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NCWG 1 Reservists Return From Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060309-01
Release Date: 3/9/2006 9:56:00 AM

By Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class (AW) Charles Alvarado, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- Approximately 200 Sailors from Inshore Boat Unit (IBU) 14 and Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) 101 returned March 4 from an eight-month deployment in the Persian Gulf region.

IBU 14, based in St. Louis, and MIUWU 101, based in Everett, Wash., are reserve units assigned to Naval Coastal Warfare Group (NCWG) 1. These Reservists were activated for one year, which consisted of a two-month training cycle, the eight-month deployment, one month of administrative work and one month of terminal leave.

While in the Middle East, these Sailors used specialized patrol boats to prevent attacks on U.S. and coalition ships. The primary missions performed by naval coastal warfare assets include maritime force protection, harbor defense, and seaward and landward security operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

"One of the highlights of the deployment was assisting the Pakistan earthquake disaster relief efforts by providing force protection to ships filled with relief aid," said Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Equipment John Klesath of NCWG 1.

“The deployments are a lot longer, and when you don’t deploy for such a long time…it gets harder to go because of your family,” said Chief Operations Specialist Brian Esquibel of NCWG 1. “But when you’re a Sailor, it’s your duty that calls.”

Friends and family from different parts of the country arrived in San Diego to greet the returning Sailors.

Klesath said the eight-month deployment was difficult for service members and their families, but NCWG 1 ensured a network of support existed for their Sailors to meet the challenges of a deployment.

"We had to depend a lot on Fleet Family Support Center for domestic issues," said Klesath. "Our Sailors relied a lot on emails and radio to communicate with family back home."