The United States Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA upgraded guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) returned to her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va., last weekend, following a four-month deployment supporting the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).

Anytime a warship is home for the holidays, it is likely welcomed by the crew, but for the guided-missile destroyer, it follows yet another lengthy mission. From March to June this year, the warship operated in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in support of the US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) mission, and from August to December, it was part of the buildup of US forces to counter drug smuggling from South America.

“Gravely worked alongside both the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group and the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group while supporting USSOUTHCOM missions,” the

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