NORFOLK, Va. — Cheers, tears and long-awaited hugs filled the pier at Naval Station Norfolk Friday as sailors aboard the USS McFaul returned home after a 333-day deployment.
For some families, the homecoming marked the first time seeing their loved ones in nearly a year. For others, it was the first meeting between a parent and child.
One of those sailors was Philip Taylor, who met his six-month-old son for the first time after stepping off the ship.
"It's hard to describe," Taylor said. "It's just still sinking in, but couldn't be happier."
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer departed Norfolk in November 2025 and spent 11 months operating in the Navy's 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility, including support for Operation Epic Fury.
Taylor said the deployment was challenging, but sailors leaned on one another to get through it.
"It was challenging, but I had other shipmates in the same position as me so what we did is just build each other up, and look after each other, and check in on their babies and that was what got us through," he said.
While deployed, sailors missed major holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Easter and the Fourth of July. Some also missed milestones such as the births of their children.
Captain Jim Haggerty, chief staff officer for Commander Naval Surface Group Mid Atlantic, praised the crew's performance during what he called a historic deployment.
"It's a tough and resilient crew who accomplished a lot on this deployment," Haggerty said.
He also credited families for helping sailors endure nearly a year away from home.
"Very happy for all the support that they've gotten from their families back home, very happy that they get to reunite with those families now," Haggerty said.
For sailor Cortland Caldwell and his girlfriend, Alessandria Heggs, Friday's reunion brought an end to the longest deployment Caldwell has experienced.
"I don't think anyone was expecting it," Caldwell said about the extended time away. "But, you know, it built character development and that's all you can hope for is you get something positive out of all these situations."
Heggs said thinking about the day he would return helped her get through the months apart.
"It's okay because I always think about him coming back. So that's what keeps me going," she said. "I think we were strong before, but I think more now."
As families embraced and sailors carried bags off the ship, Friday marked the end of nearly a year overseas and the start of long-awaited time at home.
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