USS Kearsage and USS Arlington Return Home

4,500 Sailors, Marines on USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington are back home
After a seven-month deployment, the Sailors and Marines returned to Naval Station Norfolk.

Author: Erin Patterson
Published: 9:24 AM EDT July 16, 2019
Updated: 10:42 AM EDT July 18, 2019

NORFOLK, Va. — After seven months on a scheduled deployment, the Sailors and Marines aboard the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit returned home Thursday morning.

While deployed, the Navy-Marine Corps team supported maritime security operations, crisis response, and theater security cooperation. Crews also provided a forward naval presence in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

The Kearsarge ARG consists of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington, the dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry, Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 2 and FST 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, Tactical Air Control Squadron 21, components of Naval Beach Group 2, and the embarked staff of Amphibious Squadron 6.

Kearsarge and Arlington are homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. USS Fort McHenry is homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, and the 22nd MEU is stationed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.