By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John Wallace Ciccarelli Jr., Fleet Public Affairs Det. Hawaii
PEARL HARBOR, (NNS) -- Guided missile frigate USS Crommelin (FFG 37) departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor on Nov. 27, for a six-month deployment to the Caribbean.
Crommelin and her crew of more than 200 Sailors are scheduled to transit to the Naval Forces Southern Command area of operations via the Panama Canal and engage in monitoring, detecting and counter-narcotics activities.
The deployment is aimed at stopping the shipment of drugs to other countries that can support the purchase of weapons for terrorism.
"The illegal flow of narcotics into the United States pays for a portion of the weapons terrorists use in their attacks," said Capt. Patrick N. Huete, Crommelin's commanding officer. "This deployment is helping directly on the global war on terrorism by finding and eliminating the flow of drugs."
For many of the ship's junior Sailors, this marks their first deployment out to sea.
"I'm so excited, this is my first deployment and my first time to South America. It's going to be a great experience," said Seaman Flen Purvis, of Marion, South Carolina.
Family members gathered pierside early in the morning to say their goodbyes and to show their support for the crew.
"It's really rough seeing your love go away for six months, but you learn to expect it, but I know it's for the good of this country and for the world for the ship and its crew to go on these missions," said Michelle Pease, Crommelin's ombudsman.
Crommelin is a versatile, multi-mission warship, able to execute a variety of war fighting tasks for the Nation.
Frigates fulfill a protection of shipping mission as anti-submarine warfare combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoys.
