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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia About the Ship's Coat of Arms About the Ship's Name History Homeports of USS Jason Dunham Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS JASON DUNHAM is one of the ARLEIGH BURKE Flight IIA guided missile destroyers and the first ship in the Navy named after Corporal Jason L. Dunham, USMC.
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: September 13, 2002 |
| Keel laid: April 11, 2008 | |
| Launched: August 2, 2009 | |
| Commissioned: November 13, 2010 | |
| Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | |
| Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines | |
| Propellers: two | |
| Length: 508,5 feet (155 meters) | |
| Beam: 67 feet (20.4 meters) | |
| Draft: 30,5 feet (9.3 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 9,200 tons full load | |
| Speed: 32 knots | |
| Aircraft: two | |
| Armament: one | |
| Homeport: Mayport, Fla. | |
| Crew: approx. 320 |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS JASON DUNHAM. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Coat of Arms:
The Shield:
The colors dark blue and gold represent the United States Navy. The two chevronels in base recall Corporal Dunham’s rank. The scarlet pale represents the Marine Corps and refers to the trouser stripe worn by Non Commissioned Officers. The Marine Corps Non Commissioned Officers sword on the stripe is point down, signifying Cpl Dunham’s sacrifice of his life to protect his troops. The helmet of antiquity recalls the service traditions of brotherhood which hold true today and recalls the incident of enemy attack on Cpl Dunham’s squad during which he used his helmet to contain a grenade and covered it with his body to protect his squad at the cost of his own life. The purple detail on the helmet refers to the Purple Heart Medal awarded Cpl Dunham. The distinctive shield shape is that used on the state arms of New York, Cpl Dunham’s home state. The gold mullet in dexter chief signifies the loss of Cpl Dunham to his service and his family. The gold border denotes the unity and cohesion of Marine Corps service members which characterize the force and clearly influenced Cpl Dunham’s action in defense of his troops.
The Crest:
The decorations awarded to Corporal Dunham are represented along with the eagle, globe and anchor insignia of the United States Marine Corps; the inverted mullet symbolizes the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for valor awarded to Cpl Dunham for his sacrifice in protecting his squad, and the Combat Action Ribbon, awarded to him along with the Purple Heart Medal, which is referenced on the antique helmet appearing on the shield.
back to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Name:
Corporal Jason L. Dunham was born on 10 November 1981 in Scio, New York. On April 14, 2004, Corporal Dunham was manning a checkpoint in Karabilah, Iraq, when an insurgent leapt from his car and began choking Corporal Dunham. A scuffle ensued as two Marines approached to help. Reportedly, the last words from Corporal Dunham were, “No, No. Watch his hand.” Suddenly, the insurgent dropped a grenade. Corporal Dunham took off his Kevlar helmet, dropped to the ground, and covered the explosive as best he could.
The blast seriously wounded all 3 Marines. Eight days later, Corporal Jason L. Dunham died at Bethesda Naval Hospital from wounds he received in the incident. He was 22. Corporal Dunham made the ultimate sacrifice, and in doing so saved the lives of his fellow Marines. Due to his actions on that fateful day, Corporal Dunham has been awarded the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west.
Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines.
By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS JASON DUNHAM History:
USS JASON DUNHAM was built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine. Her keel was laid on April 11, 2008, she was christened and launched on August 1, 2009 by the ship's sponsor, Debra Dunham, and she completed a four-day combined builder's and acceptance "super trial" in the Atlantic on May 20, 2010. The Navy took delivery on June 4, 2010, and the destroyer was commissioned at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 13, 2010, before proceeding to her first homeport at Naval Station Norfolk on November 23, 2010. These milestones placed the ship into service as a Flight IIA ARLEIGH BURKE-class Aegis destroyer configured for multi-mission air, surface, and subsurface warfare.
In the ship's early years at Norfolk, routine training and certifications were punctuated by a sortie to sea in August 2011 ahead of Hurricane Irene and by workups through early 2012. DDG 109 then conducted her maiden overseas deployment to the Mediterranean and Black Sea in mid-2012, entering the Black Sea in July for exercise Sea Breeze and related regional engagement, with port calls that included Souda Bay, Crete (July 2012). She transited the Suez Canal southbound in September 2012 and operated in the U.S. 5th Fleet area through late 2012 as part of the carrier presence sustaining maritime security in the Arabian Sea and Gulf region. At the time, destroyers including JASON DUNHAM, FARRAGUT (DDG 99), and WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81) helped carry the rotation during a carrier swap.
In early 2013, the ship remained on station in 5th Fleet, conducting maritime security operations. A 10-day Bahrain working port visit concluded on March 6, 2013. On March 14 she was photographed transiting the Arabian Sea, on March 16 she transited the Suez Canal northbound, and on March 27 she called at Funchal, Madeira, while homeward bound. The destroyer returned to Norfolk in early April 2013. The 2012-2013 cruise reflected the post-Arab Spring security environment and continuous coalition presence requirements in the Gulf and adjacent seas.
Following upkeep and Atlantic workups in 2014 - including operations off Virginia, helicopter integration with HSM-46, and a fall visit to Faslane, Scotland - the destroyer began a seven-month deployment in early 2015 that emphasized NATO reassurance and Black Sea presence after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. Departing via Guantanamo Bay in February 2015, she visited Funchal in March, entered the Black Sea and transited the Dardanelles in April with a port call at Rota, Spain, that month, and worked in Northern European waters in May-June with a visit to Haakonsvern, Norway, and participation in BALTOPS activities around Kiel, Germany. Summer 2015 port calls included Helsinki, Riga, and Klaipeda before the ship returned to Norfolk on August 28, 2015.
