The 4,500 sailors and Marines from the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group are positioned off the East Coast after crossing the Atlantic Ocean earlier in the week. They are expected to return to Norfolk in the next few days.
The ships and Marines were part of the heightened U.S. response after war broke out in Gaza. They patrolled the Eastern Mediterranean for most of their deployment.
Setting sail at the end of May, the group replaced USS Eisenhower in the region. They had been docked at the U.S. base in Rota, Spain, until last week.
“While in the Eastern Mediterranean, our crew, both sailors and Marines, had to sustain an increased level of vigilance and caution,” said Capt. Paul O’Brien, Wasp executive officer. “After being on alert as the nation’s crisis response force, it was good for the crew to experience one final port visit to celebrate and reflect on everything we’ve accomplished over the last several months, before returning home.”
The ships in the group include USS New York and USS Oak Hill as well as Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune.
The group made headlines in September when two Marines were assaulted by protestors while on leave in Turkey. They were aided by other Marines in the area.
The two Marines were taken to a local hospital but were not harmed before being returned to their ship. Naval Criminal Investigative Services is cooperating with local police, according to the Navy.
The Norfolk-based USS Wasp suffered a mechanical failure before it deployed June 1. In April, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti warned the ship may be delayed because of an unnamed mechanical problem. Maintenance issues also sidelined another Navy amphibious, the USS Boxer.
When it returns, USS Wasp will go back into maintenance in February.
In November, BAE Systems announced that it has a $200 million contract to upgrade the destroyer USS Laboon and repair and maintain USS Wasp at its Norfolk shipyard. The same shipyard previously worked on the ship from 2021 to 2023.
