Norfolk, Va. – Three Little Creek-based ships will be among five patrol coastal ships (PCs) permanently moving to Bahrain, the Navy announced on Friday.
The USS Tempest, USS Squall and USS Thunderbolt are scheduled to arrive this summer. Two additional ships are expected to transfer next year. Commander, Patrol Coastal Squadron ONE along with a PC maintenance support team will also permanently move.
Five PCs have been stationed in Bahrain since 2006 and are currently manned with rotational crews whose families do not accompany them. The forward deployment resulted in the decision to shift from 6-month rotational crews to permanent crews stationed in Bahrain – allowing families to accompany their sailors.
A total of ten PCs will be permanently stationed in Bahrain by the
spring of 2014. Three PCs will remain stationed in the continental U.S. The
primary mission of the ships is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance.
