USS Halsey returns home after seven months at sea

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey returned to its Hawaii homeport this week after seven months at sea, the U.S. Navy 3rd Fleet announced.

The ship left Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in April and remained at sea due to constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was deployed to the 4th Fleet and 7th Fleet area of operations, and returned home on Thursday.

With the 4th Fleet, the ship was involved in counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean with the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, interdicting an estimated 4,400 pounds of illegal drugs.

It also provided assistance to a stranded fishing vessel off the coast of Costs Rica, evacuating an injured fisherman.

While working with the 7th Fleet, the ship conducted sustained presence operations in support of a United Nations resolution against North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, and traveled with the strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Indian Ocean.

"Team Halsey is really proud of what we accomplished: flexing to deploy early on short notice, integrating smoothly with the U.S. Coast Guard for counternarcotics operations in U.S. 4th Fleet then transitioning to U.S. 7th Fleet and the fast-paced operations there, all successfully and safely," said Cmdr. DeVere Crooks, the ship's commanding officer.

"Our sailors did all this despite the challenges of COVID-19 and without a liberty port visit in seven months," he said.