“Home is the sailor, home from sea.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
After nearly a year at sea, three warships forged on the banks of the Kennebec River have returned, marking the end of one of the longest and most consequential naval deployments since the Vietnam War.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth presented the USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), USS Mahan (DDG 72), and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) with the Presidential Unit Citation in Norfolk, Virginia.
They are part of Carrier Strike Group 12, which includes the carrier Gerald R. Ford.
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers built by Bath Iron Works had been away at sea since last June.
The strike group was involved in hostilities against Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury, as well as supporting the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro under Operation Southern Spear.
Hegseth personally greeted the ships upon their weekend return to Naval Station Norfolk, saying: “For nearly a year, you have held the line for our nation.”
Bath has built more than 260 military vessels, including the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke class, dubbed the “workhorse of the Navy.”
Contributing: Howard Flower, recreational Maine maritime historian and former Portland hardwoods dealer.
