CHARLESTON, S.C. – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Dallas will return to its homeport of Charleston Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. after a historic four-month deployment in the Gulf of Guinea off West and Central Africa, and the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Dallas crewmembers were deployed under the command of the Navy’s 6th Fleet based in Naples, Italy and carried out multiple missions in support of the Navy in countries throughout Africa and Europe.
The crew of the Dallas was the second United States military ship to bring humanitarian assistance supplies to the Republic of Georgia following the conflict between Russian and Georgian forces in August. The crew loaded more than 76,000 pounds of hygiene products, infant care, and food items onto the ship’s flight deck in Souda Bay, Crete, and delivered it to Batumi, Georgia, Aug. 27 for further distribution to those affected by the fighting.
During the first half of the deployment, the crew trained with navies and coast guards in Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe and Senegal as part of the Africa Partnership Station, a 6th Fleet initiative aimed to strengthen maritime safety and security in west and central Africa.
The Dallas visited Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Spain on the second half of the deployment. Dallas crewmembers trained with maritime partners in Malta, Bulgaria and Turkey during the visits. In Spain, the crew hosted 50 of America’s civilian public opinion leaders who were selected to participate in the 76th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a Department of Defense program established in 1948 designed to expose business, public sector, and academia leaders with little or no military experience to the working of the armed forces and national defense issues.
“Many Americans do not realize the role of the Coast Guard in representing America’s maritime interests throughout the world,” said Capt. Robert Wagner, commanding officer of the Dallas. “Deployments like this showcase how America’s naval services work cooperatively to achieve what’s important to our nation.”
The Dallas is expected to remain in port for three months before departing for the next patrol.
