NORFOLK, Va. — Friday saw a happy homecoming for hundreds of local sailors!
The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) is back at Naval Station Norfolk. The crew has been gone for the last nine months, traveling more than 60,000 miles at sea.
The ship had been deployed in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation since August 10, 2020. Prior to that, the Churchill and its crew also participated in a 14-Day Restriction of Movement for pre-deployment exercises and training in order to combat the effect of COVID-19 on the ship's readiness.
Crew members were allowed to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose before disembarking and reuniting with loved ones.
Welcome home, sailors!