SAN DIEGO — Three U.S. Navy ships returned to their homeports at Naval Base San Diego Sunday after seven months at sea.
The USS Makin Island, USS San Diego and USS Somerset carried 5,000 locally based Marines and sailors who anxiously awaited returning home to their families.
“I’m happy to be back. I got my son, my wife here, it’s an amazing feeling to be back. I can’t believe I was out there for months. I know it was hard on her too, it was hard for a long time,” said Keith Ratliff, whose first son, King, was born while he was deployed on the USS San Diego.
Ratliff was near land during the birth so he was able to watch it live on his phone. His wife, Julie Post, kept him updated with weekly pictures and emails.
“The end goal was him coming home so that was something to look forward to that’s what kept me going. Being a mom, you don’t get breaks. You have to push through no matter what so that was also what helped me,” said Post.
The group deployed in October, but the Navy’s COVID-19 protocols required the sailors and Marines to quarantine and train for two months before leaving.
“We took a very well-developed training plan and then had to really re-write it immediately prior to deployment and in effect that extended the deployment. What would have been six months took closer to eight months that people were away from their loved ones,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Begley with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The group stopped at fewer ports than a typical deployment to minimize contact with others.
While in Bahrain the USS San Diego received a shipment of Moderna vaccines and the other ships received Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the Department of Defense’s allotment. This allowed them to become the first ships in the Navy to vaccinate sailors and marines while at sea.
“We were able to get the right vaccines on board. We got the training on how to administrate them and then my medical team on board this ship did just a fantastic job of administering to our crew and the Marines on board,’ said Capt. Kevin Ralston, Commanding Officer of the USS San Diego.
The deployment took the sailors and Marines around the world.
In December 2020, they participated in Operation Octave Quartz, which helped ensure the safety of U.S. forces relocating from Somalia to other East African nations.
They later participated in the ongoing Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, conducted joint operations with allies in the Middle East, Asia and Alaska and conducted freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea with the San Diego-based Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
“These Marines and sailors have demonstrated incredible dedication during a very challenging deployment,” said Begley. “They’ve got a lot of accomplishments to be proud of.”
WATCH: Vaccinating San Diego-based sailors