THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310302
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 29 lines
Four Navy warships that have cruised the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black seas for the past six months - as well as launched missile attacks on Iraq from the Persian Gulf - are headed home Friday.
Their returns are the first in a regular trickle that will peak with the carrier Enterprise battle group's homecoming in late December.
The Aegis guided missile destroyer Laboon, returning from its maiden voyage, is scheduled to arrive at Pier 25 of the Norfolk Naval Station at 9 a.m.
It returns from the Persian Gulf, where it became the first Arleigh Burke-class ship to engage in combat, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles into Iraq.
The oiler Platte is scheduled to return at 10:30 a.m. to Pier 2 of the Norfolk Naval Station after serving as the fleet oiler in the Mediterranean since early summer.
Platte's crew of 230 serviced the ships of the carriers Enterprise and George Washington battle groups, plus those in the Guam and Saipan amphibious ready groups.
Two of the Navy's smaller vessels, the coastal patrol ships Firebolt and Chinook, return to the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base at 9 a.m., completing far-reaching cruises that took them from Ireland to the Black Sea.
The 170-foot, 28-man ships belong to Special Boat Squadron Two. by CNB