The crew of the destroyer Oscar Austin received military decorations for providing combat support to U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea against Houthi rebels, according to a Navy release.
Sailors and other personnel aboard the vessel were awarded Unit Combat Action Ribbons after completing Austin’s first forward-deployed Naval Forces-Europe patrol in the U.S. Sixth Fleet and Fifth Fleet, which operate out of Europe and Africa, and the Middle East, respectively.
“I’m honored to have assumed command of Oscar Austin during her first patrol as a forward deployed warship,” said Oscar Austin Cmdr. David Nicolas. “Having served previously as the ship’s executive officer, I feel immense pride in witnessing the growth and development of the crew in their preparation for and completion of Patrol One.”
The vessel briefly visited the Mediterranean before joining the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group as it battled missile and drone attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels — an Iran-backed terrorist group — over several months.
President Donald Trump’s administration began conducting large-scale bombings against Houthi sites in Yemen on March 15, a shelling that ended in May after the U.S. claimed to have hit more than 800 targets.
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Oscar Austin left its home base of Naval Station Rota, Spain on Dec. 11, 2024, to join the Republic of Cyprus National Guard and conduct signaling and maneuvering exercises alongside the Cyprus patrol vessel Commodore Andreas Ioannides.
In April 2025, the Oscar Austin jointed Fifth Fleet operations, offering air and missile defense reinforcements to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and serving alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Jason Dunham and Stout, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg.
Austin’s efforts to defend the strike group while under fire from airborne threats notched the vessel’s personnel Unit Combat Action Ribbons, which sailors proudly donned upon their return to Spain on June 10.
The award is given to service members who participated in surface combat.
Capt. Alexander Mamikonian, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 60, presented the crew with their ribbons.
“It was a pleasure watching them perform on patrol, but we’re glad they’re back home in Rota reunited with their loved ones,” Mamikonian said.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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