Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Mandy Hunsucker | A family member keeps a close watch on the brow while waiting for her husband to come...... read more read more
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By Petty Officer 3rd Class Mandy Hunsucker
Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic
NORFOLK, Va. – Approximately 200 Sailors greeted friends and family members Dec. 3 when the guided-missile frigate USS Elrod returned to Naval Station Norfolk after completing a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Elrod supported theater security cooperation by participating in regional exercises with allies and making diplomatic port calls.
The crowd waited patiently while line handlers moored the ship to the pier.
"We are very glad he's back and we can't wait to see him," said Petty Officer 1st Class Derrick Brown. "It's been so long and I can't wait to introduce him to his new nephew today."
After some time past, Sailors were able to greet their loved ones.
"This was my first deployment and it wasn't bad at all," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Greg Waikel as he met his new son for the first time. "We hit almost 30 ports and I got to see a lot of new things. It was fun but I'm glad to be home."
The crew visited 26 different ports where they participated in regional exercises with allies and strengthened American diplomacy.
"The crew performed exceptionally throughout the deployment," said Cmdr. Todd Beltz, commanding officer, USS Elrod. "With 26 port calls in 24 weeks, we were never able to get into a routine and that's one of the things you try to do while deployed. Everything they did, from sea and anchor details to interactions with the many countries, was top notch."
The Elrod is a multi-purpose escort vessel for the protection of amphibious groups, convoys, and underway replenishment forces. In peacetime, Elrod can be employed as an escort in deploying strike groups or operate independently in support of a variety of missions including theater security cooperation, counter narco-terrorism operations, maritime security operations and air, surface and undersea warfare.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2008 13:56 |
| Story ID: | 27192 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 83 |
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