Laboon returns from eight-month deployment
NORFOLK, Va. - The guided missile destroyer Laboon returned home from a deployment this morning after eight months at sea.
The ship, with a crew of 240 sailors and 35 officers, left Norfolk Naval Station on July 11 to support operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Cmdr. Chris Cigna, the ship's commanding officer, said the crew remained ready on station for month-long periods in support of ballistic missile defense operations in the region.
The Navy said 83 sailors received their enlisted surface warfare qualifications and 40 sailors re-enlisted during the deployment.
The ship returns on a busy day for Norfolk Naval Station, with the deployment of the Kearsarge amphibious ready group.
The assault ship Kearsarge and the amphibious transport dock San Antonio departed from Norfolk Naval Station while the amphibious dock landing ship Carter Hall left from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.
