NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- It's Deployment Day for the sailors of the USS Monterey (CG 61).
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser leaves Naval Station Norfolk on Monday.
By heading to the Persian Gulf, the ship's crew will actually play a big role in the Pacific, the Military Times reports.
It's part of a ship-shuffle; the Monterey will head to the Navy's Fifth and Sixth Fleet areas of operation, which will allow the Hawaii-based USS O'Kane to leave for the Pacific, where it will provide additional ballistic-missile capabilities in the region.
The Navy says the added deployments are needed to help fill the gaps left in the wake of separate accidents involving the USS John S. McCain and the USS Fitzgerald. Both ships were involved in deadly collisions with merchant ships, significantly damaging them.
The Monterey will be on its unscheduled deployment for about six months.
