SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The guided missile frigate USS Thach and about 200 sailors aboard returned to Naval Station San Diego Friday from a seven-month deployment to Central and South America, the Navy announced Friday.
The 453-foot frigate took part in three multinational exercises, including one to practice defense of the Panama Canal, the Navy said. Thach sailors also took part in community relations projects in Chile and Ecuador.
The vessel, built in Los Angeles, is named after the late Adm. John Thach, who as a commander of a Navy fighter squadron early in World War II developed the "Thach Weave" dogfighting tactic.
Thach rose to command all U.S. naval forces in Europe before he retired.
Guided missle frigate USS Thach returns to San Diego
The guided missile frigate USS Thach and about 200 sailors aboard returned to Naval Station San Diego Friday from a seven-month deployment to Central and South America, the Navy announced Friday.
