OEF/OIF From January to July 2003,
Porter engaged in combat and support operations of
Operation Enduring Freedom,
Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Joint Task Force (JTF) Cobra.
Porter launched
Tomahawk missiles during the Dora Farms and
Shock and Awe stages of the
Iraq War.
Porter also worked with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) off the coast of Israel while some
Porter sailors worked with the IDF from the
Nevatim base in the
Negev desert of Southern Israel.
Piracy On 28 October 2007,
Porter attacked and sank two
pirate skiffs off
Somalia after receiving a distress call from the
tanker which was under attack from pirates.
2009 upgrade On 12 November 2009, the
Missile Defense Agency announced that
Porter would be upgraded during fiscal year 2013 to
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. In 2016 the aft CIWS mount was replaced by a SeaRAM missile system.
Operation Nanook 2010 In August 2010,
Porter and the
United States Coast Guard buoy tender participated in
Operation Nanook 2010 in
Baffin Bay and the
Davis Straits. This was the fourth annual Operation Nanook organized by the
Canadian Government, but it was the first to host foreign vessels.
2012 collision On 12 August 2012,
Porter collided with , an
oil tanker, near the
Strait of Hormuz. The collision ripped a hole in the starboard side of the destroyer, forcing her to
Jebel Ali, Dubai for repairs. No one on either ship was injured. Initially Naval Forces Central Command did not provide details about the collision, saying that it was under investigation.
Porters captain, Commander Martin Arriola, was subsequently removed from command of the ship and replaced by Commander Dave Richardson. On 12 October 2012,
Porter rejoined
Carrier Strike Group 12 for its transit through the
Suez Canal following temporary repairs to the ship costing $700,000. Later repairs were budgeted at a cost of nearly $50 million.
Naval Station Rota On 30 April 2015,
Porter arrived at
Naval Station Rota, Spain. Naval Station Rota would be
Porters permanent homeport for the next seven years.
Porter joined three other US destroyers at Rota. These four ships were assigned to the
United States Sixth Fleet, and conducted ballistic missile defense patrols in the Mediterranean Sea in support of Commander, US Sixth Fleet's mission.
2016 upgrade In 2016, four destroyers patrolling with the
U.S. 6th Fleet based in
Naval Station Rota, Spain, including
Porter received self-protection upgrades, replacing the aft
Phalanx CIWS 20mm
Vulcan cannon with the
SeaRAM 11-cell
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher. The SeaRam uses the same sensor dome as the Phalanx. This was the first time the close-range ship defense system was paired with an Aegis ship. All four ships to receive the upgrade were either Flight I or II, meaning they originally had two Phalanx CIWS systems when launched.
Attack on Shayrat Airfield On 7 April 2017, a total of 59
Tomahawk missiles were
fired by
Porter and at military targets at
Shayrat Airbase in
Homs,
Syria, from their positions in the eastern Mediterranean. The missile strike was in response to the
Khan Shaykhun chemical attack on 4 April 2017, which the U.S. government said was launched by the Syrian regime from Shayrat.
Defender Europe 2021 On 21 February 2021,
Porter conducted an exercise with the Greek Navy's with four
F-16s off southern
Crete.
2022 Baltic exercise In June 2022,
Porter took part in the naval exercise
BALTOPS 2022 in the
Baltic Sea, where together with British destroyer and , she provided an air defense screen for the task group centered around and .
Homeport Shift to Norfolk On 28 September 2022,
Porter departed
Naval Station Rota for the last time as part of a homeport shift of the Rota-based destroyers. In October 2022, the Navy announced that
Porter arrived at
Norfolk after 7 years serving as a Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) destroyer. replaced
Porter at
Rota. ==Awards==