Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times

Maersk Alabama rescue was highlight of cruise

NORFOLK, Va. — The destroyer Bainbridge is scheduled to return to Norfolk, Va., Monday after a seven-month cruise.

The ship deployed Feb. 21 and just seven weeks later, the destroyer and her nearly 300 crew members were thrust into the international spotlight when the cargo ship Maersk Alabama was taken by pirates — a first for a U.S. flagged vessel off the coast of Somalia — and the ship’s master, Capt. Richard Phillips, was taken hostage.

SEALs, operating off Bainbridge, captured one pirate and killed three others in the rescue of Phillips on April 12.

“That event has to rank at the top, just the whole experience ... being able to save [Phillips] from the pirates,” said Cmdr. Frank Castellano in a phone interview while steaming home Friday. “It was a historic deployment because of that.”

During those events, Operations Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Carissa Riedman, who found herself in the thick of the action as a tactical information coordinator, also spoke to reporters via phone.

“Holy cow. It was unbelievable; it felt like we were in a movie,” she said. “I never thought that in any aspect of my life that I’d be doing that in real life.”

She said the event helped her grow as an operations specialist, helping her prepare for stepping up to her career field’s next milestone: Qualifying as an air intercept controller directing combat aircraft.

“Having this experience gives me a wider perspective and really opens up my career for when I move to the air side,” she said.

But Castellano said there were other milestones his crew observed.

The ship conducted surveillance of the northern Somali coast with a ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle, providing direct intelligence on pirate camps and pirated vessels.

“We got to see [ScanEagle’s] capabilities can work for the Navy,” he said.

Though the crew spent many days at sea, they did get some relief, making port visits not only in Mombasa, Kenya, where the ship delivered Phillips, but also in Bahrain, Turkey, Spain and the Seychelles.

During the deployment, they crossed the equator six times, an event that for Bainbridge lost some of its significance over time.

“We did two crossing ceremonies during the first two crossings,” Castellano said. But after that they stopped with the formalities as they “ran out of pollywogs,” he said.