Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher has returned to its homeport after 200 days of deployment covering over 38,000 miles to the Far East and back.
Mitscher departed from Norfolk on 27 January 2009 to provide direct support to the Royal Navy Amphibious Task Group.
The deployment supported Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea, counter piracy operations off the Horn of Africa and provided direct support to ongoing Joint Special Operations Task Force operations in the Far East.
The destroyer along with the Turkish Navy and the rest of the TAURUS 09 task group participated in the Exercise Egemen 09, which encompassed amphibious landing strategy supported by surface and air warfare tactics.
During exercise Blue Toreador in the Indian Ocean, Mitscher also completed 400 hours of anti-submarine warfare training with the TAURUS 09 Task Group.
Mitscher pulled into the Changi Naval Base in Singapore on 6 May to take part in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference Asia 2009, while its has called on Maldives to provide medical support.
