NORFOLK, Va. — The USS Bataan amphibious ready group carrying Navy sailors and Marines is returning to Hampton Roads this week following an eight-and-a-half-month deployment.
The U.S. Second Fleet didn't specify what day the group would return but said the USS Bataan and USS Mesa Verde would return to Naval Station Norfolk, while the USS Carter Hall would go to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.
"I'm proud of the Sailors and Marines of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group who will return home knowing that for eight and a half months, they were the nation's rapid response force,” Amphibious Squadron (CPR) 8 Commodore Capt. Martin Robertson wrote in a news release.
“These young men and women were called into action from the start to help stop the spread of wildfires in Southern Europe, to deter Iran from seizing U.S.-flagged merchant vessels in the Middle East, and they reacted swiftly at the onset of the crisis in the Bab-El Mandeb to ensure merchant shipping access to the Red Sea.”
After deploying in July, the group worked to increase combat readiness and crisis response capabilities across the North Atlantic, Eastern Mediterranean, Baltic region, Red Sea, and Arabian Gulf, according to the U.S. Second Fleet.