The steady drizzle and grey skies did not dampen the spirits of hundreds of sailors and family members as the guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf found its way back to Naval Station Norfolk Jan. 4, after 283 days away from home. The ship left Norfolk with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group on March 27.
Norfolk Va. – Nearly two-weeks after slipping quietly out of Norfolk, the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman has left the 2nd Fleet operating area according to a Dec. 1 press release by the European-based 6th Fleet, though the ship is still operating in the Atlantic, officials say.
Now officially on deployment and heading east, it’s the Truman’s third deployment in the past four years. But officials aren’t saying if she’s making a bee-line to relieve the carrier Abraham Lincoln and the guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf — who have now been on deployment for over eight months.
The trio of guided-missile destroyers Mason, Nitze and Bainbridge, entered Chesapeake Bay and the Hampton Roads this morning just as rain and fog were clearing out. The return marked the end of a seven-month and four day cruise that saw the ships operating in the 6th and 5th Fleet areas of operation.