About 1,800 sailors were expected to return home to Coronado today from a seven-month deployment to the Western Pacific and the Middle East.
The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer and two other ships in its ready group will return to Naval Air Station North Island sometime this morning, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs Office.
The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group comprises the Boxer, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock and the amphibious transport dock USS Green Bay.
The group left San Diego Feb. 22 to provide humanitarian aid, support overseas operations and combat piracy.
"There's nothing like coming home,'' said Capt. Curtis Shaub, the Boxer Group commander, in a statement.
"For every service member who deployed in 2011, there were dozens of parents, spouses, children, family and friends left behind who've kept the vigil watch and pressed on with maintaining the home life until these fine men and women could return from answering their nation's call.''
The three ships and their 1,800 sailors were accompanied on the deployment by more than 2,000 members of Camp Pendleton's 13th Marine
Expeditionary Unit. The Marines returned home to the North County Marine Corps installation on Thursday.
