When required, he shall exercise command over ships assigned for naval operations in order to achieve sea and air control in pursuit of national objectives.

[9] DESRON-1 destroyers served as part of Task Force 11 in the aborted relief efforts for Wake Island and Rabaul, as well as seeing action during the Battle of Coral Sea.

[2][3][11][12] DESRON-1 destroyers subsequently provided shore bombardment as Fire-Support Group Love and anti-submarine/anti-aircraft support as Air Support Group 1 to the initial phase of the Guadalcanal campaign, and Destroyer Squadron One saw action during the Battle of the Komandorski Islands, the invasion of Attu, and the invasion of Kiska during the Aleutian Islands campaign.

[3] With Guadalcanal and the Aleutians secured, the U.S. Navy began its Central Pacific offensive with the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign undertaken between November 1943 and February 1944.

[3][14] Following the conclusion of the Gilbert and Marshall campaign, DESRON-1 destroyers screened Task Group 58.1 during carrier air strikes against Palau, Yap, Ulithi, Woleai, Truk, Satawan, and Ponape.

Dewey, Hull, and Macdonough supported minesweeping and underwater demolition pre-invasion operations at Saipan while Farragut, Dale, Monaghan, and Aylwin carried out patrol and shore bombardment duties.

[3][15] In December 1944, while operating in support the Philippines Campaign, Task Force 38 was hit by a powerful typhoon, and DESRON-1 destroyers Monaghan and Hull were lost.

In February 1945, DESRON-1 destroyers Dewey, Farragut, Dale, and Aylwin screened the fleet logistic force supporting the invasion of Iwo Jima.

CARAT is a rolling series of bilateral exercises conducted with the navies of the Republic of the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.