USS Chafee Returns to Pearl Harbor

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Robert Stirrup, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- More than 250 Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) after a three-month deployment in the Western Pacific July 12.

Chafee departed JBPHH April 5 for an independent deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

"This was a very productive deployment," said Cmdr. Chase Patrick, commanding officer of Chafee. "We never had a bad day at sea, we had a lot of fun and we got a lot of work accomplished."

While on deployment, Chafee took part in Exercise Malabar 2010, a week-long bilateral military exercise hosted by the Indian Navy to promote the interoperability between the United States and India.

Chafee also participated in operations supporting Commander Task Force 70 and trained alongside the Malaysian Navy.

Patrick spoke about how well the crew performed during the deployment.

"The crew performed great. They were very proficient from the navigation detail down to the engineers," said Patrick. "They did their jobs exceedingly well."

Friends and families were excited to see their Sailors return home as they waited at the pier.

Guided-missile destroyers are multimission surface combatants, capable of anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare missions. They operate independently for support of carrier and expeditionary strike groups.