USS Peterson (DD-969) 1984 Cruise Sweatshirt

USS Peterson (DD-969) was a Spruance-class destroyer commissioned on November 9, 1977, and homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. During her 1984 cruise, Peterson deployed to the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet during a period of heightened Cold War tension and regional instability. The early 1980s Reagan military buildup brought renewed assertiveness to American naval posture, and Spruance-class destroyers like Peterson were at the forefront of anti-submarine warfare operations against Soviet submarines in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Peterson's crew were skilled practitioners of the demanding craft of deep-water ASW, maintaining the readiness that Cold War deterrence required. This sweatshirt honors all who served aboard USS Peterson during the 1984 cruise.