USS Coronado home after 18 months

US Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) returned home to San Diego on December 5, after spending 18 months on its maiden deployment to Southeast Asia.

The embarked “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 disembarked the ship earlier in the day, flying back to Naval Air Station North Island.

Sailors of LCS Crew 203 greeted friends and family at the pier, ending eight months of an eighteen-month deployment. In April, LCS Crew 203 relieved LCS Crew 204 who had taken Coronado on her maiden deployment beginning in June 2016.

“Each member of the core crew and the detachments contributed to Coronado’s successful maiden deployment,” said Cmdr. Douglas Meagher, Coronado’s commanding officer. “I am extremely proud of their sustained efforts at sea and our accomplishments as a team.”

Coronado participated in and conducted various operations in the seventh fleet, contributing to the littoral combat ship program and to the nation on her maiden deployment.

During the deployment, Coronado operated with navies of 16 nations, participated in 11 multilateral and bilateral exercises, and made 10 strategic port visits across the region. While operating with the Singaporean Navy during the Pacific Griffin exercise near Guam, Coronado fired a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile and successfully struck a target beyond visual range.

Coronado is the fourth littoral combat ship and second member of the independence-variant. She is the third ship named after the city of Coronado.