Three Hampton Roads vessels due home after 10 months

Three local Navy ships will return home Tuesday after more than 10 months away – the longest U.S. ship deployments in nearly four decades.

The amphibious assault ship Bataan, the amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship Whidbey Island left Hampton Roads on March 23, three months earlier than planned because of the unrest in Libya.

After a few weeks of training in the Atlantic, they steamed to the Mediterranean, where the Bataan – the flagship – relieved the Norfolk-based Kearsarge, which was involved in early strikes into Libya. In August the Bataan group moved to the Arabian Gulf for their planned deployment supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a news release issued this afternoon, the Navy said the ships are carrying about 2,000 sailors. The Bataan will stop in North Carolina on the way home to offload personnel assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. It will return to Norfolk Naval Station with the Mesa Verde, while the Whidbey Island will dock at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach.

The Bataan is commanded by Capt. Erik Ross and the group of ships is commanded by Capt. Steven Yoder.