Syria strikes just the latest mission for the Navy's Spain-based workhorses

When President Trump decided to strike at the Assad regime, two names that have become familiar to commanders in Washington, to Russia and the rest of the region were mentioned: the destroyers Ross and Porter. 

The two destroyers involved in last night’s 59-Tomahawk strike on a Syrian airfield are part of a four-ship squadron forward deployed to Rota, Spain. The ships were on a presence operation in the Eastern Mediterranean when the call came to spin up their Tomahawks and prepare to strike.    

The ships were originally sent to Spain as part of the Navy’s ballistic missile defense system in 2014, but have since been used as the Navy’s utility infielders in Europe — conducting missions that run the gamut from presence inside Russia’s increasing anti-access envelopes in the Baltic and Black seas to surveillance and now strike. 

Read the full article at the Navy Times.