Training and maintenance continued into 2016, with documented operations in the Gulf of Mexico that September during post-availability combat systems events. In 2018, JASON DUNHAM deployed with the HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 8) for extended 6th/5th Fleet operations. She made a scheduled port visit to Haifa, Israel, on June 19, 2018, then shifted to the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters, where on August 28 she interdicted a stateless skiff and seized 2,521 AK-47 rifles in accordance with international law - an emblematic counter-proliferation action along key smuggling routes between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. In late October the ship entered Manama, Bahrain, for an eight-day mid-deployment voyage repair before returning to sea. By December she was again northbound in the Suez Canal and subsequently concluded deployment, with Fleet reporting noting that JASON DUNHAM and THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68) - both joined to TRUMAN's group - would return after the carrier and other escorts.
The destroyer took part in Fleet Week New York from May 22-28, 2019, entering New York Harbor for the Parade of Ships, and then entered an intensive docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) at BAE Systems Norfolk. The seven-month maintenance period, completed July 9, 2020, included underwater-hull preservation, shaft and rudder work, tank inspections, and multiple ship alterations - returning the ship to the fleet on time despite pandemic-era constraints.
On February 13, 2021, JASON DUNHAM shifted homeport from Norfolk to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as part of a broader Atlantic Fleet destroyer realignment. After local operations, she deployed on December 1, 2021, with the HARRY S. TRUMAN CSG for an extended presence mission in the U.S. 6th Fleet area as the Russia-Ukraine crisis intensified. Throughout early 2022, HARRY S. TRUMAN's force provided continuous carrier aviation and air-defense coverage across the Mediterranean. During this period, JASON DUNHAM participated in NATO vigilance activity Neptune Shield 22 and made a port visit to Durres, Albania, on May 29, 2022, before returning to Mayport on June 26, 2022.
After further workups, JASON DUNHAM again deployed with HARRY S. TRUMAN on September 23, 2024. The ship operated in the North Sea during NATO's Neptune Strike 24-2 alongside allies, and in October 2024 she detached with USS STOUT (DDG 55) to the Barents Sea as a two-ship surface action group, supported by Norwegian replenishment ship HNOMS MAUD - part of high-north operations that included a return transit via Tromso, Norway. The strike group later shifted to the Middle East. After two months of combat operations connected to Red Sea maritime-security and air-defense missions against Houthi threats to shipping, JASON DUNHAM arrived at U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete, on February 6, 2025, for a working port visit during which the carrier underwent emergent repairs. The group then resumed operations and concluded an approximately eight- to nine-month cruise. JASON DUNHAM returned to Mayport on June 8, 2025.
In late summer 2025, the destroyer was reassigned to counter-narcotics tasking in the Caribbean. On September 4, 2025, U.S. officials confirmed that two armed Venezuelan F-16s flew near JASON DUNHAM in international waters in what the Pentagon characterized as a "show of force", with additional fly-bys reported on September 5-6. On September 12, 2025, Venezuelan authorities publicly alleged that a U.S. boarding team from the destroyer boarded a Venezuelan-flagged tuna boat inside Venezuela's EEZ during counter-drug operations. U.S. media citing officials reported that Coast Guard personnel embarked in the destroyer conducted the boarding on the basis of a narcotics tip and released the vessel after finding no contraband. These incidents unfolded amid heightened regional tensions over transnational criminal networks and maritime smuggling.
back to top go to the end of the pageHomeports of USS JASON DUNHAM:
| Period | Homeport |
|---|---|
| commissioned at Port Everglades, Fla. | |
| 2010 - 2021 | Norfolk, Va. |
| 2021 - present | Mayport, Fla. |
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS JASON DUNHAM Image Gallery:
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The photo below was taken by Michael Jenning and shows the JASON DUNHAM at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 28, 2013.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JASON DUNHAM at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 8, 2014.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the USS JASON DUNHAM at Naval Base Faslane, UK, on October 4 and 5, 2014, prior to her participation in Exercise Joint Warrior 14-2. For the exercise, the US Navy sent USS VICKSBURG (CG 69), USS JASON DUNHAM and USNS KANAWHA (T-AO 196) to Scotland.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the JASON DUNHAM leaving Faslane, UK, to join Exercise Joint Warrior 14-2 on October 6, 2014.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the JASON DUNHAM arriving at Kiel, Germany, on June 19, 2015, after participating in BALTOPS 2015.
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The photos below were taken by me on June 19-21, 2015, during USS JASON DUNHAM's port visit to Kiel, Germany, after her participation in BALTOPS 2015.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JASON DUNHAM at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 6, 2015.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JASON DUNHAM at the Marine Hydraulics Industries (MHI) Ship Repair & Services shipyard in Norfolk, Va., on April 13, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning aboard the USS JASON DUNHAM during Fleet Week in Baltimore, Md., on October 14, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JASON DUNHAM departing Baltimore, Md., on October 17, 2016, after participating in the city's Fleet Week.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the JASON DUNHAM at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2017.
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