History
The keel for amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) was laid down on May 26, 2008, at Northrop Grumman’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Builder’s Trials of the Arlington started August 21, 2012 and were completed August 30, 2012.
Arlington commissioned April 6, 2013 at Naval Station Norfolk. She departed October 9, 2015 for her first deployment to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf areas of operations. There, she participated in Trident Juncture 2016 and returned to the United States May 3, 2016. Soon after returning home, she departing again to take part in the historic Fourth of July parade in Bristol, Rhode Island.
After a seven-month shipyard overhaul, Arlington participated in BALTOPS 2017, an annual multinational, maritime-focused exercise designed to provide high-end training for the participants. She worked alongside partner nations Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partners, Finland and Sweden.
Following BALTOPS 2017, Arlington participated in Bold Alligator 2018, a live, events-driven exercise featuring U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and partner nation forces, which provided the Navy and Marine Corps tactical-level training for amphibious operations.
In March 2018, Arlington completed her first Board of Inspection and Survey.
Arlington departed for a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 6th and 5th Fleet areas of operation in December 2018. There, she participated in Operations Zircon Storm and Odyssey Resolve, as well as Exercise Alexander the Great. Arlington also safely and successfully conducted an unprecedented pier-side theater security cooperation port visit in Tunis, Tunisia, a first for a U.S. Navy surface combatant in over 17 years.
Arlington provided critical assistance to the U.S. Coast Guard in March 2021 in support of a long-distance medical evacuation mission off the coast of Bermuda.
In August 2021, Arlington was activated as the U.S. Navy’s east coast Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) ship for a humanitarian aid/disaster relief (HADR) mission after Haiti was struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. Through coordinated efforts, Arlington was able to deliver over 100,000 pounds of food to local Haitians in need.
Arlington’s second deployment in March 2022 was to the U.S. 6th Fleet, where they operated in the High North, Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea. Arlington and embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) participated in Operations Northern Viking, Alexander the Great, EFES and African Lion. They also conducted interoperability training with Sweden and Finland, ensuring lasting partnerships as the two countries applied to become members of NATO. While deployed, Arlington became the first U.S. Navy warship in history to conduct a port visits Volos, Greece; Alexandrouplis, Greece; Gabes, Tunisia; and Gotland Island, Sweden.
Arlington is the eighth San Antonio-class ship, and the third ship to be named for Arlington County. She is one of three ships named in honor of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, alongside amphibious transport dock ships USS New York (LPD 21) and USS Somerset (LPD 25).