NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The USS Mitscher is getting ready to deploy from Naval Station Norfolk, joining up with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.
“It’s just motivating how enthusiastic they are,” said Rear Adm. Scott Sciretta, director of maritime operations for the U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
Family and friends lined the pier this morning as roughly 300 sailors, dressed in their whites, set out for the Mediterranean Sea. It took rigorous training to get to this point, just getting their certification in the last couple of months. They will soon join our allies in the European theater of operations.
“We are a big deterrent,” Sciretta said. “Power of projection, freedom of navigation, freedom of the seas, and they will do some work with our allies and partners in the Mediterranean.”
Mitscher is the seventh Arliegh-burke Class destroyer, commissioned in 1994. These are the bread and butter of the Navy, the workhorse of the fleet. Sciretta said the ship has been upgraded with the most current and capable combat systems.
“So the equivalent of DDG 57 is right on par with DDG 125 that’s been built recently,” Sciretta said.
When asked about his message to families, Sciretta recalled the Ike Strike Group recently encountering Houthi rebels.
“There was no expectation whatsoever that our sailors would see combat that day, and within minutes, they shot down everything that was shot at them,” Sciretta said. “One of the things I noticed as I talked to the parents and spouses on the pier today is how much the sailors communicated to their families that they are ready to go and ready to fight and win if necessary.”
It is anchors aweigh as the horn blares across the piers — loved ones bid farewell and see you later to those dedicated to the defense of our nation.
