

The photos below were taken by Helwin Scharn and show the GRAVELY arriving at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, for a fuel stop on January 26, 2019. The GRAVELY is currently serving as flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1).

The clip and the photos below were taken by Michael Doehring and show the USS GRAVELY arriving at Rostock, Germany, on March 1, 2019, making her the first ARLEIGH BURKE - class guided missile destroyer to visit Germany's northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). GRAVELY is presently serving as flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1).

The photos below were taken by me and show the GRAVELY departing Naval Base Kiel, Germany, to participate in BALTOPS 2019 on June 9, 2019. Note the yellow E award with the two service stripes on the bulwark. If you check the photos of GRAVELY from March at Rostock, the yellow E award did not have any service stripes. So the previous stripe was either lost, or the E in its current version has one stripe to much.

The clip and the photos below were taken by me and show the USS GRAVELY arriving at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 21, 2019, after participating in BALTOPS 2019.

The photos below were taken by me during an open ship event aboard USS GRAVELY as part of the Kiel Week at Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 22, 2019.

			Click here for more Photos.

The clip and the photos below were taken by me and show the USS GRAVELY departing Naval Base Kiel, Germany, on June 24, 2019, after participating in BALTOPS 2019.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS GRAVELY at the Marine Hydraulics Industries (MHI) Ship Repair & Services shipyard in Norfolk, Va., on September 6, 2022.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 9, 2023. Note that the Command Excellence Awards are only applied on the portside. It also seems as if GRAVELY is using magnetic letters for the awards instead of painting them on the bulwark. The yellow E is incorrectly displayed because instead of having 5 stripes below the E it should be one star above the E and no stripes.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS GRAVELY at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2024.

back to top

Back to Destroyers list.

Back to ships list.

Back to selection page.

Back to 1^st page.