USS Laboon

USS Laboon (DDG-58) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is named for Father John Francis Laboon (1921–1988), a captain in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy, who was awarded the Silver Star during World War II while serving on the submarine USS Peto (SS-265).

Laboon keel was laid down in 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched in 1993, and commissioned in 1995.

Ship's history


Laboon keel was laid down on 23 March 1992 at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine. She was launched on 20 February 1993. Laboon was commissioned on 18 March 1995.

In the fall of 1996, she fired Tomahawk missiles at targets in Iraq, thus becoming the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to engage in combat.

In 1998, Laboon took part in NATO Exercise Dynamic Response 98, together with USS Wasp (LHD-1)'s Amphibious Ready Group.

On 12 September 2012, Laboon was ordered to the coast of Libya in what the Pentagon called a "contingency" in case a strike was ordered. This was in response to the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks.

On 21 June 2015, Laboon entered the Black Sea along with the French ship FRENCH SHIP Dupuy de Lôme as part of NATO's presence missions following the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. While in the Black Sea, Laboon participated in joint maneuvers with a Romanian Navy Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvette for two days beginning on 22 June 2015. On 27 June 2015, Laboon began a two-day visit to the Black Sea port of Batumi, Georgia, to participate in training with the Coast Guard of Georgia and offer tours of the ship.

On 14 April 2018, she fired seven Tomahawk missiles from a position in the Red Sea as part of a bombing campaign in retaliation for the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against people in Douma.

2023 Israel-Hamas war
On 14 October 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and her carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), along with Laboon, and sister-destroyers USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Gravely (DDG-107), to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Israel's war with Hamas. This was the second carrier strike group to be sent to the region in response to the conflict, following USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and her group, which was dispatched only six days earlier.

On 23 December 2023, while patrolling in the southern Red Sea, Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial attack drones that originated from areas controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and were inbound toward Laboon.

On 26 December 2023, the USS Laboon shot down three anti-ship ballistic missile in the Red Sea fired by Houthi rebels with multiple SM-6. This was the first intercept of a ballistic missile in combat.

On 6 January 2024, Laboon shot down a Houthi drone in the Red Sea.

On Jan. 9, at approximately 9:15 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthis launched a complex attack of Iranian designed one-way attack UAVs (OWA UAVs), anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Southern Red Sea, towards international shipping lanes where dozens of merchant vessels were transiting. Eighteen OWA UAVs, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by a combined effort of F/A-18s from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS Gravely (DDG-107), USS Laboon (DDG 58), USS USS Mason (DDG-87), and the United Kingdom’s HMS Diamond. This is the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19. There were no injuries or damage reported.

On 14 January 2024, an anti-ship missile was fired in the direction of Laboon from a Houthi-controlled portion of Yemen, according to CENTCOM.

On 2 February 2024, Laboon and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower shot down at least 12 drones launched by Houthis over the Red Sea.

On February 6, 2024 at 4:30 p.m., while patrolling in the Gulf of Aden USS Laboon (DDG 58), operating near M/V Star Nasia, intercepted and shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

On 20 February 2024 at 12:30 a.m., while operating in the Gulf of Aden, Laboon detected and shot down one anti-ship cruise missile fired by the Houthis.

Awards

 * Navy Unit Commendation - (2024)
 * Combat Action Ribbon - (October 2023 - April 2024)
 * Navy Unit Commendation - (2021 (IKE CSG))