Veteran Destroyer USS Porter Departs Naval Station Norfolk

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) which is a veteran of several combat missions is seen here departing the Naval Station Norfolk.

Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the US Navy's Fleet Forces Command.

The USS Porter famously fought off pirates more than a decade ago is currently deployed in the US 2nd Fleet area of operations in support of maritime stability and security in the region.

Porter is the fifth US Navy ship to be named after US Navy officers Commodore David Porter, and his son, Admiral David Dixon Porter.

She was built at the Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi and launched and christened on 12th November 1997.

From January to July 2003, Porter engaged in combat and support operations of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Joint Task Force (JTF) Cobra.

Porter launched Tomahawk missiles during the Dora Farms and Shock and Awe stages of the Iraq War and also worked with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) off the coast of Israel while some Porter Sailors worked with the IDF from the Nevatim base in the Negev desert of Southern Israel.

A distinguished military record also include an incident on 28th October, 2007, when Porter attacked and sank two pirate skiffs off Somalia after receiving a distress call from the tanker MV Golden Nori which was under attack from pirates.