USS Jason Dunham

	File:150828-N-UY653-154 USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) returns to Norfolk homeport.jpg; USS Jason Dunham in August 2015
Name:	Jason Dunham
Namesake:	Jason Dunham
Awarded:	13 September 2002
Builder:	Bath Iron Works
Laid down:	11 April 2008
Launched:	1 August 2009
Sponsored by:	Debra Dunham
Commissioned:	13 November 2010
Homeport:	Mayport
Identification:	Maritime Mobile Service Identity number: 369970347; Callsign: NJDM; File:ICS Delta.svg; Hull number: DDG-109;
Motto:	Semper Fidelis, Semper Fortis; (Always faithful, always strong);
Status:	in active service, as of 2026
Badge:	File:USS Jason Dunham COA.png
General characteristics
Class & type:	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:	9,200 long tons (9,300 t)
Length:	510 ft (160 m)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	33 ft (10 m)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed:	>30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:	380 officers and enlisted
Armament:	Guns:; 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun); 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS; 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 Machine Gun System; 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns; Missiles:; 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS): RIM-66M Surface-to-Air Missile; RIM-156 Surface-to-Air Missile; RIM-174A Standard ERAM; RIM-161 Anti-Ballistic Missile; RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed); BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile; RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC; ; Torpedoes:; 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 Lightweight Torpedo; Mark 50 Lightweight Torpedo; Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo; ;
Aircraft carried:	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) is an Arleigh Burke-class (Flight IIA) Aegis guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named after US Marine Corps corporal Jason Dunham, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for service in the Iraq War.^[1] She was built by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.^[5] She was christened by Corporal Dunham's mother, Debra Dunham, the ship's sponsor and launched on 1 August 2009.^[1] Jason Dunham was commissioned on 13 November 2010.^[3]

Ship's history[]

In May 2022, Jason Dunham was homeported out of Naval Station Mayport and a part of Destroyer Squadron 28, along with Carrier Strike Group 8 led by the USS Harry S. Truman.^[6]

In August 2025, Jason Dunham sailed for Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea. The destroyer was among the warships ordered to the area to combat drug smuggling traffic. On 4 September, in response to the presence of U.S. Navy warships in the region, two Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets conducted a flyover of Jason Dunham,^[7] after which Trump gave permission to shoot down Venezuelan planes if they presented a danger to U.S. ships.^[8]

Gallery[]

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 "Navy Christens Newest Arleigh Burke-Class Ship Jason Dunham". 1 August 2009. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47354.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 ^2.8 "Jason Dunham". http://www.nvr.navy.mil/NVRSHIPS/DETAILS/DDG109.HTM.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 "Navy to Commission New Guided-Missile Destroyer Jason Dunham". 10 November 2010. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=57131.
↑ Frazier, Francine (13 February 2021). "USS Jason Dunham arrives at new homeport". https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/02/13/uss-jason-dunham-arrives-at-new-homeport-of-mayport/.
↑ Gams, PFC Michael T. (25 March 2010). "Legacy lives aboard USS Jason Dunham". Marines Magazine. United States Marine Corps. http://marinesmagazine.dodlive.mil/2010/03/25/legacy-lives-aboard-uss-jason-dunham/.
↑ "USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 23, 2022". usni.org. 23 May 2022. https://news.usni.org/2022/05/23/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-may-23-2022.
↑ LaPorta, James; D'Agata, Charlie (4 September 2025). "Venezuelan fighter jets flew over U.S. Navy ship in "show of force"". CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-fighter-jets-navy-ship-trump-maduro/.
↑ Holland, Steve; Stewart, Phil; Hunnicutt, Trevor (6 September 2025). "Trump plays down possible regime change in Venezuela; US deploys stealth fighter jets". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-plays-down-possible-regime-change-venezuela-us-deploys-stealth-fighter-2025-09-05/.

External links[]

Official website
Photo gallery of USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) at NavSource Naval History
"Kuhl applauds Navy for naming ship after Dunham, Secretary of the Navy will visit Scio to name new Destroyer after Jason Dunham". 20 March 2007. http://kuhl.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=60993.

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at USS Jason Dunham and the edit history here.

[NNS090801-03-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 "Navy Christens Newest Arleigh Burke-Class Ship Jason Dunham". 1 August 2009. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=47354.

[NVR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 ^2.8 "Jason Dunham". http://www.nvr.navy.mil/NVRSHIPS/DETAILS/DDG109.HTM.

[NNS101110-06-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 "Navy to Commission New Guided-Missile Destroyer Jason Dunham". 10 November 2010. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=57131.

[4] Frazier, Francine (13 February 2021). "USS Jason Dunham arrives at new homeport". https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/02/13/uss-jason-dunham-arrives-at-new-homeport-of-mayport/.

[Marinesmag-5] Gams, PFC Michael T. (25 March 2010). "Legacy lives aboard USS Jason Dunham". Marines Magazine. United States Marine Corps. http://marinesmagazine.dodlive.mil/2010/03/25/legacy-lives-aboard-uss-jason-dunham/.

[6] "USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 23, 2022". usni.org. 23 May 2022. https://news.usni.org/2022/05/23/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-may-23-2022.

[7] LaPorta, James; D'Agata, Charlie (4 September 2025). "Venezuelan fighter jets flew over U.S. Navy ship in "show of force"". CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-fighter-jets-navy-ship-trump-maduro/.

[Reuters6Sep-8] Holland, Steve; Stewart, Phil; Hunnicutt, Trevor (6 September 2025). "Trump plays down possible regime change in Venezuela; US deploys stealth fighter jets". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-plays-down-possible-regime-change-venezuela-us-deploys-stealth-fighter-2025-09-05/.

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Career (United States)
File:150828-N-UY653-154 USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) returns to Norfolk homeport.jpg USS Jason Dunham in August 2015
Name:	Jason Dunham
Namesake:	Jason Dunham^[1]
Awarded:	13 September 2002^[2]
Builder:	Bath Iron Works^[2]
Laid down:	11 April 2008^[2]
Launched:	1 August 2009^[1]
Sponsored by:	Debra Dunham^[3]
Commissioned:	13 November 2010^[3]
Homeport:	Mayport^[4]
Identification:	Maritime Mobile Service Identity number: 369970347 Callsign: NJDM File:ICS Delta.svg Hull number: DDG-109
Motto:	Semper Fidelis, Semper Fortis (Always faithful, always strong)
Status:	in active service, as of 2026^[update]
Badge:	File:USS Jason Dunham COA.png
General characteristics
Class & type:	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer^[1]
Displacement:	9,200 long tons (9,300 t)^[2]
Length:	510 ft (160 m)^[2]
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)^[2]
Draft:	33 ft (10 m)^[2]
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)^[2]
Speed:	>30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:	380 officers and enlisted^[2]
Armament:	Guns: 5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × 25 mm Mk 38 Machine Gun System 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns Missiles: 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells) Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS): RIM-66M Surface-to-Air Missile RIM-156 Surface-to-Air Missile RIM-174A Standard ERAM RIM-161 Anti-Ballistic Missile RIM-162 ESSM (quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes: Mark 46 Lightweight Torpedo Mark 50 Lightweight Torpedo Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedo
Aircraft carried:	2 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopters