Coast Guard Cutter Stratton Makes Happy Return Home In Time For Holidays
ALAMEDA (KPIX 5) -- After almost six months at sea and just in time for Thanksgiving, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton returned home to Alameda early Friday morning.
The cutter cruised into San Francisco Bay just before dawn.
The Stratton slowly approached the Golden Gate Bridge. Using a chase boat, Vice Admiral Linda Fagen came aboard and welcomed the crew home with a commendation for a job well done.
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It was a long deployment covering nearly half the globe that had the vessel patrolling the East China Sea, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Indian Ocean. They also had work to do off the coast of North Korea.
"They were doing some of the U.N. sanctions support for ship-to-ship transfers, enforcing the U.N. sanctions," Fagen explained.
Their important work from their latest deployment behind them, on Friday the only thing the crew wanted to do was get off the ship back to their families, especially Operations Specialist Seth Roedl.
He spotted his wife while the ship was docking. It wasn't hard.
"There's a unicorn on the pier! It's my wife Amanda Roedl out there with my two kids," said Roedl. "She's dancing around doing the booty shake dance in the unicorn costume!"
Once on shore, as her husband tried to kiss her through the costume, she announced, "This is what happens when you leave me alone for six months with two kids!"
"I can't wait to see that unicorn get on board!" chuckled d Vice Admiral Fagen as she watched from nearby.
There were kisses, hugs, somewhat risqué welcoming signs from girlfriends and all manner of family greetings.
After their long deployment, the crew and officers of the USCGC Stratton are ready to relax during their Thanksgiving holiday.