The USS Montgomery returned Wednesday to its homeport of Naval Station San Diego following a year-long rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
The Independence-class littoral combat ship — a ship designed for operations near shore — operated with navies of six partner nations, participated in five multilateral and bilateral exercises and made six strategic port visits across the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
"I could not be more proud of the maritime security my ship and crew provided throughout this deployment. Their sacrifice resulted in the increased warfighting readiness of a Naval Surface Force that is, indeed, the world's best," said Cmdr. Edward Rosso, commanding officer on the Montgomery. ''It was an honor to have the opportunity to sail with allied and partner nations, and continue a forward presence in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region."
Montgomery operated in the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Strait of Malacca and waters near Singapore.
The ship and its several dozen crew joined with seven other warships from seven member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the first ASEAN - U.S. Maritime Exercise. Operating as a combined task force, the crew worked with partners on maritime skills such as at-sea communication, and culminated with visit, board, search and seizure boarding exercises.
The USS Montgomery is assigned to U.S. 3rd Fleet, which leads naval forces in the Pacific.
