USS Lassen (DDG-82) 2003 MAIDEN DEPLOYMENT Unisex Sweatshirt

USS Lassen (DDG-82) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer commissioned on April 21, 2001, and homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. She is named in honor of Lieutenant Clyde Everett Lassen, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for an extraordinary rescue mission during the Vietnam War in 1968 — flying under extreme fire and near-zero visibility to recover two downed airmen. Lassen gained international attention in October 2015 when she conducted a Freedom of Navigation Operation near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, asserting the right of innocent passage in contested waters. This product commemorates her 2003 maiden deployment, her first major deployment after commissioning, during which USS Lassen joined the Pacific Fleet in the post-9/11 era. Wear it with pride to honor those who served aboard DDG-82 during that inaugural cruise.