Mahan returns to Va. following deployment

NORFOLK, VA. — The USS Mahan is returning to Virginia following an eight-and-a-half-month deployment performing ballistic missile defense near Europe and responding to the crisis in Syria.

The Mahan is a guided-missile destroyer that left Naval Station Norfolk in December. It is expected to return to its home port on Friday.

The Mahan was one of the first destroyers stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as the U.S. began deciding whether to launch a military strike against Syria. Four other destroyers that are also home ported in Norfolk are still on scene in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The Navy says it will webcast the ship’s homecoming ceremony, which is typically attended by friends and family of the sailors onboard the ship.