Friday, October 04, 2013

USS Asheville Returns from Deployment

NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA, Calif. (NNS) -- Friends and family of Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Asheville (SSN 758) welcomed home Asheville's crew October 2nd following a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

The deployment supported the Chief of Naval Operations' Maritime Strategy, which includes maritime security, forward presence, sea control, and power projection.

During the deployment, Asheville executed missions vital to national security and participated in U.S. and multinational naval exercises. The ship visited Yokosuka, Japan, Subic Bay, Philippines and Guam while traveling more than 30,000 nautical miles during the course of its deployment.

"I could not be more proud of our accomplishments on WESTPAC. Asheville had an extremely high operational tempo in theater, met all assigned tasking and picked up some unexpected jobs along the way," said Cmdr. Douglas Bradley, Asheville's commanding officer. "Our success has truly been a team effort. Our many hours of training enabled us to do our missions safely, under any conditions."

Asheville was commissioned September 28, 1991. Measuring more than 360 feet long and displacing more than 6,900 tons, Asheville has a crew of nearly 140 Sailors. Asheville is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, surveillance, and reconnaissance.