Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Grooman greets his partner during a first-kiss ceremony following the USS Blue Ridge's return to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 25, 2025. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge steamed into Tokyo Bay on Monday, concluding a summer deployment that covered 16,000 miles in three months around the Indo-Pacific.
Scores of sailors in dress whites manned the rails of the Navy’s oldest operational warship as it pulled into Berth No. 9, where around 60 people gathered to welcome loved ones home after 81 days at sea.
For Maria Ramierz, wife of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Israel Ramirez, it was an emotional day.
“The last few days are always full of anticipation — being ready for him to get home,” she told Stars and Stripes pierside on Monday. “We’re glad to have him home.”
Petty Officer 2nd Class Isaac Bell greets his family upon the USS Blue Ridge's return to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 25, 2025. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Friends and family of USS Blue Ridge sailors crowd the pier as the amphibious command ship returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 25, 2025, after a nearly three-month deployment. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
As the flagship of the U.S. 7th Fleet, the Blue Ridge, headquartered in Yokosuka, regularly makes lengthy deployments with multiple port calls at Pacific nations.
Beginning April 3, the Blue Ridge traveled a distance equivalent to two-thirds of the Earth’s circumference and made six port calls in five countries, said ship commander Capt. Nicholas DeLeo.
Those visits often include “Big Top Receptions,” which typically include visits with high-level officials such as deputy prime ministers or ministers of defense.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to work together [with other countries] in the future,” DeLeo told Stars and Stripes pierside Monday. “To be able to actually walk onto a pier and meet some of these allies and partners face-to-face and discuss future operations is priceless.”
Among its port calls was a historic visit to Wellington, New Zealand. The visit marked the Blue Ridge’s first-ever stop in the island nation, and just the third U.S. warship to visit in four decades.
Friends and family of USS Blue Ridge sailors crowd the pier as the amphibious command ship returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 25, 2025, after a nearly three-month deployment. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Friends and family of USS Blue Ridge sailors crowd the pier as the amphibious command ship returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 25, 2025, after a nearly three-month deployment. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
A 1987 New Zealand law bans visits by nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed warships, a longstanding obstacle for many Navy vessels that — in keeping with U.S. policy — do not confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons.
However, the law allows the New Zealand prime minister to waive the restriction if satisfied that no nuclear weapons are present.
Another highlight, DeLeo said, was the Blue Ridge’s participation in Croix du Sud alongside the French navy. The biennial exercise, held April 21 to May 3, brought 18 countries together to practice humanitarian-relief efforts in the event of a natural disaster, according to a May 14 news release from the French Ministry of Defense.
The Blue Ridge also visited Cairns and Sydney, Australia; Guam; Noumea, New Caledonia; and Suva Fiji, according to a Monday press release from 7th Fleet.
Stops at far-flung destinations are a boon for U.S. diplomacy, DeLeo said, and an “eye opening experience” for sailors.
“Between the two patrols, last year and this year, we’ve pulled into 11 countries with 13 different port visits,” he said. “For a sailor to be able to do both of those [deployments], the aperture of their world has been greatly opened to experience.”
