After a seven-month deployment, 1,204 Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli returned to San Diego.
The 855-foot amphibious assault carrier pulled up to Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) late Tuesday morning. Families waited eagerly on the pier to get a glimpse of their loved ones lining the perimeter of the ship.
One woman, Amber Munoz, was on the phone with her son, Moses Munoz, who was on USS Tripoli as it pulled in.
Photos: Families Welcome Loved Ones Returning From USS Tripoli Deployment
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“You see me? You see your mom? I am so proud of you,” she said, while she waved with enthusiasm.
The anxious group on the pier was covered in U.S. Navy gear, along with posters that read things like, ‘outta my way I get my daddy back today’ and ‘1,000 years later…’ Some opted to bring flowers or balloons, and there was at least one bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey waiting to be opened.
“I’ve been crying since they pulled up,” said Amber Munoz. “I’ve been crying, that’s why I’ve got my glasses on.”
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It took the ship just more than 60 minutes to tie up and prepare for the crew to disembark once visible from the pier at NBSD. Even though all of the families there survived months apart, it was in the final moments, between seeing the ship and being able to hold each other, that time seemed to crawl by.
“It’s happening, finally. Thank goodness,” said Liz Zacharias, who was waiting for her husband, AEC Ezekial Zacharias.
Then, the moment they had been waiting for.
“Here comes the first kiss, sailors, let’s go,” boomed a voice through the speakers on the ship as three eager sailors, including Zacharias, came down the stairs onto the pier and scooped up their partners.
There were also plenty of newborn babies on the pier, waiting for their parents to come meet them for the first time. There were 21 babies, to be exact, according to a spokesperson for the Navy.
“It feels great, it feels wonderful,” said a sailor with his newborn son in his arms. ”I missed playing with the kids.”
As the rest of the crew walked to meet the crowd, the pier erupted in a chorus of cheering and laughter, along with tears and, of course, sighs of relief.
The ship operated in the Indo-Pacific with port stops in Tasmania, Australia, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, according to Capt. John C. Kiefaber, the Commander of USS Tripoli. It was the ship’s first-ever deployment. It was commissioned in July 2020, but did not have an in-person ceremony because of the COVID pandemic.
