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A U.S. naval destroyer returned home on Thursday after spending 11 months in combat operations in the Middle East.
The USS Michael Murphy set sail on December 1, 2025, and arrived in the North Arabian Sea in late January. It then served on the front lines during Operation Epic Fury, as part of the United States’ ongoing war with Iran.
In a press release, the Navy praised the Michael Murphy for playing “an essential role in enforcing the first naval blockade in 60 years, operating in the North Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Strait of Hormuz.” The ship completed 12 contested transits of the Strait of Hormuz while facing multiple threats from land, sea, and air, and escorted four merchant tankers to safety, the statement added.
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The Michael Murphy was part of the same strike group as the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier heading the operation, which saw eight soldiers attempt suicide during deployment over concerns about their lengthy deployment.
Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon and the U.S. Navy for additional comment.
Sailors onboard the Michael Murphy were also deployed for an extraordinarily long time after becoming embroiled in the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, but unlike their counterparts on the Abraham Lincoln, did not appear to suffer the same kinds of mental health crises, a commander told Stars & Stripes.
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Extended Deployments an Increasing Concern
Traditionally, a typical U.S. Navy deployment lasts six to eight months, but in October, military leaders warned that sailors should expect to be away from home for 10 to 11 months for the foreseeable future because of increased operational demands and global events such as the war in Iran.
The extended operations began in 2023, when the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group spent nine months deployed in the Red Sea as part of the United States’ military campaign against the Houthis. As the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran continued to escalate starting in February, crew members were told to accept deployments up to 11 months or even longer.
Although 11-month deployments are not considered to be standard procedure, Navy brass is now telling sailors to expect to spend that amount of time at sea as a means of managing expectations. "Nobody wants an 11-month deployment. Everybody understands that,” MCPON John Perryman said last month whilst speaking at a Navy memorial.
“But what they really don’t like is getting told it’s seven months, and then every two weeks getting a change. It’s the uncertainty. They can’t plan for it.”
Longer deployments are not desired by Naval commanders either, Perryman added. The longer a ship spends at sea, the more manpower is dedicated to maintenance cycles, stifling the vessel’s efficiency.
When extensions come from the Pentagon, Naval commanders have the option to dispute them in a memo and explain why they think further deployment is a bad idea, Perryman said. But these appeals are frequently ignored.
“The decision to extend to our ships longer is a decision above the Navy,” he told USNI News. “The president has a different calculus than we do, and so the Pentagon makes the decisions that they have to make, and then we support those decisions.”
Trouble Onboard the Lincoln
Concerns about the extended deployment times were highlighted earlier this year, following reports that eight crew members assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln had attempted suicide throughout the course of their lengthy deployment, citing deteriorating mental health and concerns over living conditions.
“Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group,” Hung Cao, acting US Navy Secretary, revealed in a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in September.
“This number includes the Lincoln crew and sailors from the carrier airwing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all embarked aviation squadrons.”
Cao’s letter followed reports in August of multiple sailors attempting to jump overboard as a result of low morale caused in part by the extended deployment. The 5,000-strong crew onboard the Abraham Lincoln were at sea for 286 days before eventually disembarking in Thailand on September 1, setting a record for the most continuous days at sea without a land break.
During the course of the deployment, crew members complained of burnout caused by deteriorating conditions including long shifts, extreme heat, limited fresh food and supply shortages. Admiral Karl Thomas of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command also claimed sailors were being “peppered” with drone strikes from Iran.
"It’s hard to defend and that’s what those sailors are doing," MSNOW reported.
Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the U.S. Navy and Marines, with a study of 956 sailors in January 2025 revealing US soldiers aboard naval ships suffer the highest rates of “serious psychological distress” of all branches of the military.
Following their arrival in Pearl Harbor on Thursday, Commander David Nicolas of the Micael Murphy said crew members demonstrated “unmatched grit, professionalism, and warfighting excellence during this deployment.”
He added: “Whether defeating incoming air and surface threats or leading operations through contested choke points, this crew never hesitated. They answered every call of our nation, defended our allies, and lived up to the heroic namesake. I could not be prouder of this crew.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support. U.S. service members and veterans can call 988 and press 1, or text 838255, to reach the Veterans/Military Crisis Line. Military OneSource also offers support to service members and their families at 800-342-9647.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes, Gray R. Thomas
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