[15] As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in U.S. military history, especially during the Vietnam War.

[15] A highly decorated war veteran, Zumwalt reformed the US Navy's personnel policies in an effort to improve enlisted life and ease racial tensions.

Zumwalt was initially equipped with two Advanced Gun Systems (AGS), which were designed to fire the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP).

[23] In July 2008, a construction timetable was set for General Dynamics to deliver the ship in April 2013, with a March 2015 target date for Zumwalt to meet her initial operating capability[24] but, by 2012 the planned completion and delivery of the vessel was delayed to the 2014 fiscal year.

[32] On 7 December 2015, the ship departed Bath Iron Works for sea trials to allow the Navy and contractors to operate the vessel under rigorous conditions to determine whether Zumwalt was ready to join the fleet as an actively commissioned warship.

[13] On 12 December 2015, during sea trials, Zumwalt responded to a US Coast Guard call for assistance for a fishing boat captain who was experiencing a medical emergency 40 nautical miles (74 km) from Portland, Maine.

[34] In September 2016, it was reported that the vessel needed repairs after the detection of a seawater leak in the ship's auxiliary motor drive oil system.

[4] On 21 November 2016, Zumwalt lost propulsion in her port shaft while passing through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean en route to her homeport in San Diego.

[36] Water had intruded in two of the four bearings that connect Zumwalt's port and starboard Advanced Induction Motors to the drive shafts.

[44] On August 1, 2023, Zumwalt got underway to her new homeport in Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi for a modernization period and to receive technology upgrades.

[20] Work was completed in December 2024, and she was refloated having had the two Gun Systems removed and replaced with new launchers intended for the IRCPS missile project.