Friends, family and loved ones lined the dock Friday, waiting for service members aboard the USS Gary to return from its final deployment.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile frigate docked after its final deployment at approximately 10:30 a.m.
During its seven-month deployment, its embarked “Scorpions” of Helicopter Maritime Strike 49 Detachment 4 and a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment played an integral role in Operation Martillo.
Operation Martillo is a multi-nation partnership effort launched in 2012 to target illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus.
"This has been a very successful deployment in many regards, a deployment I would refer to as a 'strong finish' for the last remaining west coast frigate in the fleet," said Cmdr. Steven McDowell, Gary's commanding officer, in a statement. "When we departed for this deployment our intent was to make a difference and we did."
Throughout the deployment, the team interdicted 13,921 kilograms of cocaine worth a total of $278.4 million in addition to 18 pounds of marijuana, valued at $17,100.
Following its return, the ship will begin to prepare for decommissioning.
