NORFOLK, Va. — After 327 days, the Norfolk-based USS Mitscher’s deployment ended Tuesday morning.
Pulling in to Naval Station Norfolk, the ship was greeted with the pomp and circumstance you would expect. For several sailors, returning from deployment meant getting to meet their newborn for the first time.
“It’s surreal. It’s awesome. It’s a great feeling," said sailor Kyle Daniels.
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Daniels is one of those sailors.
“Daddy duty starts now," said Daniels.
He said having a child born on deployment was tough, but support from his wife back home was a big help.
“Makes it [possible to] go out there and do what we need to do and protect our country," Daniels said.
Prior to the ship pulling in, Tina Calderon, who was waiting for her son, told News 3 the deployment hadn’t been easy for her either.
“Scary. Proud of him. Happy that he’s been with a great crew to all work together and see them through it. It’s up and down, a roller coaster," Calderon said.
The Mitscher is an independent destroyer, meaning it’s not part of a carrier strike group. But on this deployment, it worked with two strike groups and a British aircraft carrier.
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The ship’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Stephen Prugh, wouldn’t get specific about what the ship did, though.
“Each day, day in and day out, the crew remained resilient and was just able to work through any challenge that we came across," Prugh explained.
As for what was next, he said the crew would continue to work through the ship’s normal life cycle and be ready to operate as needed.
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