USS Gravely deploys for NATO maritime operations

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The guided missile destroyer USS Gravely left Norfolk, Va., for the Mediterranean Sea on Friday to serve as a NATO flagship.

The vessel will conduct maritime operations as the flagship of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Standing NATO Maritime Group 1,

It will be in serve in the area of operations of the U.S. Navy's U.S. 6th Fleet, Navy officials said. The ship carries 36 officers and 282 enlisted sailors.

The Navy and U.S. Marines deployed the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and the Marine Expeditionary to that region earlier this month.