By Lorena Inclán, WJAX
To see a video featuring sailors and families, please click here.
DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — After only four months at home the USS Iwo Jima and the USS New York are getting ready to leave on a seven-month deployment from Naval Station Mayport.
The task while out to sea won’t be easy for the sailors as they’ll be critical to support maritime security operations, crisis response and provide a U.S. naval presence abroad.
The third ship that makes up the amphibious ready group, the Fort McHenry, will deploy later on to join the rest of the group.
The USS Iwo Jima recently had a change of command, and this will be Commanding Officer Dana Gordon’s first deployment as captain of the USS Iwo Jima.
From here, the ship will pick up a group of Marines who will also join them on the deployment. In all, 4,000 service men and women will be serving in the deployment.
